Students and teachers adjust to new rolling block schedule

With a bag of Panda Express in his hand on a recent day, senior Jonathan Yun scrambled to his AP Chinese class at 12:42 p.m., just two minutes after the second bell had rung. Stumbling through the door, Yun heard his teacher stop talking mid-lecture as his classmates laughed hysterically in the background. He shuffled to his seat, thinking that if the school hadn’t switched to a new schedule, he would have made it to class on time.

Like other upperclassmen on campus, Yun enjoys going out to lunch. But with only 35 minutes on the clock — 5 minutes fewer than the old schedule — it’s harder to make it back to school on time.

“It’s frustrating because the school is basically teasing us with the lunch policy,” Yun said. “They let us go off, but only for 35 minutes. They’re basically implementing a closed campus policy or encouraging kids to drive dangerously.”

With its many changes — shorter lunches, more tutorials, a later start and a five-days-a-week block schedule — the new rolling block schedule has sparked debate on campus.

According to superintendent Bob Mistele, the new schedule reduces student stress by adding more tutorials. But even as a junior taking multiple AP and Honors classes, Atlas Yuen thinks three tutorials a week in the old schedule was fine.

While some students are having a hard time accepting the changes, others, like sophomore Cameron Lin, see the daily  35-minute tutorials as “opportunities to talk to teachers.”

“Last year, I wouldn’t get the chance to ask my teachers questions on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Lin said. “Having tutorials every day lets me see my teachers whenever I need to, especially when I have a homework assignment or test coming up.”

Many also see benefits in switching from the old Monday schedule in which all classes met for 45 minutes. Only having three or four classes after the weekend is “less stressful overall in terms of struggling to finish homework on Sunday nights,” Lin said.

Sophomore Hanlin Sun added that having block Mondays is less “hectic,” whereas the previous Monday schedule made it “hard for teachers to finish their notes and get through lessons.”

The new schedule also features a later start, 8:15 rather than 7:50 a.m., which is supposed to help students get more sleep. However, senior Caroline Li feels that 25 extra minutes of sleep “doesn’t really make a difference” in reducing stress or making them feel more rested.

On the other hand, ninth grade English and World Geography teacher Susanna Ryan said she benefits from the extra 25 minutes in the morning, allowing her more time to get her children ready for school before making her commute to SHS.

ath teacher PJ Yim said the district’s aligned schedule now offers teachers like new Algebra 1 and Geometry teacher D'Antona Patrizia the option to work part time at Los Gatos and part time at Saratoga. Patrizia teaches Algebra 1 at Los Gatos during periods 2, 4, 6 on Red (even) days. On Blue (odd) days, she teaches third period Algebra 1 at Los Gatos and commutes to Saratoga to teach seventh period Geometry.

Despite the initial difficulties in making the switch to a new schedule, many students and teachers are now adjusting to the new schedule.

Some like physics teacher Kirk Davis agree that the new red-day, blue-day alternating schedule can be confusing, but think that the switch to a rolling block schedule will be for the best.

“[The switch to a full-block schedule] is like switching from English to metric system,” Davis said. “It might be hard to adjust to at first, but in the long run, it’ll be beneficial.”

In fact, assistant principal Brian Safine has already noted some positive trends since the start of the school year. Tardies are down around 60 percent compared to the same point last year. In addition, students seem to be more alert in the mornings given that the start time is 25 minutes later, Safine said.

With break, lunch or tutorial between every period besides fifth and seventh period, Safine adds that students have more opportunities to “recharge their batteries.”

The initial effects of the new bell schedule seem positive, but principal Paul Robinson said school officials won’t know the full impact for a few years. Still, Safine said they are excited to get more data — both academic and behavioral — to further analyze the impact of the changes.

“While there is no perfect schedule, the rolling block gives students in strong academic programs the best chances for success,” Robinson said. “They have time to go deeper in their subjects, and time for relief from the daily grind.”