Is Plus 1 a Pass or Fail?

At the beginning of the 2014 school year, a new 30-minute period was implemented between second and third period. This period originally had a different activity every day of the week. Monday was Organization, Tuesday was Claim Evidence Reasoning (CER), Wednesday was Math, Thursday was SAT/ACT prep and Friday was Study Hall. Lunch had also gone from four lunches during third period to two lunches before third period.

However, because of opinions from some students and teachers, the school administration decided to make some changes to the Plus 1 curriculum.

“When I went around during Plus 1 and talked to various students during Plus 1, I asked them several questions,” assistant principal Janice Giles said. “The first one was, ‘Monday through Friday, which day do you like the least, and which day do you like the best?’ It was all varying. Juniors loved SAT day, and seniors hated SAT day, but the message that we got was that [students] wanted something personalized and unique, and that different grades need different things.”

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were all changed to study hall, where students can work on assignments from other classes or study silently. In addition, students can receive passes to meet with other teachers for additional support. CER and Organization now alternate on Tuesdays, and “life skills” alternating with SAT/ACT prep takes place on Thursdays.

“We heard there was a need for more personalization with Plus 1 and more opportunities for remediation, so that’s why within the new bell schedule, we’re also going to have a new Plus 1 schedule,” Giles said. “Monday, Wednesday and Friday are silent study hall and remediation, and we only have the required activities on Tuesday and Thursday.“

Along with the new changes made to Plus 1, the lunch schedule also changed. Instead of two separate lunches, lunch was changed changed back to four lunches during third period. Students must eat only in the cafeteria, because there are not enough staff members to be on duty for four separate lunches inside and outside.

Before the new changes were made to Plus 1, students wanted more study hall. Many students felt that the other days of the week weren’t helpful, and they just wanted a chance to work on their assignments from other classes.

Shannon Wolfgang, Distance Learning Facilitator, said she often saw students coming into the library trying to get out of Plus 1. However, she said students trying to get out of Plus 1 want to actually work on their assignments from their other classes.

Seniors Jalen Smith and Justus Thompson both say that Plus 1 is “pointless” and that it does not help them in their other classes. They also say that because they’ve already taken the SAT, the SAT/ACT prep on Thursdays is not helpful.

Since Plus 1 is relatively new, opinions from students differ. Some students, like Smith and Thompson, had negative feelings toward Plus 1, and others had a different point of view.

Morgan Sowards, a junior, believes that Plus 1 will help her in the future. She says it helps her get work done and prepare for the SAT or ACT. Although Plus 1 is beneficial to her, she wishes Plus 1 had more study hall or focused more on college preparation.

Recently, about 300 students were surveyed about the original Plus 1. Study hall was preferred two and a half times more than SAT/ACT prep. 49.6 percent of students also said Plus 1 was beneficial.

Another survey was conducted after the changes to Plus 1 were made. About 200 students were surveyed, and the system of two separate lunches was preferred about four and a half more times than four lunches. 74.5 percent of students also said that they liked the new changes made to Plus 1.

“There’s some good and some bad to it,” freshman Morgan Simmons said. “I like how it allows us to go to different places, like actually see teachers during Plus 1, and it gives us study hall, but the [four] lunches are kind of confusing.”

Along with the new lunch schedule, students are also responding to the new activities during Plus 1.

Seniors Bailey Revels, Amanda Peele, and Cassidy Welge all agree that although changes have been made to Plus 1, they still wish there was more study hall so that they can fill out college applications or scholarship information.

“I would rather spend half an hour working on my scholarships than talking about whether or not my possible child is going to play football,” said Peele, referring to a recent CER writing topic. “So I think it’s a good idea, just not for seniors.”

-By Leah Kallam