Schedule changes: Advisory cut to 3 days
Principal Tarance Hart announced at the PTSA Board Meeting on Jan. 16 that Advisory periods are being reduced to three per week, and rescheduled to the end of the school day (3-3:40 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday).
The end of Advisory on Fridays will provide 10 more minutes for first period class (to 65 minutes) and 7 more minutes for the other five (57 minutes).
UPDATE: The adjusted schedule began Wednesday, Jan. 29, the first day of the 2024-2025 second semester.
| See the current bell schedule. |
According to an email sent to all students on Jan. 24, each Advisory period will have a specific purpose:
- Monday Advisory will be dedicated to community building within each Advisory classroom. It will also focus on gathering student feedback around schoolwide concerns and providing a platform for the Student Senate to address key topics and share updates and information with their Advisory classes. No travel will occur during this Advisory.
- Tuesday Advisory will be reserved for club and student organization meetings, allowing time for extracurricular engagement and collaboration.
- Thursday Advisory will focus on academic support and intervention, with travel allowed to meet with teachers or access resources as needed.
Advisory also is used for schoolwide announcements and trainings, and counts for .25 credit per semester, and is considered instructional time. At 160 minutes per 5-day week, the fall 2024 version of Advisory far exceeded the time allocated in recent years.
While Dr. Hart didn’t cite specific reasons for the reduced time, a significant portion of Advisory periods have been unprogrammed and used for study or down time. Students say that many classmates do not report to their Advisory classroom, meaning the school may not know their whereabouts.
A Dec. 20, 2024, Garfield Messenger article about Advisory quoted teachers about safety and other concerns.
During the Jan. 16 PTSA Meeting, one parent noted that the new schedule will reduce stress on athletes who sometimes miss classes at the end of day in order to travel to or prep for sports activities.
