Activities at school should not interfere with lunchtime. Though CHS students are fortunate to have the longest lunch period in the district, this time still needs to be respected. Short or non-existent lunch breaks can impact students’ mental and physical health, not allowing them a chance to debrief and relax before returning to their academics. A mental break is not a privilege, it is a necessity.

Students’ basic human needs are not always met, especially with the pressure to be present in class, get good grades, and participate in extracurricular activities, students need a mental break during the day. A 45-minute lunchtime gives kids the opportunity to reset, rest, and prepare for the rest of their day. High school students don’t have recess so lunchtime is a necessary mid-day break.

Students, especially student-athletes, need the time to refuel their bodies. Students may be going many hours between breakfast and dinner because of school, extracurriculars, or work, influencing the importance of setting aside uninterrupted time for lunch.

Expecting students to retake a test or go to an assembly during lunchtime is rather unreasonable, especially for neurodivergent students, this sort of multitasking can be challenging. Teenage brains are still developing and may not have the executive functioning skills to work and eat.

One solution is to make assemblies, like grade-level meetings or Lunch & Learns, take up half of the lunch period. This would give students about 20 minutes to eat undisturbed, which is roughly the same amount of time they would have at another AAPS school.

To support the needs of all students, we need to stop disrupting lunchtime.