The Debate Over Seven Periods

Over the last few weeks, the Page High School administration has been debating whether to make next year seven periods, as opposed to six. Over the past two years, we have had six periods, the year before that was seven periods, and the 2016-2017 school year was six periods with fourth period being a block schedule. Teachers have given their input into the schedule, and parents even had the opportunity to give their input through the Page High School website. Many students have advocated for six periods, particularly for reasons as to not wanting the workload of an additional class, while other students who hope to boost their GPA or participate in an extra class want seven periods.

During Mr. Naglee’s weekly Sunday night phone call on February 16, he announced that Page would be having a seven period schedule next year, abolishing zero periods. Page will be the only school on a seven period schedule, but it is rumored that other Guilford County Schools will follow shortly after.

Mrs. Katz, a math teacher at Page who has seen many different schedules over the past few years, gave her input on the subject. She said that one of the reasons she believes that Page is going on a seven period schedule is so that more students take electives. However, some students worry about their GPA and how another class will lower it if they do not take an additional AP or IB class but instead take a regular or honors elective. If you plan on taking an elective, there are many ways to go. Math courses include AP Statistics and Accounting, English courses include Journalism and Creative Writing, and three different languages are available at Page. There are many other electives to choose from, but for those who are not interested in taking another class, the administrators are considering allowing some seniors to have the opportunity to leave school early or come to school late, participating in only six different classes. Within the next few weeks, class registration will take place so that Page’s counselors can begin planning for the 2020-2021 school year.