This year, as you all know, our school days have been extended by 10 extra minutes. According to the state of Michigan, schools are required to be in session 74,375 minutes a year. Con­trary to popular belief, the extension is not a result of last year’s snow days. Prior to the 2014-2015 school year, Michigan would allow schools to count professional develop­ment periods towards the school’s required amount of time. Pro­fessional development periods are days when school is not in session, and the RHS staff mem­bers get together to have meetings and handle necessary tasks.
This year we have 15 total professional development periods. However this year, the state of Michigan will only count days when students are in school. With this change we were significantly below the requirements, which the school is legally obligated to meet. Although, the district’s elementary and middle schools do not have to extend their school days due to the fact that they already meet the legal requirements.
“Sometimes the state over-regulates educa­tional systems,” drama and English teacher Dennis Borse said. “I believe it has little im­pact on student achieve­ment. With it being such a minuscule amount of time, students get noth­ing out of the extra two minutes per class.”
Some do not believe the extension is fair, which is causing frustra­tion in both students and teachers, because stu­dents are eager to leave at the previous dismissal time, which was 2:40 pm prior to this year.
“I really like how the hours end by fives. I think it benefits the students because it gives extra time for students to complete their work, and get help.” Algebra teacher Kaitlin King said. Despite differing opinions on the exten­sion, the change is a legal matter, and not of the school’s own choos­ing.