A modified drop schedule will be in effect at Hawthorne High School for the 2013-2014 school year.

According to Barry Cohen, principal at HHS, under the new schedule, students will be enrolled in a total of eight classes. However, each student will attend only seven classes every day—three classes in the morning, three classes in the afternoon, and one period for a communal lunch in between.

In the modified drop schedule, every student will take three of four possible classes in the morning and afternoon. Then on a rotating basis, each day one class taken on the previous day will be “dropped out” and replaced with the course that did not meet the previous day.

The length of the periods will also change from 46 minutes a day to 55 minutes a day, and lunch will be 49 minutes long.

Cohen said that the plan was presented in three stages. First, he gave his presentation to the Board of Education and the Curriculum Instruction Committee. Second, he discussed it with the high school staff. Last, on November 26, he explained the schedule at a PTO meeting. Cohen also said that he will explain the schedule in detail to the student body after the holiday recess.

Discussing why the change in schedule is necessary, Cohen said, “What we’re really trying to do is to allow the students to choose career pathways.” With an extra class offered, students can select an extra elective. Also, a number of new elective courses will be available to the student body, requiring more staff. Cohen believes the new schedule and elective program “gives opportunity to develop individual plans of study in a range of career options.”

In order to prepare HHS for a communal lunch period, Cohen states the plan is to convert Room 120 into a second cafeteria that will have every feature of the present lunchroom. Students will also be allowed to eat in the gym, by their lockers, and in the courtyard. To move lines along more quickly, accounts will be opened for students to put money into, and, through these accounts, students can use the barcode on their IDs to scan and pay for their lunches.

Representatives from Hawthorne High School have surveyed students at various other schools that have a modified drop schedule. According to Cohen, over 80 percent of the student body in other schools has been satisfied with the changes.