New Upper School Schedule Takes Time, Makes Time

By Mimi Lebeau ‘24
GOA will embark on an unprecedented structural change to scheduling, with a new approach to student and faculty life for the 2022-23 school year that is focused on, “taking our teaching and educational philosophy and making it work for us,” said Upper School Principal Dr. Apter.

Next year will include more non-class time during the day. In the morning, the administration hopes to add morning meetings and study halls twice a week, while middle school students also will have an “Inquiry Lab” where they can work on project-based learning. 
Furthermore, the number of high school classes per week is increasing from 29 to 31. For sophomores, this will mean adding another period of driver’s education, and for juniors, an Israeli history class. 
    In order to accommodate for these new classes and breaks, the administration has decided to cut out passing time altogether. 
“The four minutes in between that people are used to is their time, and we have found that students relish that individual time because they have no other breaks. We think it is better to give them longer breaks, like ten minutes instead of four minutes at various times,” Dr. Apter said.
To adjust for this removal, there will never be more than two classes back-to-back, as the day will be divided up by breaks throughout; and without a bell schedule, the concept of “lateness” will become obsolete. Students will be expected to head straight to their next class after being released from the previous one. 
Since the schedule gives students more autonomy, the responsibility is now given to each individual to make sure they are present in class.
    In addition to breaks and study halls, the new schedule also features a “Flex Block.” During this time, students have the option to attend a variety of labs in all different subjects. They can also opt for an extra study hall.
Dr. Apter explains, “There are times that teachers are driving the time and there are times when it is completely student time…So the flex is basically shared time and the teachers and the students can share that choice.” 
    All high school students will have their flex block at the same time, and students will share the teacher’s time for office-hours-style assitance. However, unlike office hours, one faculty member from each department will run their subject’s lab, and so students will not necessarily be in a lab with their own teacher. 
The upper school participated in a pilot week for the schedule in mid-May, in order to show students what they should expect for next year. After the trial week, sophomore Shoshie Newman stated, “Although the overall concept is good, I wish the flex block time had more time in order to complete more work.”
    The elective system also will be undergoing a major change, with two elective periods per week instead of the current one, and will no longer contain students from multiple grades. 
A one-semester art requirement will replace the usual array of electives in all subjects. That said, “art” is a loose term and will likely refer to performing arts, computer graphics and music, not only visual art. However, this means that non-art electives such as “Fitness For Life” and “Mindfulness” will no longer be offered.
    Lunch, to be known as “Student Time,” will be split into two 30-minute blocks, on Tuesday and Wednesday for high schoolers, with a class in between, to give students more flexibility with their time. Lunch will be served only at certain points during the two lunch blocks.
Sophomore Doron Finkel commented, “The system could be improved if food was available at the beginning of the first lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday instead at a random time in between.”
    As the various changes are set for the 2022-23 school year and the student body awaits what new opportunities it may bring, Dr. Apter clarifies, “I do not want to minimize the fact that this will look different next year, but the backbone of our institution, the backbone of our institutional philosophy, which is what is driving this, is meeting the needs of the students.”