Next year Morgan will have a new schedule with 8 different periods, no block days, and extra study time. Since there will be 8 class periods,  Assistant Principal Christopher Luther hopes that students will take at least one study a year and new electives. With new electives, students can earn more credits. 

Being given extra time for study is very beneficial for students who work, have after school activities, play sports outside of school, play in band, or want to take college courses. In this new schedule, students will have eight class periods per week, but every day there will be 6 periods. Two periods drop per day. 

For example on day one, the schedule will drop periods D and H. This leaves each class period lasting 56 minutes. Once the students get to day four, the last day of the cycle, there is a flex period. This period is in replacement of our advisory. In the picture above, you can see the setup of the schedule for one week. 

Teachers will also benefit from this schedule change, allowing more free time for lesson planning. Two teachers who were part of  the scheduling committee were Physical Education Teacher Kate Iverson and Science Teacher Karen Martino. They liked the idea of built in collaboration periods in the new schedule. These periods let teachers work with other teachers in the same subject, and they set up lesson plans and are able to work together. Another advantage for teachers and students is that all classes will meet for the same amount of time. In the current schedule E periods are a longer period than the rest. This committee was filled with teachers from all different subjects, so everyone had a say in what they thought was beneficial for Morgan.

Graduation is a very important day in a high schooler’s life. Mr. Luther states that in the past he has seen many students not able to graduate. This caused him to feel very badly and sorry for the students who could not graduate. He hoped to never see that happen again. The main reason for this new schedule is the ability for students to get more credits for graduation.

According to publicschoolsreview.com about 7% of high school students in Connecticut do not graduate. “Graduate requirements shifted from 23 to 25 credits,” stated our head school counselor Moheba Sayed. This is a big “game changer” for students who have experienced lack of credits in the past. This also allows students to have study halls, so they have time to be able to complete their work. Mr. Luther also states that in the next few years, enrollment will be decreasing dramatically, and he wants to ensure that all students are offered great courses.

“This schedule will take time to get used to,” states Ms. Sayed, but both Mr. Luther and Ms. Sayed believe that the students will like this schedule more because of the freedoms and extra time they get. Upcoming freshmen will still have required freshman courses including Freshman Experience, but they have more opportunity to take more electives they wish to try. For example, they will be able to take all three cooking courses if they enjoy that certain elective. Also, a class offered at Morgan named Creative Writing, is a new option for grades 9 and 10 instead of being offered only to grades 11 and 12.

Other schools in the area have very similar schedules. Guilford and Madison both have 8 periods built into their schedules and are dropping two a day just like us. This schedule is guaranteed to provide studies and more opportunities for all students. Mr. Luther worked very hard with rearranging the times and making sure we get a full year copy of this schedule. With more class periods, students will have the ability to get more credits and try more electives.