by Kanami Okabe, Editor-in-Chief
For the past few weeks, Palm Desert students have been attending one extra period each day. During this new timeslot, on one recent Thursday, students sitting in AP Environmental Studies were not learning about science. Instead, Dr. Alou-Hicks scanned student IDs with a handheld device (called a “Hero”) that resembles the portable scanners IKEA workers use at checkout. “This time is for you,” she repeated. This was no longer APES; it was Office Hours.
Office Hours, or a scheduled period for enrichment and remediation, officially began on September 19th. Administration unveiled the new program this year, shortening all class periods on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that Office Hours can take place before third period. According to the instructional videos that instructors have been required to show in the past weeks, Office Hours is a time for students to receive any necessary additional instruction or homework help. If teachers notice certain students require remedial lessons or need to make up a test, they can call students to their classroom during Office Hours. Otherwise, students can spend time on homework or enrichment in their teachers’ classrooms.
The new program has caused much confusion since the end of last year, in the absence of an official statement regarding the schedule change and procedures necessitated by Office Hours. While staff members attended multiple informational and training sessions, many students were only introduced to the initiative during the first Office Hours period, on the 19th. Senior Aleesha Patel notes that, until that point, “Office Hours was only a vague idea I heard about from other students. We never really got any clarification about it [from the school].”
This initial ambiguity caused many to doubt the effectiveness of Office Hours. Freshmen, in particular, were confused about the program and what it entailed. One such freshman, Bennett Creighton, has doubts about how Office Hours is being executed, suggesting more thought could be put into its implementation: “I like Office Hours, especially its concept, [and] I think its intentions are good, but I don’t know if [administration] know how to pull it off, exactly.”
Other students question the need for Office Hours, especially for AP and honors students. Among them is senior Marian Felipe, who criticizes enrichment options for students who don’t need remediation; she also characterizes the Hero scanner system as “Orwellian,” a worry echoed by many on campus. However, others on campus believe that Office Hours will prove beneficial for students’ busy schedules. Palm Desert students’ agendas often include extracurriculars and sports on top of schoolwork, leaving little time to make up missed tests, attend tutoring, or study for upcoming tests.
Besides falling grades, these packed schedules can be dangerous in other ways. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that seven out of ten high school students do not get the necessary eight hours of sleep, and in a recent NYU study, almost half of all students “reported feeling a great deal of stress on a daily basis.” Senior Calhoon Ledebur is among the overachieving students who juggle school and other activities; he is taking five AP classes this year. “Honestly, I can use Office Hours to do homework before I get home,” he says, on how this new program might free up his schedule from homework and studying.
In the upcoming months, as the campus adjusts to the program, opportunities will become available to students during the scheduled timeslot. The new PDHS Allin app, developed by Computer Science teacher Mr. Landfried, will become an efficient way for students to view offerings for enrichment. Students with a 3.0 GPA or higher and no failing grades in the past quarter will be granted “Aztec Scholar” status and given privileges during Office Hours that include access to the library and theater.
As for Dr. Alou-Hicks, she believes that Office Hours has a lot of potential. “The concept is innovative and it has the potential of developing into a powerful tool that will allow many students to catch up with their academics,” she says. However, like Marian Felipe, she has some misgivings about its benefits for more academic-minded students, questioning the fact that time is being taken from more advanced classes. In particular, the altered Office Hours schedule leaves less time for science classes, where students benefit from lengthier blocks of instruction time for “STEM, hands-on activities,” and labs. “It’s hard to implement changes that benefit all,” she says. “Time will tell.”