The school-wide make-up window employed at the end of the first semester has drawn mixed reactions from teachers and students.

By Sumner Griffin, Drake Hassett, and Liam Porter

Mixed opinions have arisen with students and teachers following the the three-week grace period at the end of the first semester.

After students returned from winter break, Central High School dubbed the following three weeks a grace period, assigning no-homework and allowing students to submit assignments dating back to the beginning of the year. Advanced Placement classes were excepted.

The grace period had an overall positive effect on the students who took advantage of it, but teachers think it may have a negative connotation on students going forward. In the words of one teacher, this entire year could be seen as a grace period.

“I fear that it may have sent the wrong message,” a teacher said in a Pine Needle survey. “Students might think it will happen again, and they will rely on that for future semesters.” The teacher elected to remain anonymous.

Out of a group of 26 students, 62% surveyed said they took advantage of the grace period. Of the 16 who took advantage, 14 students saw their grades improve.

Some AP students wished the policy would apply to their most difficult classes. “AP students are the group that are most likely to use a system like that,” said Blake Bush, a junior.

In the Pine Needle survey, conducted after the grace period ended, teachers were asked for their opinions on its effectiveness within the constraints of their classrooms. Some teachers saw many students using the period to catch up, while others described the grace period as ineffective or a joke and saw little to no students using the time to improve their grades. Still other teachers were indifferent and reported almost no change of procedure or student success during the period.

An issue that could soon arise would be the decision of a second grace period. Although it is not clear yet on whether administrators will consider another grace period next semester, this could be problematic for some students. For instance, this could be an issue for students who relied on the grace period to pass their first semester classes and now find themselves struggling to pass their second semester classes.

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Photo: day 18/365 by Shehan Peruma on Flickr