The 2024-2025 school year introduced lots of new changes to the Middle School, possibly one of the biggest being a new Friday schedule that moved Community Time to the morning in place of recess and added Office Hours on Friday for the first time. The new schedule has sparked controversy after many years of the original schedule.
This reorganization was primarily driven by the administration’s decision to introduce Friday Office Hours in response to repeated student requests. A team of teachers and administrators carefully evaluated the situation and agreed that adding Office Hours on Friday would benefit students in multiple ways. For those with extended time accommodations, it would provide an opportunity to complete tests and quizzes on the same day, rather than having to wait until Monday. Additionally, it would allow other students to finish their homework before the weekend.
According to the Head of the Middle School Leslie Ann Little, students with extended time faced significant challenges under the previous schedule. If they had a quiz on Friday and couldn’t finish it during class, there was no convenient time during the day to complete it. “Because of the shift of allowing students to finish tests in Office Hours or start them in Office Hours—that meant that if you had a test on Friday you were at a disadvantage if you had extended time,” she says.
Moreover, according to Reverend Tina McCormick, having Community Time scheduled after lunch under the old arrangement was unhelpful for students and teachers because it made for a grueling afternoon. “One concern was community time was in the afternoon and everyone was kind of cooked by Friday afternoon. Whatever activity it was, it was hard to get people up for it,” she says. “Community Time in the afternoon for teachers was hard because teachers are kind of on their last bit of energy. They are asking teachers to supervise Community time and they are tired.” The administration hoped that by moving Community Time to the morning, the students could get energy out and keep focused for the rest of the day.
The change has split opinion, particularly concerning the loss of a Friday recess to create room for Office Hours. Students say that they need a morning recess on Friday to hang out with friends and be able to have a snack to get them to lunch. On the other hand, some teachers felt students have too much recess throughout the week. “There is a tension between the people who feel there is too much recess and people who feel there isn’t enough recess,” says McCormick. “The Office Hours on Friday give students freedom but also give students who are trying to get things done time to do that.”
The administration also designed Community Time on Friday to always be active and fun almost like a recess. “The other thing that we promised is that because Community Time goes in the recess slot we would make every effort to make Community Time be active; it would be something to do, not something to sit and listen to,” says McCormick.
Nonetheless, many students question the necessity and effectiveness of Friday Office Hours. 8th-grader Anne Schiller acknowledges that Office Hours can sometimes be beneficial, such as for completing an unfinished assessment, but they feel it’s not the best use of time. “During Office Hours no one is going to be trying to get any work done; they are just going to want to relax for a second,” says Anne Schiller. Instead, they suggest alternatives like a late start or ending the day earlier as more productive options.
Likewise, 7th-grader Hattie Powell doesn’t think the change was necessary and adds that, in her opinion, Community Time isn’t really needed or at least should have stayed in the after-lunch time slot. “I liked it more in the afternoon because you are looking forward to the weekend more,” she says.
Despite the drastically different opinions of students and staff, the changes in the Friday schedule were made with the best intentions in order to resolve the conflict about the old arrangement. The new schedule benefits students by allowing them to be active in the morning, preserving their energy throughout the day, and providing Office Hours to complete quizzes and homework before the weekend. It is beneficial for the teachers because they are able to have Community Time and still have the energy to finish the day—and not have to worry about the kids being crazy after Community Time. Moving forward, the administration hopes these changes will create a more balanced and effective schedule that meets the needs of all, and they will continue to listen to feedback to try to find the right balance.