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- English teacher Lyn Montague helps freshman Grace Raczek-Hoffman on an essay during X-block Thursday.
Currently, there are two X-block periods. One is after school Mondays and the other is after school Thursdays. According to the student handbook, X-blocks are an official part of the school day. During X-block, teachers are available for extra help, clubs meet, a few classes meet and occasionally sports teams meet.
According to the student handbook, X-block is set up so that academic responsibilities take priority over sports and clubs. Students with many commitments, however, sometimes have difficulty finding enough time to meet with teachers. To make sure students have enough time for extra help, this school’s policies regarding X-block should be revised.
We propose that one day of X-block be for academics only, meaning clubs and sports teams would not meet. The other X-block would be for club meetings. Students with no clubs to attend could still speak to teachers during the club X-block. With this revision, students would have fewer conflicting meetings during X-block. In addition, they would be able to guarantee meetings with their teachers at least once a week.
Counselor Matthew Ford and Spanish teacher Daniel Fabrizio lead the Use of X-block Vision 2013 Group, which is a committee dedicated to better organizing and defining X-block. This group will help revise X-block, hopefully making it more useful for students.
Students would have an easier time keeping up with their studies if new X-block guidelines were implemented.
Implementing the new X-block format would ensure that students still stay active with extracurricular activities, while still allotting time to speak with teachers.