With returning to in-person school on the horizon, the Perry administration is taking as many precautions as possible, including staying on the block schedule. This means students will alternate having their odd numbered periods and their even numbered periods daily, limiting contact and aiding in contact tracing should someone test positive.

While this may seem like a small change, simply limiting the amount of classes per day reduces daily contact, which is massively beneficial. The schedule change makes students much safer on campus, and should aid in allowing the school to remain open and in-person. This effort should also help limit the amount of students coming in contact indirectly as well, as it restricts the amount of places students need to go.

With teachers only seeing students two or three times a week, the lesson plans they had drawn may end up overcrowded as they attempt to combine two lessons into one. Seeing a hard or boring class less times a week could be a relief for some, challenging classes will only be more difficult. While this could be a headache for teachers, it is worth it to better protect students.

The student workload has also been made significantly easier, as students now have two days for every class’s homework. Science classes also use block days for lab activities, and having block everyday would make scheduling around these much easier, allowing more flexibility. Students will also be given more room to breath on tests, since they will have double the class time to finish.

Changing schedules will also make other safety measures more effective while making any mistakes less problematic. Perry’s hallways are always crowded, but by minimizing the amount of times students have to switch between classes this becomes less of an issue. Door handles and desks will now be more sanitary, having half the amount of students touching them.

Reverting to a normal schedule on going back to school just does not make sense when block days have little downside and great benefit. The only notable downside is that teachers do not see every one of their students daily, but under the Coronavirus Pandemic that works to the school’s advantage. Sitting in class for two hours can be boring for some students, and may cause fatigue, but Perry has two block days a week on a normal schedule without issue. Considering the current global pandemic it is worth some bored students to cut contact rates in half.