By Arielle Wang and Charlotte Lai
No one likes change. People prefer having a sense of normalcy—which dissipates with the arrival of change. When we go off to college, we miss the smell of home, of the incense our mothers burn every day after school, or of the familiar scent of our parents’ embrace. What if one day you go home to a wholly new odor? Something citrusy and tangy that challenges our palate?
At the start of this year, we were bombarded with news of yet another reform to the SAS schedule. It vexed many members of the student body instantly. But the voices were heterogeneous—some confused, some disapproving, some indifferent… In this article, we will recap the interview at the 2025 Town Hall with our Principal Mr. Velasco to hear out the multitude of voices and responses.
Q1: Why not return to the old schedule from 2022-2023? (For context, the schedule was similar to what we have now, except Flexi was structured so that Mondays and Fridays were reserved for clubs and Wednesdays and Thursdays for extended learning—a system many upperclassmen found effective.)
Regarding Flexi, one of the key issues that arose was the lack of sufficient time for clubs and extended learning. These activities weren’t happening frequently enough for everyone to fully benefit from them. Clubs, for example, only met once every two weeks, and even then, their time was often taken up by other events. Similarly, extended learning only happened twice a week, to which students expressed the need for more regular access to their teachers.
This feedback led us to reevaluate the schedule. We analyzed data on how often students were participating in extended learning and how many clubs they were involved in. Based on this, we worked to create a new schedule that would allow students to engage in both activities more effectively. The old schedule from 2022-2023 attempted to fit a lot of activities into just 40 minutes a day, which proved to be a significant challenge.
Q2: If Flex is being removed, what is its replacement/substitute?
There seems to be a common misunderstanding that Flex time is being removed. That’s not the case. Instead, we’re working to expand the options and opportunities available during Flex, making it more versatile. Specifically, we’ve designated a Flex block for everybody, specifically during the blocks for clubs and extended learning. This means all students and teachers who do not have commitments are free at the same time, creating more possibilities for how that time can be used.
You can still use Flex time as you do now, which, based on our observations and conversations, is mostly for relaxing, socializing, and recovering from academic work. That’s perfectly fine—school can be stressful, and having time to unwind is important. However, dedicating a significant portion of the day to this unstructured time makes it harder to fit other essential activities into the schedule. By consolidating Flex time, we’re preserving that downtime while also creating opportunities for clubs, group work, or studying with peers.
Q3: What exactly is “Transdisciplinary Learning and Enrichment”?
This block is designed for events like community meetings, guest speakers, grade-level gatherings, or college counseling sessions—anything that requires the whole group or a specific grade to come together.
Moving forward, we also want this time to support student-led initiatives and passion projects The aim is to create opportunities for students to take charge of their learning, whether through academic pursuits or personal projects, fostering greater individual agency in their growth. Right now, we’ve set aside the time and are working with students and teachers to figure out the best ways to use it effectively.
Q4: With the schedule shortening from eight to seven blocks, how do you address the increased likelihood of scheduling conflicts?
In terms of class selection, the change shouldn’t significantly affect your options. Currently, all 9th and 10th graders take seven blocks, while about 70% of 11th and 12th graders take six blocks. These options will remain the same: 9th and 10th graders will continue to take seven blocks, and 11th and 12th graders will still have the choice between six or seven blocks. So, the number of courses you can take won’t change.
As for how the shift from eight to seven blocks will impact scheduling, we’re still working out the details of which classes will fall into which periods. However, Mr. Raynolds and I feel confident that we can fit everything into seven blocks for a few reasons. First, we already have a 2B block, where many 12th graders with fewer required courses are free. This effectively brings us closer to a seven-and-a-half-block schedule. While there may be some additional conflicts to resolve, we don’t expect the impact to be significant. Scheduling conflicts are inevitable—with 368 students choosing classes and a limited number of blocks, perfection isn’t possible. But based on the 2B block and other adjustments we’re making, we believe most students will still be able to get the majority of the classes they want.
Q5: How will the new schedule accommodate IB students who currently attend IB Flex, and how will we make up missed majors given that extended learning sessions are only 50 minutes long?
The higher-level IB hours will take place during the extended learning block, which will follow directly after the corresponding IB class. For example, if an IB class is scheduled for second period, the extended learning block right after it will be used for those additional IB hours.
As for making up missed tasks, quizzes, or retakes, we plan to use either the club time or extended learning blocks. For longer assessments, like a 90-minute test, we might split the time across multiple sessions. Additionally, most 11th and 12th graders will still have a Flex block, which can be used as it has been in the past.
While most of the details—like finding the right spaces and times—will require further planning, we’re confident that with the available blocks, we’ll be able to ensure everyone has the time they need for these activities.
Q6: How long is extended learning and lunch in the new schedule?
Extended learning is 50 minutes. Lunch will still be 40 minutes, but instead be from 1:05 to 1:45.
Q7: Will consolidating Flex/Flexi time for all high school students actually address the current issue of having to choose between extended learning, clubs, and personal needs like studying or rest—or will it make the problem worse?
About 70% of students are in two clubs, one club, or no clubs at all. However, club attendance has been consistently low, partly because clubs compete with extended learning for time, and partly because there seems to be a lack of commitment—students often join clubs but don’t consistently attend.
The goal of consolidating Flex time is to give students more control over how they use their time. Clubs will be one option during Flex, but if a club isn’t adding value, students can use that time for other priorities, like studying, resting, or retakes. For most students, who are in one or two clubs (or none), this approach allows them to focus on what matters most to them.
Q8: Will teachers hosting HL Flex sessions during extended learning accommodate students not in those classes? How will they manage attendance for others who need that time?
You’ll need to meet with your teacher during their other extended learning blocks, during the extended learning time you share with them, or at another time when they’re available for EL but not hosting an IB block.
Q9: Since second block is connected to EL, does this mean we’ll just have a 130 minute block with that teacher?
Yes, priority will be given to HL classes or other courses that require additional time to cover the curriculum thoroughly without feeling rushed or overly stressed. For these classes, extended learning can be used to ensure the material is properly addressed.
For other classes, teachers may occasionally use extended learning to work with specific students or groups, as they do now. The intention, however, is not to turn extended learning into an extension of every class. Only classes with the heaviest academic loads—those that genuinely need the extra time—will have the option to use it this way.
Q10: Even with the new schedule, we are still cramming extended learning, retakes, honor society events, HL Flex, college counselor meetings, teacher meetings, and club activities into one block. With so many commitments overlapping, how are students expected to manage these priorities?
The goal is actually to avoid overloading one block. Extended learning prioritizes HL hours first, followed by individual student needs. If you don’t require extended learning, other options are available during that time. However, managing makeup tests, assignments, or absences will still be a challenge, as the current Flex block naturally accommodates these.
Thus, the focus is on keeping extended learning primarily for HL hours and academic support. For activities like interest groups, club time is ideal, as students not in clubs and available teachers can participate. For instance, we could open the gym for basketball, create supervised workout spaces, or host other interest-based activities. The aim is to create flexible opportunities without overloading extended learning
Q11: How will we ensure attendance for clubs scheduled during first block, if students can theoretically skip that time?
The answer is simple: if students join a club but don’t show up, they shouldn’t be in it—it clearly isn’t important enough for them. As for late arrivals or attendance concerns, we haven’t finalized those details yet, but the goal is to have students who genuinely want to be there and value the experience.
Q12 Vincent ’25: After everything that’s been said, will we, as students, have a say in the final schedule—yes or no? There seem to be a lot of issues, and even as a senior, I’m concerned for my friends in lower grades who will be facing these problems.
A lot of what’s happening here comes directly from student input about not having enough time, conflicts with extended learning, and consistently facing those challenges. The two biggest concerns I hear are about grades and the tension between extended learning and clubs competing for time. Students have already had a fair amount of input in shaping the schedule. We’ve reviewed every survey response, and generally, the feedback is clear: students want more free time, less academic time, longer lunches, later starts, and earlier finishes. I get it—you want everything without it taking too much time. But balancing those desires is part of what’s driven this new schedule.
One of our goals is to create a group of students and faculty to help decide how some of these blocks will be used. In terms of where we are now, whether this is final or not, what I’m hearing from you all is helping us figure out the best way forward. All the feedback we’ve received so far has been used to shape the schedule, and at this point, it’s more about fine-tuning how we use those blocks rather than making major changes. That said, I do want to keep seeking student input to make those blocks as effective as possible.
We interviewed several high school students post-Town-Hall. The mainstream evaluation of Mr. Velasco’s responses were negative. Some reflected his evasive reasoning, faulty rhetoric, and a disregard for student opinions, while other students decided to reconcile their personal opinions. However, over the course of the following few weeks, we have observed improvement in faculty attitude through actions like the establishment of a scheduling task force—an effort to achieve a consensus between faculty and students. Let us remain curious and open-minded to hear about the further changes that will be made in the future to accommodate our preferences better.
This event may be an overture to the changing dynamic between SAS’s student body and faculty. So let’s remain hopeful and observant.