As the new year rolls in, many changes have happened to not only the school building, but the school schedule as well. 20 additional minutes have been added to the school day. The day now starts 10 minutes earlier and ends 10 minutes later in comparison to previous years. With the additional 20 minutes, one of the major changes to the student’s schedule this year is the extended Personalized Learning Time (PLT). PLT is a period at the end of the school day when students are assigned a class to work on homework or get help from their teachers. For a number of years, PLT has lasted a mere 25 minutes, whereas this year, PLT has been extended to 45 minutes. 

The whole PLT schedule has been reworked. On Mondays and Fridays, club meetings for the English and Science departments take place. Tuesdays are Algebra Keystone Exam remediation along with make-up gym time for those who missed a P.E. class.  Wednesdays are Language Arts Remediation along with Big Brothers Big Sisters and club meetings for math, social studies and unified arts. Thursdays are for Biology Keystone Exam remediation. Some students jumped on the idea of additional time inside of school to complete homework, as well as  additional time for clubs, but some students turned up their noses at the additional 20 minutes inside of the building.

“It gives me more time to do my work but other than that it’s kind of boring. If I don’t have any work to do, I just kind of sit there in silence,” sophmore A.J. Wolfe said. 

One of the main objectives that the extended PLT hoped to accomplish was to raise Keystone Exam scores. 

“Keystone Exam remediation with Act 158 played a big role in moving from 25 minutes to 45 minutes,” Steven Mott, high school principal said. 

The extended school day will give students more time to do their homework or see teachers if they are having trouble understanding assignments. 

“In our Spring Keystone Exams, we have shown growth in all three of our testing areas. I’m hoping to see us continue to grow and continue to move in the right direction,” Mott said.

 In addition to more time to complete homework and get help from teachers, the additional PLT allows for longer club meetings. Whether or not this is too much time for clubs, is still up in the air. 

“I think there was already enough time. I feel like it was more productive too. Being in there for almost an hour, things get off topic and nothing ends up getting done anyways.” junior Wyatte Lewis said.

Others disagree, “You can really dive deep during that period of time, I think this is a big win!” said Mott when referring to additional time for club meetings. 

In conclusion, whether in favor or against the change it’s certainly something that every teacher and student will have to get used to during this school year. Every decision made will have its pros and cons, but continuing to work hard and complete assignments is the most that we students can do.