Hillcrest Bell Schedule

  At Hillcrest High School we prioritize education and safety. Upon the 2023-24 school year, significant changes have been made to the bell schedule, which has caused a spark in conversation among students and staff. Hillcrest previously followed a two session schedule, meaning there would be a 1-8 or a 2-9 schedule on student’s programs. This would allow for students to leave earlier or later depending on what their schedule looked like. Amid this change, many students and staff have expressed concerns regarding safety and overall flow of school, on the contrary, there has been positive feedback surveyed from students surrounding this matter.  

 The schedule change has generated both positive and negative impacts among students. On the positive side, the revised schedule has created additional time for extracurricular activities, collaborative projects, one on one time to meet with teachers and staff, fostering a more unified approach to school. On the contrary, students are struggling to adapt to the change due to the time difference of the schedule they used to follow. This has shocked the school. Statistically speaking, lateness & attendance rates have plummeted since the previous school year. With dismissal being at a fixed time for the whole school, we've had terrible encounters with student traffic. This has upset many people due to its chaotic nature.  Here are statements concerning the matter from individuals that attend Hillcrest High School. 

We spoke to seniors and a sophomore on their perspectives of this change. These students were used to our former schedule.  

Senior student mentions how he feels unsafe commuting under the new bell schedule due to traffic and outside chaos amid dismissal. “I feel like this is not a development for our school, they're too many people in our school, honestly it feels kinda unsafe going in and out of school when it is crowded and you never know if an accident can happen.” 

A Sophomore student mentions how she feels about coming inside the building in the morning “So I was here last year when there were two schedules and I feel like the flow was so much better. It takes 10 minutes to get inside the building so I can't even get inside by 8 and make it upstairs in 3-5 minutes.” 

As we spoke to seniors and sophomores about their views on the bell schedule, we also spoke to a freshman who is new to the school and isn't aware of the previous year schedule. We explained to her how the bell schedule was in the past and asked her how she likes the current schedule. 

She mentioned how she likes the current schedule however she believes it can be chaotic. 

We also had the chance to speak with Mr. Rufo and Mrs Frazier on their views of the schedule. This is what they had to say. 

Mr. Rufo

“Has too many students and staff members leaving and coming in at the same time. I just think that it's too overcrowded.”

Mrs Frazier

“The benefits of students and staff leaving school at the same time is that we can empty the school quicker so this way if there's events going on we know that we have everyone out of the building and for safety reasons it's nice to have everybody exiting at the same time. We know everyone is here from 1-8 no exception."

While students made sure to express their displeasure with this schedule we spoke to Mr. Milczewski, the principal of Hillcrest about the decision for the new schedule. The most important factor going into this decision was due to overcrowding and complaints from students. Mr. Milczewski explained in previous school years the school was overflowing with students and it would be nearly impossible to gather everyone so it was necessary to have a multi session at Hillcrest at the current time. However we are now under the maximum capacity of students in the building which promoted the decision for a single session schedule. During this interview, he stated how students expressed how they have to work, attend clubs, and sports activities, which now with this change everything is starting earlier compared to previous years. Contagious conversations and a vote with staff from the building determined the bell schedule for the 2023-2024 school year.

Though there has been mixed reactions towards this change of our bell schedule this will take time to get used to and is here to stay at Hillcrest.