LaGuardia HS: Make LaGuardia's School Day Shorter!

As all LaGuardia students are or should be aware of, we have the longest school day out of any New York City Public School. Our regular schedule is from 8:00-4:09. This is a full 8 hours of school, and ten periods of classes (yes, TEN PERIODS) Due to many students living far from the school and having a long commute (especially since dismissal time is during rush hour and many students take public transportation), they do not have a sufficient amount of time to participate in extracurriculars (if they have any), get home, complete their homework, study for exams, eat dinner, and go to bed at a reasonable hour. I have asked many LaGuardia students how much they commute per day, and the average was two hours. This time could be spent studying, and doing extracurriculars that they enjoy.  LaGuardia students are under tremendous stress as is, balancing their academic lives with their arts classes PLUS the anxiety of COVID. 

 

Students are under an overwhelming amount of stress as-is because of COVID, and everything having to do with it. Students have to commute in packed trains, wear masks all day and social distance with each other. This is another layer of stress that is directly leading to an increased amount of depression and lack of motivation at LaGuardia. The constant, incessant alerts that students have been receiving about being exposed to someone with COVID has been absolutely absurd and has created a lot of anxiety among everyone at LaGuardia. I have noticed a decrease in interest in going to school among my peers, and many students have stopped going to school because they do not feel safe. Teachers seem tired as well. I once heard a student say "I'm so upset- I tested negative. I don't want to be here." Some students would rather get COVID and miss school than to step into the building every day filled to the brim in stress. My proposition would decrease exposure among students by limiting the time spent at school as well as boost moral. 

I personally end at 4:09, and get home around 5:30. Getting home at this time doesn’t let me have fun or socialize with my friends, and barely lets me get my homework done in time. The only thing I can do after school is work, which is what i’ve already been doing for the past 8 hours. It can be strenuous. These late schedules can leave students feeling unmotivated in their academic lives and can lead to more misbehavior in classes or in school in general. The LaGuardia staff must realize that letting these kids out when the sun is setting can worsen students behavior and motivation. 

 The average teen needs between 9 and 9 1/2 hours of sleep, and from my own experiences and the experiences of my peers, I can confidently confirm that we are not getting enough sleep. Sleep deprivation can result in serious conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, etc. It also actually results in lower GPAs and an increased risk of academic failure. And I'm sure that many teachers are stressed and sleep deprived as well, and as a result, they will not be able to teach as efficiently.

Some may argue that this isn't a worthy cause because when students auditioned and agreed to go to this school, the long day is a part of the deal. Yes, it is true that the long day was something silently agreed upon when we stepped foot into the building on the first day, but it wasn't something students were happy about. To clarify- we agreed on the balance of school and the arts and being able to pursue what we love. However, we never agreed to the fact that we'd lose precious hours of sleep and feel a sense of dread whenever we enter the building before the sun comes up. If this school is truly about having teenagers pursue the arts, what about creating a safe, healthy environment in which artistically gifted students can come in with their A-game, ready to learn and perform? Keeping us in the building for such an extended period of time doesn't allow us to be fully prepared to excel. 

Thus, I believe that reducing the amount of time we are in school will be very beneficial to students and staff. I propose that we take 3-4 minutes off of each class period, or have every day be on a conference day schedule, which doesn't shorten the period by too much, but it will let us out of school earlier. Being dismissed even 30-40 minutes earlier can make a huge difference! 

Here is an academic schedule for LaGuardia that I believe would be the most efficient and lead to increased student performance, motivation and happiness. 

1- 8:00-8:41 (41 mins) 

2- 8:45-9:26 (41 mins) 

3- 9:30-10:15 (45 mins) 

4- 10:18-10:59 (41 mins) 

5- 11:03-11:44 (41 mins) 

6- 11:48- 12:29 (41 mins) 

7- 12:31-1:12 (41 mins) 

8- 1:16-1:57 (41 mins) 

9- 2:01-2:42 (41 mins) 

10- 2:46-3:27 (41 mins) 

 

A few NYC schools with shorter periods/school day:

Stuyvesant - 41 min, ends 3:35 (GPA: 93) 
Bronx Science - 41 min, ends 3:38 (GPA:90) 
Brooklyn Tech - 41 to 43 min, ends 3:35 (98% graduation rate) 
Brooklyn Latin - 30 to 45 min, ends 3:10 (95% standardized test performance)