By Charles Louis Dominguez ’14
THE ROUNDUP
Schedule change understandable, but is not a benefit for some students
Brophy is a beehive of activity.
On any given day, students can be seen scurrying about the campus by 7 a.m., even with the implementation of a late start policy that begins the school day at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays.
While this is but one of many changes that have come along with the new school year, it has garnered a great deal of attention from returning students and faculty members.
This schedule change makes it so that class now starts at 9 instead of 8:05 on Wednesdays and ends at 1 p.m. instead of 12:05 p.m. on Fridays.
According to Principal Mr. Bob Ryan, this serves two purposes, giving Brophy’s faculty time for professional development and effectively creating an hour for students to relax.
From a faculty perspective, a modified Wednesday schedule makes sense.
Teachers are relatively unaffected, arriving at the same time on Wednesdays and holding meetings between 7:40 and 9 a.m.
This offers teachers another outlet for collaboration and an opportunity to exchange ideas.
According to Mr. Ryan, these meetings, which used to take place after school on Fridays, cover topics that are important to Brophy’s teachers, including iPad innovation and faith development.
In previous years, they took place after release on Fridays.
“With the continuing evolution of student activities, it became harder and harder for teachers to attend Friday meetings,” Mr. Ryan said.
Turns out Brophy’s teachers are just as busy as its students.
While a student’s most obvious complaint might be getting out later on Fridays, I find other issues with the schedule.
Although, in theory, the late start also serves to let students sleep an extra hour or finish work in the mornings, only some students have the means of seizing this opportunity.
A sizable portion of the student body relies on their parents or other carpools for transportation to school, often resulting in students arriving before 8 a.m. regardless of what time the school session actually begins.
I am part of this group, but I am not the only one.
Several activities ranging from sports practices and hour zero courses also keep students arriving early.
“It adds two hours to my week since I’m still arriving at 7 a.m. for jazz band and leaving an hour later on Friday,” said Greg Goulder ’13 of the new policy.
Students who do have the means of arriving at 9 a.m. may find themselves wasting the hour on something frivolous rather than how it was originally intended.
The goals of the policy are noble, combatting some of Brophy’s most pressing issues.
While this is an important step towards reducing the stress levels of students and faculty, the late start does not seem to cater to all or even most of Brophy’s student community.
Although I don’t believe that the late start completely addresses the problem of student stress, it is perhaps the best thing available to us presently.
If this late start policy is a sign of anything, it is Brophy’s adaptation to change and dedication to betterment.
“This place is continually evolving. This is just one outcome of that evolution,” Mr. Ryan said.
