The first Friday of every month used to be dedicated to half days. The school day would get out at 10:44 AM allowing students and teachers to have a long weekend. This allowed teachers to have their professional development days once a month. Triton within the last year sent out a form that allowed students, parents, and teachers to vote on whether or not to keep the first Fridays of every month or change it to a new day. The vote was then cast to change the half days to every other Monday.

The every other Monday schedule was added in, releasing students at 12:44 rather than 10:44. The calendar for the 2021-2022 year shows that every other Monday would give teachers the professional development they need. The schedule for this included five 38-minute classes and one 60-minute class. Lunch is served in order for it to be considered a “full day of school” even though students get out 90 minutes earlier. The google form survey was sent out through email asking if there was any input on changing the half days from Friday to any other day that was listed. The list included  Mondays, Wednesdays, or to keep Fridays. This allowed the Triton Community to vote on what they would prefer. 

In the New York Times, schools in New York talk about half days and their needs for teachers and students. In the article Half- Days Fill Final Stretch, Kate Taylor describes half days in the article are described as “… longstanding traditions. Principals and teachers said they were necessary, allowing teachers and administrators time for tasks like finishing report cards, looking over data to determine who needs to go to summer school, and compiling student records”. After our school day ends on our dedicated half-days, meetings, and grading for tests, papers, and worksheets are to be done during this given time. 

Some teachers at Triton would agree that it would be more useful if they were given more time to get the professional development done. Richard Dube says “There isn’t enough time to get everything done, we get out at 12:44 and it gives us such little time to accomplish what we need to accomplish”. Adam Lothrop would agree but from a different standpoint, “With having them so frequently departments plan meetings, that end up getting off-topic”. Students here at Triton would also agree, that the Monday half-days are not well-liked. It doesn’t give them the time to have what it feels to have a long weekend.

The majority of the voters voted on Mondays, because who wouldn’t want a Monday half day. The Monday Half days are every other week that allows an early release more frequently than one Friday at the beginning of the month. But teachers and students here at Triton disagree with this change. Most have a negative feeling and a dislike for the schedule that has not taken place and want the Fridays to still be our half days. although the majority voted for the change it still left the rest of the school wanting a switch back to the normal 10:44 release.

Taylor, Kate. “Half-Days Fill Final Stretch of New York’s School Year.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 June 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/11/nyregion/half-days-fill-final-stretch-of-new-yorks-school-year.html.