Flex schedule finalized for next school year

On Wednesday, Feb. 13, Samo teachers voted in favor of adopting a flex schedule in the 2019/20 school year. This vote came after two flex schedule trial runs in November of 2018 and January of 2019, both featuring an hour long flex period and block scheduling twice a week. The final schedule is a combination of the two, with block and flex time on Tuesday and Wednesday, and an 8:55 a.m. start on Wednesday.The vote results showed that 83 percent of teachers are in favor of fully implementing flex schedule in the next school year. Sarah Lipetz, science department chair who played an integral role in formatting the flex schedule, was impressed by the decisive results in favor of the new schedule. “I think this speaks to the fact that teachers are excited to be able to offer this opportunity to their students. Block scheduling will allow for longer activities in class and hopefully create deeper, more meaningful learning experiences,” Lipetz said. Both of the trial runs featured an hour long flex period twice a week, during which students had the opportunity to get help from their teachers and peers. This flex period was brought on after the school was encouraged by the Western Association of School and Colleges (WASC) to give students a time to receive the support they need. Although some students and parents are wary of the new schedule change, Lipetz is encouraging everyone to keep an open mind, as progress is never easy. “I am sure that there will be some issues that need to be worked out once we begin, but I think this will be a change that could be very beneficial for all students,” Lipetz said. Dr. Antonio Shelton agrees that the change represents a lot of progress for Samo. And before the new schedule is implements, Shelton and the School Leadership Team (SLT) will be purchasing software to facilitate the flex-time sign-ups and creating guidelines for the use of the flex-time.  Shelton said that at the end of the 2020-21 school year, he and the faculty will evaluate and tweak and hopefully build on the schedule.“Flex period can also be used for mental health counselling, assemblies, clubs and electives. However, we have to create guidelines for that because we want teachers to still have the opportunity to help kids,” Shelton said.