This year there have been many new changes to our school but one “in our face” problem we can not ignore, while trying to make our way through the hallway, is the over powering numbers students flooding the school. Study halls seem to be a big area of problem and confusion, and when asked about them, most teachers commonly reply that there are simply too many students and not enough room. Rumors of 80-person study halls ran around the school. Although this is an exaggeration the, the concept was accurate as gym and library space had to be utilized for study halls.
Mr. Mosnik, during the first few days of school had almost twenty more people than available seats. When asked, Mrs. Weaver stated that when she first laid eyes on her 5th period study hall she had ten more students than available seats. She also believes that the oversized study halls are due to the lack of courses available. This could be doe to the fact that there are fewer art and language classes available.
When the levy didn’t pass last year, many changes had to be made. With hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake, many cut backs had to be made. Now there is only one available art teacher at the high school and no more languages available at the middle school level. As a result, the opportunity to take French or Spanish AP at the high school is gone for the freshmen and future students. Not all teachers agree that it is the lack of classes being available, but the way scheduling was carried out. Happening so late in the year, it was a scramble to fit students in. Since the levy did not pass, Chardon High School was forced to drop one of the guidance counselors, making a seemingly impossible task even harder. As a result, students were not required to take as many classes and some end up with more study halls than normal, while academic classes go unfilled.
“Normally no matter what, during the first few days there are more students than seats but that gets filtered out when students use study halls to become teaching assistants” stated Mr. Mosnik. Like him, some other teachers agree that it is normal for study halls to be over filled in the first few days. Mr. Fetchik was asked to describe the type of comments he had received about this school year and its system. He replied that many students, staff, and community members were disappointed in the changes that had to be made due to the levy. If it were up to him he would try to bring back the guidance councilor the art teacher, and lost classes, and the business classes that have also been lost. With another levy coming up, it could be possible to bring those loved classes and people back. Lets keep our fingers crossed for the next levy coming up in November, because if it becomes a reoccurring theme of failing, Chardon school district will be forced to cut more and more classes and teachers. The Chardon district can only afford to lose so much, would you make the right choice?