First, what is PLT? 

"Personalized Learning Time (PLT) is a more open-ended opportunity for students to work either independently or with staff support." (Hugh McRoberts Secondary's PLT Information Page) 

For the past 4 years, secondary schools in Richmond, B.C. have had PLT, time in which students can get help from teachers or their peers, remake missed tests/quizzes/labs, and do a variety of extracurriculars, such as academic contests, AP tests, and school/club sports. PLT can also be used as time for students to schedule appointments to avoid having to miss large periods of class time within the school year. 

In the upcoming school year (2025-2026), the Richmond school district has made the choice to remove the PLT system as students know it. These changes will affect you differently depending on what school you attend. The new standard that the Richmond School District is pushing upon all students is a 60-minute block between Blocks A and B. Students will have to work within a classroom for the duration of the block and will not be able to work elsewhere. 

Myself and other students at Hugh McRoberts Secondary would like to fight in order to keep and standardize our 100-minute PLT across the entire district.

The first thing to pay mind to is why this change is even happening in the first place. A few parents, having seen their children not using their PLT time as the district intended, decided to complain to the school district, leading to the review of and the potential future changes to our PLT system. This is extremely unfair to students who use their PLT for academic purposes, whether at home or in school. 

Now across ten public secondary schools in Richmond, one school has a 35-minute PLT, and four have a 55-minute PLT. Two have a 60-minute PLT, one a 75-minute PLT, and the final two have a 100-minute PLT. A pretty wide range, with the many extracurriculars and provincial required testing occurring within these PLT times, removing it —or even shortening it— will only lead to less time and likely more students falling behind. 

The removal of PLT will not only just affect the academic standing of many students but also their mental well-being, as PLT can also be used to talk to counselors and to have some downtime. It also saves students who have no other option but to take transit from having to worry about being late due to the morning rush hour.

The reason why we, a group of students at Hugh McRoberts, are making this petition is because we care about and value the well-being of all students within the entire district. PLT has only helped strengthen, certainly not hinder, our community and academic success. Hundreds of dozens of students should not have to suffer due to the personal choices of a couple individuals.

Sign now!