Despite a long and stressful night filled with extra curricular activities, homework, studying and little sleep, work still remains incomplete. Luckily, Flex offers a solution to your time management issues… or so we think.

Flex was created over 10 years ago and was designated for educational purposes. The main idea behind the creation of Flex was to ensure students fully understood what was to be covered by the SOL standardized tests with opportunities to review material covered in previous instructional periods.

The official teacher handout describing the function of Flex has suggested uses for the separate 45 minute blocks, such as individual help, make-up work, re-testing material, quiet studying and homework.

However, in recent years, teachers have strayed away from the intended objective.

AHS’s Flex periods have been a model for other schools across both the county and the nation as a means of improving student performance on these standardized tests.
However, instructors are now using this time to introduce new material, despite the handout explicitly stating it should not be used for new concepts.

Because individual students leave the classroom for other make-up work, academy classes, group meetings or mediation, it is unfair for a student to miss required class work.
“It really annoys me when I have to do work in Flex because half of the time I am unprepared for class,” junior Ryan Miller said. “I fear missing something important in a Flex period if I go to visit my counselor.”

Flex has lost all flexibility. It seems like today the only way to “flex out’” is with a mandate signed and stamped by President Obama two weeks prior to your inquiry.
When this personal letter from the president is finally approved, teachers take it as a personal offense that you would dare to miss their period.

They see everything but their class as unimportant. We are not saying Flex should be solely free time. Please, all we are asking for is a little extra time for homework and a respite from the stressful grind of non-stop instruction; all we want is a little Flex-Ability.