Seventh period experiment continues at OPHS
By Michael Picarella
Acorn Staff Writer

The need for outside private tutoring is no longer an issue for students at Oak Park High School (OPHS). To improve grades, the school has modified its academic year with a seventh period support time. This new addition to the OPHS schedule has been designated between 2:15 and 3:05 p.m.

Students are now moving into the second quarter of the school year with this program. While it’s not mandatory, using the extra time and help has been vigorously encouraged.

Other schools around the state have also experimented with seventh period support time; some have liked it and permanently applied it to the schedule but others didn’t see an improvement in grades and cancelled it.

"We try to create an environment where kids take on the responsibility to learn," said Clifford Moore, principal of Oak Park High School. Moore feels the program is young and can be improved, but he’s happy with the concept.

In addition to extending the school day, computer labs have greater availability. Students can work in the labs before school, on nutrition breaks, at lunch, after school, and of course during seventh period. Also changed were extracurricular activity schedules that conflicted. For example, sports’ practices now begin at 3 p.m. so athletes can use seventh period study time.

In a message from Moore to students and parents, he requested that parents avoid asking students to run errands, complete appointments or schedule work between 2:15 and 3:05 p.m. Moore wants seventh period to be a routine part of the school day.

Moore stresses that support time isn’t for re-teaching classroom lessons. It enables students to concentrate in weak subjects or devote more time to studying or to start working on their homework.

A detailed schedule of the teachers’ availability for seventh period has been given to students. Some instructors have offered lunchtime, too, for extra support.

At the Oak Park Unified School District Board of Education meeting last week, Niven Shah, student representative, asked Moore how academic performance this year compares to last year. With only one fourth of students using seventh period, Moore said it was too early to estimate.