Starting in the 2025 – 2026 school year, Hoover High School will change its schedule from the current block schedule back to the old schedule, where all six periods meet every day. This is a big change, and opinions from teachers and students run the gamut from enthusiasm to disapproval.
During the COVID pandemic, Hoover High School, like many schools, switched to a block schedule. This reduced the number of transitions between classes, helping to manage crowded hallways and allowing longer class times to handle online and hybrid learning better. Now that the pandemic is over, the school has voted to go back to the previous schedule where students have all classes every day.
When asked how the change would affect teachers, AP Physics teacher Eric Robinson “preferred the schedule option that included all classes along with two days of block periods, but that option didn’t win.” Mr. Robinson argued, “It would have helped the science department cover lessons more evenly for all students.” He conceded, “but this new schedule will still work.”
American History teacher Nelli Derian expressed her support for the return to the old schedule saying, “I’m happy we’re going back to our original schedule” because in her view “classes that are 50 minutes long are better.” Ms. Derian believes “it is difficult for [students] to absorb so much information and then move on to a new topic.”
ELD teacher and next year’s ASB Advisor, Janna Kasmanian, believes “[the 6 period schedule] will help both students and teachers. With hour long classes, the homework will be more meaningful than in a 90 minute class.”
Some students also shared their thoughts with the Tornado Times.
Junior Liliana Shakaryan (’26) expressed her preference for shorter classes saying, “Honestly, I like shorter classes because long classes drain [my] energy. Sitting for so long gets boring.”
Sophomore Catherine Mkrtchyan (’27) disagrees with Shakaryan’s perspective. Mkrtchyan told us, “I liked the block schedule better because I had a lot of time to finish my work during class. It meant I didn’t have much homework and gave me more free time after school.”
Switching to a six period schedule has some benefits. Shorter classes can help students concentrate better. Teachers think it could lead to a good balance between learning time and independent work time (AKA homework). On the other hand, some students and teachers might miss the longer block periods which accomodated activities that require more time like science labs, Socratic Seminars, art projects, and sports.
