Eight may not be enough

WHHS students campaign for their old 9-period schedule

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Due to budget cuts in 2013, the West Hempstead School District was forced to make some tough decisions, which included reducing the number of periods in the school day at the high school from nine to eight that September.

A year and a half later, many students are still not happy with the decision, including Maheen Khan and Riya Kaushal, juniors at the high school. “We were told at the time that the school district either had to close the kindergarten or change our schedule to an eight-period school day,” Khan recalled.

Now some students go without a lunch period in order to take classes they need or want. “I can’t take the electives I want to take, like computer programming or a music class, and I don’t have a lunch period anymore,” Khan said. “Other kids have had to drop certain classes so they can take the remedial classes they need to graduate.”

Students who choose to forgo a lunch period are forced to miss 10 minutes or more of class time in order to go to the cafeteria, buy lunch and bring it back to their classrooms. “Our teachers let us go get lunch, but it cuts off from our learning,” Khan said. “I go to lunch during fifth period, and though we have four minutes to get from class to class, it takes at least 10 to stand on line to just get food. Our classes are only 45 minutes, so we’re missing a lot of what is being taught in class because of it.”

She added that some of her classes are Advanced Placement, and she fears that missing class time just to get lunch will be detrimental to her final grade.

In an effort to raise awareness of the issue, the girls have been attending the school district’s budget and PTA meetings. “We go to the Budget Café meetings, but we really don’t know enough about the district’s budget to suggest solutions ourselves,” Khan said. “We can only raise awareness.”

Both pointed out, however, that there were only about 20 people at the Budget Café meetings — not nearly a big enough crowd for their purposes. Their guidance counselor suggested that they contact local media about their plight, and circulate a petition. To date they have 200 signatures, mostly of students and a few parents. “A lot of teachers also want nine periods, but they aren’t allowed to sign petitions,” Khan said.

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