In the following school years, North Platte High School will have a four-period bell schedule. “The five-period day was most preferred by teachers, administrators, and a select group of students,” Principal James Ayres said. “In the five-period day, we would have 80 minute periods, which doesn’t give students enough credits, so our options were to either extend the calendar or change the periods.” Currently, class periods run 97 minutes. Ayres said next year, each class period will be 90 minutes.

Next year, you get to sleep in. Classes will start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:20 p.m. “[My eighth-grade daughter] did a research project that showed the benefits of starting school later, especially for high school-aged kids. So she drilled me with a bunch of questions, like why we start at 8:00 and not later, and that kind of put it in my head.” Ayres said the later start will give teachers more common planning time in the morning, and that it’s hard for teachers to plan as a whole when they only meet once a month. The district will still have professional development days because they are already built into the calendar for future years.

Ayres said, “I’m excited about the changes, I think the new schedule will be good for the kids. I think they will enjoy the later start, it’s going to benefit the teachers because they get more common planning time.”

Ayres will discuss this schedule change, closed campus, graduation requirements, and the extended learning program at the Board of Education meeting tonight at 5:30 at the McKinley Education Center.