At the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year, Lewis-Palmer High School adopted the block schedule. The schedule consists of four ninety-two minute classes a day, which has brought challenges to both teachers and students alike.

Having only four classes a day and switching off between the classes is hard for teacher planning, and hard for students to keep up.

“It’s easy for students to fall behind. Missing one day of class is like missing two days, because we do two lessons a day,” math teacher Mr. Baker said.

Other teachers tend to agree. Block days have hit the Arts Department hard because they have less time to prepare for upcoming events.

“It’s been extremely hard to work with the students and make them want to get ready for the events when they only see me every other day. They tend to forget that that they should be working towards perfecting their playing,” band director Mr. Whitelaw said.

Classes only meet two or three times most weeks. The homework load per night is a little less, since students get two nights to work on it rather than one.

“I like the less homework, but sometimes it’s hard to get through the day. It can be exhausting just getting through one class and having to sit still for so long,” Junior Morgan Henderson said.

Before the block schedule took effect, classes were only fifty minutes long and there were seven classes a day. In ways this schedule was easier on teachers and students.

Concentration was higher, as well as there was more time to get work and lessons done. The year progressed quickly and efficiently, with every spare minute used furthering education.

“It’s hard to keep students motivated to work for the whole hour and a half,” Baker said.

It’s not only hard to keep the motivation up, but it’s also hard to create a plan for the classes when one snow day throws the entire schedule off for the rest of the year. Teachers, such as math teacher Mrs. Snowden, have had to cut lessons because there simply isn’t enough time in the year to get through them.

The main question on everyone’s minds is why Lewis-Palmer went to the block schedule in the first place.

“It was to help accommodate teachers to teach six classes. That was part of the budget cuts that were implemented last year,” Principal Mrs. Brandl said.

Teachers and students alike may want to go back to the fifty minute classes, but unless the administration decides otherwise, the block schedule stays.