As the school year began, VBCPS knew they were going to have to switch things up in order to help students adapt to new circumstances. Their answer: a schedule containing four classes and switching courses half way through the school year, also known as a 4×4 schedule. The 4×4 schedule has students in the same classes every day for a semester and then switching for the second semester to another four classes which they will have every day, rather than the A/B schedule which has students in eight classes every other day for the whole year. The change has been met with mixed responses. 

“It took some getting used to and I was definitely not in favor of the new change,” said junior Sydney Steffens. “With that being said, I was pleasantly surprised with how it’s been.”

Theatre teacher, Mrs. Sharon Byrd looked at the new schedule as an opportunity.

“The transition to 4×4 has made me reflect on the pacing of my curriculum and question the value of each lesson,” said Byrd. “Does each unit flow efficiently into the other? Is there extraneous material that can be omitted for a more valuable experience?”

The more rigorous courses such as AP, honors, and Dual Enrollment classes face unique challenges with the new schedule. The work load tends to be heavier for these classes. 

“It has totally changed planning,” said AP US History teacher Tabb Pearson. “Forcing a year-long course into one traditional semester has been very challenging for teachers and students. I don’t think 4×4 isn’t the best schedule for AP classes unless we make them year-long classes; that would be great.” 

The SunDevil Times surveyed 205 students and teachers and 51.7% reported preferring the 4×4 schedule. Thirty-six percent said they would prefer to go back to the A/B schedule permanently post-COVID and 12.2% reported having no preference. 

The 4×4 schedule does present some challenges given that students could go without exposure to certain core content for a full year.. 

“I don’t believe sticking with the 4×4 schedule is the best choice,” said junior Olivia Permel. “I don’t think it would have a good long term effect considering the gap between certain subjects, like math ending in January and not being picked back up until September.”

There have been some unexpected benefits to 4×4, especially for seniors.

“I like that I was able to boost my GPA in the middle of the school year and be able to send it to my colleges” said senior Rosemary Nelson.

Senior Caroline Van Schenck loves 4×4. 

“I love 4×4 because it lets me focus more on my classes,” said Van Schenck. “Juggling eight classes at once is really stressful, and with 4×4 I can complete my homework more on time.”

On the other hand, senior Connor Thomas prefers the A/B schedule.

“I 100% prefer the A/B schedule for many reasons,” said Thomas. “The main one being is that with the A/B schedule, I am able to have those teachers and classmates for the whole year instead of just the semester. I say this because I am able to form a stronger connection with many of my peers. When I have those stronger connections, I feel I enjoy school much more.”

The arguments for going back to the old schedule or continuing with the updated one are endless. In the end, all that matters is that each individual is getting what they need. 

According to English Teacher, Mrs. Marie Copen there are benefits to both.

“Some students who typically struggle with certain a material are not struggling as much because we are doing it every single day instead of having a day in between,” said Copen.  “However, some students prefer the break between classes for subjects that aren’t necessarily their favorites.”

“Despite the new schedule not being the perfect fit for me, I know some other students have had better luck with the change,” said Permel. “It’s really different for everybody and I definitely think that’s something to think about.”

It’s been made apparent from the arguments on both sides that there is no right answer. Everybody has a preference and there are positives and negatives to both options. See below for more feedback from students on their preferences.

Pro 4×4

“I absolutely love the 4×4 schedule and after experiencing it, I have to wonder how I ever survived during the A/B schedule. It helps me focus more on the classes I have for that semester, the workload isn’t weighing me down as much as it would,  it saves me a lot of stress, and helps me stay more organized.” – senior Veronica Kaibigan

“I prefer the 4×4 schedule because I feel like I am able to retain more information. When we did the A/B schedule, I would forget some of the information that we went over the class before.” – senior Makayla Moore

“I enjoy meeting with my students every day rather than every other day. I feel the 4X4 schedule allows the students to only focus on a few subjects at a time. It helps with time management and retention of information.” – English teacher Michelle Rubusto DeAtley

“I prefer 4×4 because it’s a lot less stressful! Instead of managing eight classes, we only have to worry about and manage four.” – junior Jaden Riley

Pro A/B

“I get extra time to complete my work, also I don’t get bored doing the exact same thing every school day.” – sophomore Damian Ellison

“I like the A/B schedule because I am used to it and I like how the A/B schedule works.” – sophomore Connor Raffa

“It gave me a break in between each class so that I felt less stress about getting everything done by the next day, as well as I’ve been doing it this way since 5th grade like most current students so it’s what everyone here is used too.” – junior Daegan A.Wrightstone

“The pacing of high school courses is not built for a 4×4 schedule, and many classes (especially academy classes) suffer greatly from this new setup. It’s harder to test improvement in the voice in vocal strand courses when it’s only been a semester, and students need more time to practice their art skills in the visual art academy. Progress is stunted, workload can get overbearing, and classes are often rushed. In addition, classes like world languages that require constant practice are forced into compressed time slots that face similar issues to academy classes. There is also a problem with the gap between classes- world languages demand constant practice, yet some students will take the first level of a world language in the first semester of their first year, then only get to the second level in the second semester of the next year. That is an absurd amount of time, and it’s likely the student will be out of practice and have forgotten much of the content learned in the prior course. Altogether, it’s clear the 4×4 is far from ideal.”  – freshman Isabella Millen