Faculty Vote on Two Potential 2019-2020 Pilot Schedules
Faculty voted on Jan. 21 to pilot the Super Long Block schedule proposal for the 2019–2020 school year instead of the Equal Impact schedule.
According to Co-chair of the Schedule Committee Scott Saltman, the goal of the schedule change is to prioritize student health by starting classes later and reducing overall time Exonians spend both in classes and on homework. “The overall goal is to improve the pace of life and student well-being here,” Saltman said. “We consider sleep to be a major component of that.”
“I ultimately think Exonians are more productive outside of class than in class because the vast majority of us have something we’re really interested in,” Wang said. “Free time is especially helpful in the afternoon. The earlier we get out, the better it is.”
The newly proposed schedule significantly shortens the academic day and also reduces weekly class periods. With an exception of beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, classes would start at 8:45 a.m. and the day would end at 5:20 p.m. To achieve this schedule, however, the reserve block would be paired with a regular format, creating a 95-minute “super long” block.
In addition, the Super Long Block schedule reduces weekly class time by nearly 40 minutes. Currently, classes that do not use the reserve meet 195 minutes per week, and classes using the reserve meet 245 minutes per week. In contrast, Super Long Block would shorten class times to 157.5 and 207.5 minutes, respectively.
Co-chair of the Schedule Committee Laura Marshall explained that class time was something the committee decided to sacrifice. “We can’t create time. We can only reallocate time,” Marshall said. “In order to create more time in the morning, it has to come from something. And so, based on the priority rankings in the faculty surveys, we decided to have that come from class time.”
After initially considering to pilot the new schedule in the spring, the Schedule Committee decided that piloting the schedule through next year would be more effective because teachers would then have more time to adjust their current curriculum to accommodate for less class time. “[The faculty] have to decide what might they remove from the curriculum, or how they might rework classes,” Saltman said. “Some things might have to go a little bit faster, and some things might have to be dropped.”
It is not certain that the pilot will run, however. Though they have voted for Super Long Block instead of Equal Impact, faculty will vote next week on whether to implement Super Long Block versus the current schedule for the 2019–2020 school year.
Some expressed discontent at the reduced class times and felt that the school had compromised academic rigor. Biology Instructor Townley Chisholm described the reduction in class and homework time as a “fatal flaw” of both proposed schedules. “PEA students will not be able to achieve their academic goals such as getting into selective colleges or learning at a deep level,” he said.
Chisholm also said that it would not be possible for courses such as Advanced Biology or Accelerated Chemistry to cover the same amount of material or adequately prepare students for standardized tests.
Some students, however, appreciated that the school was prioritizing student well-being. Lower Lydia Thibault felt that Exonians should have more leisure time. “We need fewer [assignments and academic commitments] and more free time instead of more classwork and less time to ourselves.”
Upper Thomas Wang also noted that students should have more time to devote to their extracurricular passions. “I ultimately think Exonians are more productive outside of class than in class because the vast majority of us have something we’re really interested in,” Wang said. “Free time is especially helpful in the afternoon. The earlier we get out, the better it is.”
Senior Jenny Yang, however, thought that the school day should not end earlier. “One part of Exeter is teaching you how to be independent and use your time well throughout the day,” Yang sad. “Having more free time throughout the day rather than a large chunk at the end of the day will teach you to use your time better.”
Moreover, lower Sofina Tillman doubted the practicality of a 95-minute class block. “The Super Long Block is useless because your teacher can’t give you homework for two days in one night, so you still will essentially lose one class per week,” Tillman said. Faculty members also shared this concern. “I’m not sure how I would use it,” Math Instructor Joseph Wolfson said.
Lower Oia Eng added that students may not be able to focus for such a long period of time. “I don’t know how effective a 95-minute class will be and if students will be fully engaged for that entire time,” Eng said.