By Ivey McDaniel | Staff Writer

After a recent faculty e-mail concerning the possible switch to a nine-period day, students have been baffled at the idea of gaining another class period and switching to shorter class periods.

“That would be awful. I feel stressed out; I barely have time to do anything as-is,” junior Biviana Diaz said.

But the plan is to do the exact opposite, said principal John Melbrech.

“We’re trying to find a time in the day that provides remedials; to prep for things such as the SAT and ACT. It could be a whole study time. It is required by law that if students don’t pass a TAKS test, to provide time to study,” said Melbrech.

Many concerns are regarding the length of the entire day, and how it would effect other class periods.

“The extra period would be put in between second and third period and it would be thirty minutes long. We wouldn’t have it everyday either, only on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Melbrech said.

The overwhelming thought of nine periods have also lead to other ideas being tossed around.

“Other options are shorter lunches, an open zero block, there’s a variety of difficulties. Right now the district is looking at all options. I don’t know if each school will be able to make a customizable individual schedule,” said Melbrech.

This will mark the third daily schedule change in Johnson’s history, but it is clearly trying to cater in the interest of the students, who are now enrolled in more rigorous AP and Pre-AP courses. But students are finding the prospect of extra study time to be better.

“I would rather the period be an extra advisory period, that would give me a lot more time to study,” Diaz said.

Studying, completing homework, Continual AP enrollment, and extra and co curricular activities are proving to be large tasks.

“The idea is to start next year in August. We understand the pressure of AP courses and extra curricular activities,” Melbrech said.