For years various groups at WHS and at the district level have discussed whether our current schedule best meets students’ learning needs, and this year the debate on this question has become a major focus. On October 10, 2024, WHS sent a survey to students, teachers and parents to obtain feedback on secondary scheduling. Through that form, the Secondary Scheduling Steering Committee (SSSC) asked various questions about student experiences with the current schedule, a process that has led to curiosity and even some anxiety about how the schedule may change.
The SSSC and Weston school committee’s role in the scheduling process includes reviewing aspects of the current schedule that are not working and identifying ways to address those issues. For example, one of the many changes being considered by the SSSC is whether or not an eight-day rotation is worth preserving. A new schedule could possibly lead to classes meeting every day in order for students to spend more time learning material.
“External curriculum review teams have all recommended more time on learning in the various subjects,” superintendent Karen Zaleski said. “So in the spirit of what I’ve learned, it’s my duty to examine the schedule and ensure that it meets our students’ needs and our obligation to educate and foster well-rounded individuals.”
Due to the multifaceted nature of deciding on a new schedule, the SSSC felt that reaching out to students was important to ensure they can get behind possible new changes.
“The school committee is aware that students want information and input on the subject,” senior and SAC representative Max Zhou said. “Although currently the school committee has only reached out to students through surveys, more comprehensive inquiries will be sent out in the future.”
The survey came as a surprise to many students, who were not all aware that the topic was under review.
“I didn’t expect the survey as I hadn’t previously thought about issues with our schedule,” senior Emma Darling said. “A lot of people discussed the survey when it was released. I thought it was an interesting idea.”
The SSSC has outlined areas that may be fixed with a new schedule, but there are also many aspects of the schedule they wish to remain unchanged to promote student learning.
“We have identified a few aspects [of the schedule] that need to be addressed, but we also noted positive aspects of the current schedule that we hope to retain,” school committee member Tiao Xie said. “That includes the variety of electives available to students, the late start time for school, and the music program meeting during the school day.”
Many students have opinions on whether or not the WHS schedule should be changed.
“I don’t think it needs to be changed,” sophomore Sam Whitworth said. “The eight-day schedule provides more variety, and I like having more than an hour of class time. I also wouldn’t like having every class meet every day.”
One of the elements that students appreciate about the current schedule is that they can better space out homework since classes typically meet only 3 days of each week.
“Not having every class meet every day is something that I think is important,” sophomore Aarav Mehta said. “That way I can easily choose what to prioritize on a given day.”
Other students think changes that allow for more work time during the school day would be positive as certain classes take up more of their time than others.
“This year I would have appreciated a flex block where every kid is kind of in a study hall so they can all ask teachers questions or get help with harder content,” Darling said. “I think this would be helpful for kids that don’t normally have a lot of study halls.”
Though many students are used to the eight-day rotation, other schools use differently structured schedules that the SSSC has reviewed as possible models of alternatives.
“Wellesley runs a seven-day rotation. Some other schools run six, like Lexington, Bedford, and Wayland. And some run Monday through Friday like Newton North, Newton South and Cambridge,” principal Sue Bairstow said. “These are some of the other schedules we looked at to see what could benefit our school.”
One of the considerations when coming up with a new schedule is that students need more contact time with their teachers, especially in the most challenging classes.
“One of the school committee’s concerns is that there’s not enough face time with teachers to cover the course content, especially but not limited to AP classes,” Xie said.
Despite much interest in what the new schedule that may be implemented looks like, nothing is set in stone yet.
“At this point, we are open to any and all scheduling models,” Zaleski said. “We’ll have a better sense of how things could develop once we have proposals for the community in mind.”
