Students Protest Schedule Changes

What seems like a small schedule change may have a deeper impact. At the May 8th Board of Education meeting, student Holly Rittmaster presented a petition started by another student, Lila Horwood, that protested the upcoming changes to the Scarsdale High School Schedule. The petition says the following: "Starting next year, in the 2017-18 school year, our schedules are being extended 75 minutes a week, and we will only have homeroom twice a week. As stressed and concerned members of the Scarsdale High School community, we want to show the Board of Education how many people are vehemently opposed to this change. If you are opposed to any part of the new schedule, please sign this petition!" 

It currently has 566 signatures and has gathered a lot of community buzz and comments, most of which seem to be saying the same thing. Students do not want this schedule change to be implemented. "The new schedule completely contradicts every goal of the wellness committee and is ridiculously confusing. Later dismissal times and earlier start times only make for less sleep and increased stress." Says a current High School Junior, "No students were included in any part of the process for creating the new schedule, or any sort of discussion regarding schedules at all, which is outrageous considering they are the most affected. The school and the Board of Education should return to the drawing board and make sure to include students in some manner."

This year the high school administration is focused on "student wellness", but this new schedule seems to contradict and undermine that message. Some students feel that it does not matter how many surveys students take on stress improvement if nothing is done with the results. A commenter suggests an alternative approach to time requirements which the administration has said are dictated by New York State in this press release. "I believe the additional instructional hours required by state could be met in ways that aren't detrimental to student wellness. Maybe we could have one additional special period per week, where students could choose a seminar or activity to attend in order to enrich the high school experience. Some other high schools employ this system or have study hall/group work time. The most important thing is to take into account the voices of students, not just on paper but in action."

Never has a room been more divided than when the schedule changes were announced to the juniors and seniors. Not divided in opinion, but in reaction. The seniors, who are leaving before the schedule changes, all high-fived and cheered because they were "leaving just in time". The juniors, however, were understandably furious. While the school is constantly asking students what can be done to improve wellness, some feel that this schedule revision misses the wellness mark by a mile. Many students felt their voices were ignored.

In the view of many of the petition signers, Scarsdale high school students aren't "well". They're stressed. This new schedule change only solidifies some students' fears that the measures they have been told will alleviate their stress are doing nothing at all. You can find the petition by clicking here.