A committee of teachers, counselors and administrators has made a proposal to change Flex next year. Although nothing is finalized, these proposed changes include having a 30-minute W4 class, followed by an hour-long period called “Atom Time” that would function similarly to Flex.

W4 would be a 30-minute class during which teachers would conduct all of the activities that would normally take up W2 time on White Days, such as morning announcements, the SR&R video and the Pledge of Allegiance. W4 would be implemented by the 2nd or 3rd week of school.

The proposal states that during W4 students would go to their assigned classes. The W4 class would be comprised of 15-18 students, based on last names and grade levels.  According to the committee, the addition of a permanent class assignment that lasts all four years will offer a little more stability to the Flex schedule.

Under Atom Time, the student body will be separated into three groups: Atoms in Good Standing (students whose grades are Cs and above with no unexcused absences, excessive tardies, or behavior conflicts), Atoms not in Good Standing (students with Cs or higher, but who may have unexcused tardies, a suspension on record, referrals, or excessive tardies) and Directed Students (students with any Ds or Fs).

“We are looking at the entire student body…whether it is an IB diploma candidate, a special ed student, a general education student, or an ESOL student. This is a support mechanism for all students, not a class division,” Assistant Principal Vincent Randazzo said.

Students will be separated into these groups starting next year, and their statuses will be dependent on their grades, attendance, behavior history and SOL scores from the previous year. Students’ statuses will also be refreshed either every interim or every quarter.

Atoms in Good Standing will be able to go to any classroom, the library, the computer labs and more. The library will be able to take about 100 students, who will also be able to meet with teachers to catch up on notes and missed material. Students can also meet with counselors, a change since most counselor meetings involve pulling a student out of class or meeting after school. Another major change is that students will be able to conduct club meetings and activities during Atom Time.

The Atoms not in Good Standing will have to either stay in their W4 class, or attend the academic support classes. Meanwhile, Directed Students will go to a specific teacher where they will receive academic support.

Atom Time is the brainchild of several months’ work by the Enhanced Academic Support Team (EAST) Committee. EAST was created to come up with an intelligent solution to institute more time for academic support.

“There was a big push to have remediation available during the day. The goal of the committee was to come up with an intelligent plan to feasibly meet the needs of everyone involved,” science teacher and committee member Claudia Lemus said.

In the event of collaboration, W4 will be skipped, but there will still be an Atom Time.

“Collaboration and Atom Time details [are] still being worked out,” Randazzo said.

Issac Boakye, a chemistry teacher known for teaching new lessons during Flex, welcomes this new change.

“It’s a good opportunity for struggling students to get help, and for good students to have more time on projects. It also reduces the time lost when counselors call on students,” Boakye said.

Other teachers seem to agree that Atom Time will not create divisions between students because of their grades.

“Mount Vernon and Lee have similar programs, I actually think that with the extra remediation opportunities, we will be closing in on the achievement gap,” psychology teacher Katie Gould said.

The EAST Committee has yet to issue a definitive stance on some aspects of the proposal. Students will be notified of their status with a letter in their first W4 class.

“You should not be afraid of change,” Boakye said. “People only do changes when the old system has a problem.”

More information will be handed out in student information packets in August.