At the beginning of the 2022-23 school year at Schreiber High School, a new policy regarding canceled classes was put into place, which implemented a plan that absent teachers would have their classes covered by another Schreiber teacher.  

One of the reasons this policy was made was to respond to parents who were upset about their kids coming home early if their sixth period class was canceled.  Not only does this new policy serve parents by granting them more peace of mind, it also benefits students and teachers as well.  The teachers filling in for classes are compensated for the extra hours they work, which helps better support an often underpaid profession.  Students benefit because they will be able to keep up in classes where they would otherwise fall a day behind..  The addition of this policy as a whole was a good change and benefits students, parents, and teachers alike.

With this new policy being put into place, it has made it easier to find a space to do work or a space to stay when you have a scheduled off period.  Over the first weeks of school, the auditorium, a place where many people stay during their off periods, has been closed, making it more challenging to find somewhere to go with a period off.  As a result, many other common areas in the building such as the cafeteria, Commons, and library have become overcrowded during lunch and off periods.

“When I have offs, I struggle to find a quiet place to work because the library and Commons have no room,” said junior Jack Senders.

The common spaces fill up quickly and have barely enough space for the students who want to stay there.  This can cause issues, with students roaming the halls or leaving for home during their off periods.  By keeping students in classrooms instead, students are more motivated to focus on their homework or classwork, and prevent the school from dealing with the liability of students outside of classrooms.  The implementation of the new policy keeps students on task while providing a quiet place for them to work during an otherwise canceled class.  

In addition, students are now able to stay on schedule for each class even when their teacher is not there.  Under the new policy, teachers who are absent are required to post work for students to do during their class period.  This allows classes to avoid falling behind on the curriculum, which is especially useful in making sure students are prepared for AP exams, Regents, and finals.  

“The new change is good as we don’t fall behind in the curriculum and are still able to do work for the class,” said senior Nicolas Garcia.

This change also benefits the teachers, as they get paid extra for the classes that they cover.  The teachers that cover the classes are from any department and volunteer during their prep period, time where teachers can do miscellaneous work for their classes.  Thus, the teachers that cover classes are paid extra for working a period where they would often work anyway.  This helps further financially support the faculty.

The only downside of this new policy is that the teachers who cover classes often do not have the expertise needed to teach the material in class.  However, oftentimes the work covered in these classes are self-study assignments assigned by the class’s actual teacher.  As a result, students usually will not need the help of the supervising teacher.

Overall, the addition of this policy has helped the school by keeping students from being distracted and roaming the halls, clearing up common spaces, making sure classes stay on track with the curriculum, and financially supporting teachers. The addition of this new change has been beneficial to all Schreiber students and faculty.