When I first heard that the school was going to open later, I was excited. This meant I could sleep in and actually get a good night’s rest. However, once I heard that school was going to get out at 3:45 p.m., I realized that I would need to come into the school in the morning to get some work done, considering we essentially lost an hour after school. I assumed that school would still open at 7 a.m., however, I quickly realized I was wrong. 

Other students like me need that time to meet with teachers, work on homework, and study. Most of us have a lot of extracurricular activities we go to right after school, making it really hard to meet with teachers in the afternoon. This makes SSRT and before school our only options. However, this year, with the hybrid schedule making us have SSRT only once every four days and making it just one session, before school has become our only choice available every day. As a result, students must choose what subject is most important to them to devote the sparse 30 minutes before school to, factoring in the 10 minutes you need to get to your class in. This forces us to prioritize one class over another.

Additionally, this year, the Carmel Clay Public Library closed due to remodeling. Many students used to gather here to work on group projects as it provided a common space for them to work. Now that this has been taken away from them, students still need a place to work. The school is the logical replacement as it is a neutral space for them to meet. However, with the school opening at 8 a.m, students again only have 30 minutes to meet and work on their projects. 

Furthermore, this may be a disadvantage for students with working parents. Parents that do not want their children taking the bus due to COVID-19 must take their kids to the school in between the short time period from when the building opens and when the academic day starts. If the school were to open at 7 a.m., like it has in the past, it would be easier on parents as they would have a longer window to get their kids to school. 

Conclusively, opening the school at 7 a.m., as it has in years past, will help students, staff and parents overall. This added time in the morning will allow those to make up for the lost time after school.

Click here to see CHS’ schedule with opening and closing times and here to see more of Eva’s work.