Thank God it’s Friday.

That’s the saying, right?

Well not for CHS students. Here, Fridays are met with gloom. I can recall multiple conversations I’ve had with my friends or overheard in passing with people saying something along the lines of “Ugh, it’s a Friday.”

Now, why is this the case? Four days out of the week, Community uses a block schedule, which has students taking three to four classes a day, depending on if you have a seventh hour. Without one, students get out of class at 1:55, an hour earlier than the other schools in the city operating on a traditional high school schedule.

Along with getting out earlier, these longer classes allow for teachers to go more in depth with content, and it also leads to less daily homework being assigned than at other schools. Additionally, it allows for more time to do homework before a due date.

But not on Fridays. For some classes on Thursday, assignments will be due on Friday, thus eliminating a grace period that lends a block schedule its legitimate merits.

Community has proudly upheld the label of being the alternative school in the district. But on Fridays, we’re just like everyone else. I understand that they put this in place to make sure classes meet evenly throughout the week, but there are other ways to solve this and make the schedule more ideal.

One change to the schedule that can be made is to only have block schedules, and switch off between a Monday and Tuesday schedule each Friday. People in favor of the current Friday schedule could say that it would get too confusing for students, but there can be actions taken to make it much easier. Throughout the week, teachers can make it known if the students will have that class on Friday, and forum leaders can give reminders to their students. It would take some adjustment, but nothing bad enough that equates to the dreaded Friday schedule.

Another alternative is to continue the schedule used in the 20-21 virtual school year: Having two of each block schedule days a week, and one day of asynchronous work on Wednesday. This allows for people to catch up on any work they need to do on Wednesdays, and still gives the grace period of at least a day for people to finish homework.

I believe there should be a change to the current schedule, in particular the Friday schedule. There are many alternatives that are less stressful, simpler and more productive than what is currently in place. Community should embrace the block schedules, and they are more than capable of adjusting the schedule to do this. If you enjoy getting out of school earlier, having less homework, and having more time to do homework, changing the schedule is the clear choice.