According to results from a recent online poll, most 7th and 8th graders at Odyssey Charter School seem to prefer the schedule changes that school administrators commenced at the start of the 2022-2023 school year.

The biggest change that the school made involved the daily class schedule. Previously, middle school students attended periods one through five, in order, at the same time each day. This school year, students attend periods one through six, in order, on “A” days. On “B” days, however, classes are almost completely reversed, with students attending sixth period to start the day and first period to end the day.

Of the 231 students who responded to the online poll, 48.9% said they prefer the new rotating schedule, while 21.2% said they prefer the previous schedule. 29.9% said they do not have a preference.

Adriane Rodriguez, dean of Odyssey Charter Middle School, said the change to a rotating schedule was made to help students perform better in the classroom.

“The administrative team got together and went over some research that showed that taking classes at different times of the day improves students’ moods and how they perform academically,” Rodriguez said. “So after we all got together and discussed the research, we said, ‘Let’s give it a try and see if it works.’”

By adding a sixth period to the daily schedule this school year, it affected science and social studies because students now attend those two classes each school day. This change was suggested by teachers and students.

“Students and teachers felt that they were missing out on a lot of material by having science and social studies every other day,” Rodriguez said.

Another change made to the schedule is that students now have study hall and recess. Last year, students had 30 minutes of homeroom each day, just before or after their lunch. This year, students have 30 minutes of study hall on “A” days and 30 minutes of recess on “B” days.

For the online poll, students were asked which schedule they prefer. The results were 79.7% prefer study hall and recess, 11.7% prefer homeroom only, and 8.7% do not have a preference.

“We anticipated that if students were allowed to go outside and blow off a little steam for recess, we would see an improvement in classroom behaviors,” Rodriguez said.