Friday, December 4, 2009
Ben Whistler
Staff Writer
First semester finals have been pushed back one week and will now take place on Jan. 27, 28, and 29 because first semester is significantly shorter than second semester.
The rescheduling will change the duration the first semester from 83 to 88 school days. Second semester will be shortened from 97 to 92 school days.
“It would be very difficult for teachers whose courses are only one semester. It was making teachers feel pressured that they could not get through everything they wanted to get through in the first semester,” Principal Julie Ruisinger said.
In addition, some teachers felt they had to turn in grades too early. While this new schedule will help teachers complete their instruction, they will still be under pressure to turn their grades in quickly to help the educational advisors get their mid-year reports out to colleges as early as possible.
“I think there might be a mixed reaction because some teachers have based their schedules on the earlier system, but having uneven semesters never made any sense in the first place,” English teacher Shawn Chen said.
Administrators believe that ultimately the new semester schedule is a net benefit for both students and teachers.
“This is great for the kids and teachers because they will have the same amount of instructional days for both first and second semesters, but we have had to push up the [deadlines for turning in] grades because the seniors need their mid-year reports sent to the colleges they are applying to before February break begins,” Vice Principal Jennie Wright said.
It is unclear whether this problem will occur again next year. It will depend on the final school calendar and where holidays and vacations fall. For now, students are glad to have another week to study.
“I was happy when I heard about it, because I get another week to study. It’s kind of fair since progress reports came in a week early. I don’t know what to say, it’s pretty insane,” junior John Paul said.
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