BY GRACE BARRETT

The WHS administration has recently proposed the idea of taking away academic lab time during delayed starts. By doing so, each class would be slightly longer, allowing teachers to have more time to instruct their lessons.

On delayed starts, which occur on the first Thursday of each month, classes begin at 9:35 am rather than 7:35 am, giving students an extra two hours in the morning. Because of this, each class lasts for roughly 30 minutes. Academic lab, however, remains the same length, still giving students and teachers extra time to complete assignments and work together.

When first introducing his new proposition, Dr. Suber’s main concern was having enough time for each structured core class.

“It just comes down to more academic time,” Suber said. “We have core classes that have less of a time duration than academic lab.”

Many share this concern, preferring to extend class periods by opting out of lab time. 

However, the majority of the WHS student body does not support this new system. In a poll conducted with students at the high school, 84.6% were against the idea of taking away lab time, while only 15.4% supported it.

Among the students that supported an altered delayed start schedule, some believe that having such a long academic lab is wasteful.

“[Getting rid of it] will give more time in core classes and allow teachers to be able to get in a full lesson,” said Somer Witte, a student at WHS.

Despite the lack of attention toward core classes, most students argue that academic lab time is necessary for obtaining an effective education.

A common trend among the students who voted against this new proposition was their concern about losing important one-on-one time with teachers. Because academic lab serves as a study hall, WHS students often retake quizzes and tests that they missed due to previous absences during this time. Furthermore, if a student doesn’t fully understand a specific subject or lesson, they have an opportunity to get extra help from their resources. 

“Academic lab is nice for when you need help with another class,” said Rylee Bowman, a freshman at WHS. “We don’t have the opportunity to if it gets taken away.” 

As well as this, academic lab serves as a mental break for students. To some, having seven classes in a row can be overwhelming. Therefore, many argue that having time to relax at school is important to their mental health.

Anthony Bennett, a junior at WHS explained his opinion on why keeping academic lab is necessary.

“It’s everyone’s break in the middle of the day,” Bennett said. “It’s also how some kids do their homework.”

Throughout the numerous responses to the survey, having time to complete homework most frequently appeared as a reason to keep academic lab. 

Most students at WHS participate in extracurricular activities, sports, or even jobs after school. These activities often take multiple hours at a time, multiple days a week. With these students often struggling to find time to do homework in the evening, having an extra period to complete assignments during the school day is extremely beneficial. 

Teachers often share this opinion with the students. 

“Academic lab is important because it allows students to have the opportunity to see teachers with questions or any concerns they have,” said Mr. Singleton, an English teacher at Wadsworth High School. “It’s like a safety net that all the kids know is there.”

As well as this, Singleton expressed his concern about when students would have time to discuss issues with teachers.

“They can’t come to us after the bell because they only have four minutes to get to the next class, or after school because they have to get to the bus or practices,” Singleton said. “If not [during the school day], then when will they have the time?” 

Overall, in the eyes of students and teachers, academic lab has proven to be extremely beneficial. 

“Even just one day a month, the amount of support for academic lab is overwhelming,” Suber said. “It looks like we are going to end up keeping it.”