Ninth graders may have a hard time seeing so many classes in their schedules and academic plans at the beginning of the school year. Photo courtesy of freshman Cadence Flickinger.
San Luis Obispo High School has been on the trimester schedule for over 22 years now. While it seems to be effective in turning out great students, it does pose as a harsh transition for incoming freshmen.
Laguna Middle School, where a majority of freshmen come from, is still using the semester system for their classes. While they will most likely assimilate in the next year or so, this can still be a jarring change for those who need more time for learning comprehension.
“The fast pace might make it harder because for some learners they might need more time to retain information. I’m one of those learners so the more time I have, the easier it is and the faster it goes, the harder it gets,” said freshman Natalie Bernal Santos.
But it’s not a downside for all students. Electives are something that a lot of students deeply enjoy here at SLOHS. Our school offers an amazing selection of top-tier-quality, unique electives and the trimesters allow more time for them.
“I like that we can have more classes than if we had a semester system, but it’s also a lot to schedule before the school year starts,” said freshman Hala Abo Ismail.
A regular semester schedule with five classes a day has ten classes in a school year and forty in all of high school. If a school uses a trimester schedule with five classes a day, students will take fifteen classes a year and sixty in all of high school.
Of course some of these are taken up by three math classes instead of two, but a majority of the twenty extra classes (and grades) are electives.
Another variable is the short time it takes to get a final grade. If a student starts with an A in a class they have less time and assignments to lose that A. But if a student starts with an F or a D, they have less time to get it up to passing.
“This is my first time teaching in a trimester system and it is a bit of an adjustment as I am used to the semester system. I feel grateful to see my students for seventy minutes every day, but knowing that schedules alter in November is something that makes me feel excited and sad. In the semester system, I was able to see the same students all school year; this consistency and community was, and still is, one of my favorite parts about teaching,” said SLOHS Geometry teacher Roxanne Politte.
While it does take some adjusting to any student, it truly is just personal preference. Some freshmen quickly acclimate to their new pace while others take more time and even struggle a bit.
Overall, seeing how long trimesters have worked for SLOHS, it looks like new freshmen will continue doing this little dance in years to come.
Source: nassp.org
