For the second year, Choate experimented with a new schedule during the first few days of school, seemingly in an effort to gauge the effects of a proposed daily schedule that would lengthen each class period. While the precise structure of this new schedule is still being developed, Choate’s administration has indicated that class time will expand significantly, from the current 45 minutes to as long as 70 minutes. Classes are likely to meet only a handful of times each week.
The proposed new daily schedule is part of an effort to relieve stress for students. Sixth form boys’ dean Mr. Pat Dennehy remarked that the new schedule, “might help with the quick pace of life for both students and faculties and make Choate a healthier place for our students.”
Choate has conducted extensive research of various school schedules in order to find the ideal amount of time for each class block. The administration will examine each of those proposals and make the final decision sometime before the end of the school year. The new schedule is set to take effect in the 2017-2018 school year.
Some of the outlined changes include fewer class blocks each day and different sports practice times. Students should anticipate two to three classes per day instead of the current five to six classes. Even though there are fewer blocks each week, the amount of homework allowed is likely to remain the same, and, as a result, students will have less homework to prepare each night. At the same time, as the number of classes decrease, there will be more opportunity for students to seek extra help from teachers.
The new daily schedule will also likely feature a ‘sliding block’ that allows students to have a lunch block. Mr. Dennehy said, “So for example, with E block, there will be a first half of E and a second half, so every student can be provided an opportunity to have lunch.”
The new schedule will likely offer mixed benefits for academic departments. Repetition can be effective in learning a language, and longer class blocks means more time per block for that, but fewer blocks per week. Commenting on the switch to longer blocks, Spanish teacher Ms. Angela Weston said, “You don’t have to review as much to continue a topic that you talked about the last time the class met. Sometimes, though, that can be beneficial in terms of language.”
Other teachers seem to be less excited, and even hesitant, about the switch; for example, as science teacher Mr. Lawrence Stowe remarked, “Science took a bit of a hit with this proposed new schedule.” He cited a reduction in total teaching time and removal of the lab block as the main drawbacks. In addition, according to Mr. Stowe, the new schedule will negatively affect the preparation process for standardized tests, especially the SAT Subject Tests or AP tests.
The proposed daily schedule will also affect sports and other extracurricular activities. Some coaches argue that the two hours dedicated to sports every day in the new schedule is not sufficient. Mr. Dennehy, who is also the school’s Associate Athletic Director, acknowledged that different sports have different requirements. For example, crew, football, and tennis meet with different frequencies and for different lengths of times each week. There will be tweaks and adjustments to the schedule in the future, but as Mr. Dennehy noted, “There are going to be some sacrifices that some teachers, some coaches, and that we all have to make.”
The proposed daily schedule provoked mixed reactions from students. Some support the resolution as a smart way of giving students proper eating time, and they can see themselves adjusting to the new schedule easily. Nicole Wasomi ’19 commented, “I think that the new schedule will be a lot more convenient. For example, drawing from my own experience, I never have a lunch block on Thursday, and this new sliding blocks may actually solve the problem.”
However, students are concerned about the loss of lab blocks in science classes. As Katrina Gonzalez ’17 said, “Since I usually have lots of lab time, I hope that the new schedule would extend them instead of cutting them short.”
