The 2024-2025 school year will start with a 7-period block schedule, consisting of three 96-minute classes and one 48-minute class, which would be the same on both A and B days. The new schedule would also take away the eighth period we have now. The Board of Education’s budget and the teacher shortage would force teachers to teach an extra period during the four-block daily schedule.
Some teachers in the Stamford public schools department have been protesting with their slogan, “six is not the fix.” These teachers feel that six mandated teaching periods with no extra pay would take away valuable time for them to grade, create lesson plans, and clean. Due to this, the district has chosen to change the schedule for the upcoming school year.
According to the national statistical average, around 210 students at Stamford High likely have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Kids with ADHD have a shorter attention span (3 to 5 minutes per year of age on average). The average high school student with ADHD has an average attention span of 45 to 75 minutes. Some of these students feel that their attention span being shorter than the class time will cause a greater level of stress. It can be complicated and challenging for students with ADHD to regain their focus after a certain amount of time, causing discomfort and a lack of attention in the classroom.
Junior Samantha Neer, who is diagnosed with ADHD, said, “It’s not like I get bored, I just can’t sit in my seat. I already have to leave two to three times per period and I would have to leave more frequently if the classes become longer.”
Although this may be true, other students who are diagnosed, such as senior Sydney Delelle, feel as if the extra eight minutes wouldn’t be much of a change because classes are already so long. It will be difficult for students to concentrate for a consistent 96 minutes since teachers do not always provide breaks (it was announced that breaks would be mandatory when the current schedule was implemented, but this has not been consistent).
Junior Owen Hertz said, “A teacher gave us about a 5-minute break for the first two weeks, but after that, he just stopped the breaks.”
Educators who are diagnosed with ADHD, such as student teacher Michael Balzano, recognize how difficult it will be for students. He mentioned that ADHD feels like a fog. “You are unable to force yourself to do something and the more disconnected you feel, the more it compiles,” Balzano said. He added that he would provide his students with a break, but regaining the students’ attention after the break would take away more time from the class period.
The new schedule could greatly affect students with learning disabilities such as ADHD, but with certain resources such as breaks, the schedule might not be as damaging as it otherwise could be.
