On March 17, the Board of Education voted to move grades 7-12 to a trimester schedule for the 2021-2022 school year.

In general, the trimester schedule makes 3 major changes. One major change is the way the school year is set up. Instead of quarters or semesters, the year will be divided into 3 trimesters, hence the name trimester schedule.

The first trimester will be from Aug 23- Nov 5 (52 days). This will be called the fall trimester. The second trimester, the winter trimester, will be from Nov 8- Feb 25 (62 days). The third and final trimester will be from Feb 28- May 25 (55 days). The extra days between the trimesters include snow days and breaks.

The second major change is that instead of having four 80 minutes classes, there will be five 70 minute classes. These five classes meet daily, and could potentially mean less homework.

The third and probably the most exciting change is that students will have one hour lunch periods called power lunches. Lunches will last from 11:10-12:10. To read more about the power lunch click this link: https://phspublications.com/?p=1352&preview=true

Why make the change? With the trimester schedule, it introduces many chances to get extra credits and graduate on time. For example, if a student fails a trimester of English 1, they could retake it during another trimester and earn that credit. It also allows students to be able to focus on fewer classes and take more control of their schedule/day. Let’s say you do a school sport during the winter and know you are going to have a hard time completing homework; hypothetically you can alter your schedule to have the classes with the most homework during your spring and/or fall trimester.

“The trimester approach is more like what you would experience in college,” superintendent Dr. John Mulford said.

The trimester schedule has reported benefits for both students and teachers. It is reported that the trimester schedule increases graduation rates and student GPAs. It has also increased advanced course participations and achievement scores. Other benefits include better home/school balance, social environmental health and well-being focus, and better student-teacher relationships.