It’s a regular Monday afternoon.

The student, on the edge of their seat, counts down the final seconds till the end of class. The bell rings, and so the race begins. The student runs down the hallway in order to get to the stair before everyone else does but they are too late. The herd of cattle students is already there, squeezing and pushing their way up the stairs. The student is sweating and out of breath. Just as they get up the stairs, the bell rings. 

The reality is that too many students face unjust consequences after being late for class.  Students have to take drastic measures in order to get to class on time and not face the consequences.

Three minutes is not enough time in between classes.

Last year, students were given a total of four minutes in between classes along with a school that only had two floors. Now, at the new school, there are only three minutes, and three floors including the middle school. Because of the new school’s waterfall schedule, a class is dropped every day and time in between classes is cut in order to make classes longer.

The Issue 

When asking Pentucket students and teachers what they thought about the reduced time in between classes, there was an opinion across the board that three minutes is not enough time.

Pentucket Sophomore Catalina Colvin states, “For me, I don’t have enough time to get to my classes. I could run up the stairs and still not get there on time. Even if I have a slip some teachers do get mad if I’m late to class.” 

Many students can relate to Colvin’s issue and have identical or similar experiences. People think that these circumstances are ridiculous, considering a student may have a class on the first floor and then be expected to go the other side of the building up to the third floor with a small spaced staircase. In addition to this, it is not just one student that has to go to multiple floors, it is a whole bunch of all high school students trying to get to their other floor classes. 

Another issue that occurs with three minutes in between classes is the time students get to eat breakfast. Many students rely on school breakfast for their morning meal and many students don’t always get enough time in the morning to eat. Pentucket Sophomore Kat Valeri explains, “I think students don’t always have time to get breakfast. I know a lot of people that like to eat breakfast at school but don’t get to finish because some teachers don’t allow food in their classrooms.” 

Teachers also agree with students that three minutes isn’t enough time between classes. 9th grade U.S history teacher Mr. Richard explains his opinion on the matter. Richard stated, “What if I have to go to the bathroom? I don’t always have a paraprofessional in the class so I have to take class time away to go to the bathroom.” 

Overall, the combination of these issues only lead to more problems. The goal of the time in between classes is to have more, well spent time during the school day. However, that goal is not on track for success. So how can this be fixed?

How Can This Be Fixed?

A simple solution to the problem would be to add more time in between classes. However, doing this would have a major impact on the rest of the school day. Many people had their own opinions on how they would go about it. 

Mr. Richard an idea. He devised a plan that would give students seven minutes in between classes. Richard says, “Three minutes does not make or break a class.” By taking three minutes off of every class, students and teachers will be able to go to the bathroom, say hi to their friends, eat something, and make sure they can get to their next class by the time the bell rings.

Like Mr. Richard, many people came up with feasible plans that would work to benefit students and teachers. Now, the action that needs to be taken is to bring this issue to the attention of the school board. Without any action being taken to solve this matter, it won’t be solved at all. 

If students and teachers can come together to make their voices heard, Pentucket will be able to solve the issue of time in between classes.