Petition Urges South Brunswick Schools To Change Schedule

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A new petition on change.org is urging South Brunswick School District officials to make changes to the hybrid schedule due to “massive workloads.”

Started by high school senior Emily Peterson, the petition comes days before the district opens for in-person learning in the hybrid model on Feb. 1.

“Teachers continue to give us massive workloads in the midst of a pandemic, with no sympathy,” the petition said.

Beginning Monday, high school students will begin their day at 7:30 a.m., instead of the current 9 a.m. This change is schedule was made to accommodate remote and in-person students.

“Such a radical change in schedule, combined with so much work has made learning not conducive for the virtual setting,” the petition said.

In her petition, Peterson argued that studies showed teens perform better at school which had a later start time.

“It's already harder for us to focus outside of the school setting with multiple distractions, so a later start time, like we've been doing for the entire first half of the year, would be optimal.”

Back in October 2020, a similar petition did the rounds ahead of in-person classes beginning Nov. 16. But district officials did not budge at the time. However, with rising COVID-19 cases, the district couldn’t reopen for in-person learning, so the 9 a.m. - 3 a.m. schedule remained.

But this time around, the district is going ahead with plans for in-person learning.

According to the petition, virtual learning has proved that school schedules can be flexible, and hence requested for a change.

In a survey conducted last October, high school students said they preferred a delayed start to classes.

With students already settled into a routine, they feared a change in timing for virtual learning would not only affect their mental health, but their ability to balance academics and extracurricular activities.

The petition said school district officials should consult with experts and students before making changes to the schedule.

“During unprecedented times, I think us students should be more considered and listened to as mental health is a continuous struggle, many of us feel unable to complete all of our work, and this has never happened before,” said the petition.

The petition pointed out that the new schedule also adds an extra 25 minute session once a week for each class. This seemed like a “symbolic effort to keep us in school longer with no actual purpose.”

“Changing the schedule through perhaps revising the start time and getting rid of the extra 25-minute sessions would be greatly appreciated and a step in the right direction.”

The new schedule was made to accommodate in-person and virtual students as well as take into account transportation.

But the petition said these issues were “worthy of pushing through.”

As of Friday morning, the petition garnered more than 500 signatures, with an aim to reach 1000.

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