By Hamna Chowdhry and Iris Shen

Jumping into the school year, students were faced with many new changes. One of the most notable being our new schedule. Our new schedule is one that many students feared, not only because of preconceived ideas of what it will be like but also because of a fear of change in general.

To get an understanding of why the school decided to replace our six-day, 75-minute block schedule, we reached out to Associate Head of School Ms. Casper, who notes that “Winsor’s accrediting body, NEASC, had recommended that we monitor the schedule we put in place to accommodate hybrid learning during the pandemic.” The longer and fewer classes in the day were meant to assist students in finding a new normal, but like everything, “all school schedules have a shelf life, often only five years,” Ms. Casper added. Even more surprising, data comparison across similar schools shows Winsor’s previous schedule sacrificed significant class time per week, with the Upper School being ranked 28th out of 31 schools for academic contact minutes per week. As a leading private secondary school, we the authors recognize that it is imperative for Winsor to stay on par with the rest of our competing schools. 

From the student perspective, what matters to us most are the changes that affect our day-to-day lives. As such, the change in the block timings and cycle days was the most dramatic change in the schedule and felt immediately amongst students. For example, the BC Calculus AP class last year felt rushed, not having enough time to learn the material in class due to overall fewer contact minutes; this situation led to a bulk of necessary asynchronous learning. Comparably, this year, BC Calculus is paced much better, with around 30-40 minutes of homework given after every class. 

Without the extra 15 minutes of our previous schedule, though, classes can feel cut off at the peak of our exciting discussions and activities. However, Ms. Ramos, head of Upper School, notes that our 60-minute schedule is a huge improvement from schedules in the past, where class times would vary anywhere from 35 to 75 minutes. Furthermore, the 60-minute class helps students stay focused for the entire class without zoning out as much as before. 

Having back-to-back classes is also helpful in allowing the curriculum to flow without any prolonged breaks. As Demira Parekh ’26 mentions, it is easier to “retain more information” when she can return to the material the next day. It also allows teachers to make the decision to stop material for one class and “recoup the next day,” as Ms. Ramos puts it. The classes on consecutive days allow for more timely practice of what’s taught in class. However, these classes also mean a faster turnover time with assignments. “Having homework due the next day can feel rushed,” and not having enough time to do all your work, especially if you have five assignments due for five different classes the next day, “can feel penalizing,” as Angie Fang ’26 notes. We understand that this is a huge adjustment from the last five years, where there was much more leeway in turnaround time. As Ms. Ramos states, all teachers, including herself, are trying to predict how much of the material is covered in class to appropriately assign homework.

Overall, as we settle into the new schedule, it is exciting to see how this change may become favorable amongst the students. Perhaps, in five years, when the schedule changes again, students may protest to maintain the way it is now. Through our reflection, we would recommend both teachers and students to give each other the benefit of the doubt; we all need time to adjust to change.