For many students, trying to find enough time in the school day to finish assignments, study or read can be a challenge. In order to give students this time, one change made to the schedule this year was to have “Chieftain Time” every day. Instead of the Tuesday/Thursday schedule of Access Period for the last 30 minutes of the day, this year students will have CT every day for that same amount of time. This change was directly motivated by student feedback.
Last year, Yutan principal Stefanie Novotny sent out a survey to all students about Access Period preferences. In the survey, 85.6 percent of students said they needed a study hall during the day, and more than half said they needed it daily.
“We really tried to use the data from students and look at how we could shape it to make it more meaningful for them, but then also giving them time to work as well,” Novotny said. “It sounds like it’s changed kind of throughout the years. And so it’s really about what we can do to best fit our students’ needs.”
Not only is Chieftain Time now every day, but those students who struggle with math and English can get the help they need right away.
“Mrs. Hansen and Mrs. Trevarrow do not have kids assigned to them, and so they’ll be able to help support students. Now that we have our NSCAS beginning for our junior high kids, they’ll be able to take a look at some of those skill deficits that our students have and be able to help support them during that time,” Novotny said. Even though the changes were motivated by student needs, the teachers are also happy with the change.
“A lot of our students have activities and leave early. They weren’t benefiting from it (access period). They weren’t getting to utilize it because they had activities that they’re leaving for, so they were always gone. So in addition to student input, I think the teachers felt daily is a better option because it gives you more opportunities to get your homework completed, which is what we wanted,” Yutan teacher Chris Feller said.
In addition to these adjustments, Chieftain Time will have designated activities on specific days of the week. Mondays there will be social and emotional learning (SEL) topics, Wednesdays are reserved for extracurricular meetings and Fridays will be used for assemblies.
“We want to make sure that we’re still teaching, so we’ve implemented some social emotional learning for students. Those are just skills that we know that all students need,” Novotny said.
Most of the students feel that daily Chieftain Time is a better option because of complex student schedules and workloads.
“I like the everyday Chieftain Time because I have homework almost every day, especially in my college classes. So it’s nice to get time to work on it every day,” junior Lexi Bisaillon said.
The students also appreciate the consistent schedule.
“I didn’t think that we would actually get it (Chieftain Time) every day of the week because last year was just Tuesday, Thursdays, so that was different for all of us,” senior Britney Zeleny said. “I like having it every day because it’s just like the same schedule, and it’s easier to remember.”
Overall, students and teachers are appreciating the extra time and hoping that this time the change will stay longer.
“I would like to see us find a plan that works and stick with it. It’s as frustrating for the teachers as it is for students when we change it every year because there is no normal. We don’t know what normal is,” Feller said. “So I think it’s important that when we find something that does work well, that we stick with it for a few years, so that everybody gets comfortable with it. And then fall into a routine and it’s all, you know, the way it’s supposed to be.”
