Glendale Adds School Days Before Exams

The Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) invited its faculty members, parents, and students to be part of planning for future school calendars. According to the GUSD website, the school district is currently in the process of shifting the calendar forward so students can have more instructional days before the AP exams and the final exams.

Last year, some parents and students in the district brought their concerns to the district because they thought their school teachers weren’t giving their students enough time to study for their AP exams in May. District answered them by saying students will have the same number of days of instruction, but what they can do is to shift the calendar forward.

Problems were about to be solved, until another group of students parents argued they are going to lose several student holidays such as Thanksgiving break and Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. The district dealt with this disagreement by conducting a survey on its website and letting teachers, students, and parents freely discuss their grievances.

Local techers voiced their concerns about GUSD’s calendar change. Mrs. Engen, an AP teacher in Crescenta Valley High School (CVHS) told JSR, “The idea of going back to the ‘old way’ of four years ago, terrifies me because it means that students have to learn each chapter two or three days faster. If a district moves the calendar forward, it means they are allowing us to have more instructional days before the AP exam and final exams. However, I doubt this is a well-made decision because students might take final exams after the winter break.”

Mrs. Engen added that winter break is for students to rest, so forcing them to study during the break will lower their grades on final exams. She told JSR that the calendar change will also be a great burden for teachers because most teachers, including her, use winter break to write recommendation letters for their students.

Some students voiced their disagreement with the decision to shift the schedule forward. Joyce Kang–a student in the Glendale district–told JSR, “Students don’t need any extra instructional days before finals or AP exams. Most of them are done with their textbooks in the middle of April, and one month before the AP exam is enough for them to study. Giving them extra time, by scheduling final exams after winter break, will make students to lose their…studying [rhythm].”

However, some students expressed different opinions. Eunice Kim–a student at Glendale High School–told JSR, “Fewer instructional days would have been stressful, especially for those who take more than three AP classes, because AP exams require more time to study for.”

According to the district’s website, GUSD is currently inviting its community members to attend and be part of planning for future school calendars. GUSD is also accepting online surveys, which are currently available. They will be accessible through Feb. 24.