For the 2024-2025 school year, all PUSD High Schools will implement a new bell schedule, shifting the 3:45 p.m. end time to 3:35 p.m..
Principal Ernie Remillard said that due to the California-mandated schedule change in 2022 which shifted the start times of high schools to 8:30 a.m. or later, many schools have been facing excess instructional minutes, a large reason why the earlier end time was implemented district wide. Westview, in particular, faced one of the highest numbers of educational “overtime” for its 2022-2023 school year, totaling up to 66,177 minutes, as compared to the state-required standard of 64,800 minutes annually.
This was in part, he said, because Wolverine Time and Homeroom qualify as instructional minutes.
With 1377 minutes excess, the administrative staff attempted to mitigate this number by implementing numerous half days both at the end of last year and throughout the current school year’s schedule. At present. Westview has accumulated XX# of half days in 2023-2024.
Remillard said that some excess minutes are useful.
“It’s always beneficial to have some level of excess just in case of [dire situations],” Remillard said. “For example, say there was flooding and we had to cancel school for a day, like they did a couple of months ago in South Bay. We want to have a bit of cushion in case we lose a day for emergencies. ”
Art teacher Keith Opstad was one of the main advocates for ending the school day earlier than 3:45. He calculated the minutes of overtime personally and led the push district-wide to address the excess minutes.
“I had taken it upon myself to calculate the minutes and I called in a couple of [other staff members] to make sure my math was correct,” Opstad said. “Once I realized we were thousands of minutes over, I felt really strongly about the cause of [revising] next year’s schedule because I felt like the district leadership was not standing up for the teachers.”
Opstad pushed for an earlier end time to combat the added stress the later end time created.
“I reached out to other high schools, [like] Mt. Carmel, Rancho Bernardo, Del Norte, and Poway, and ran it by administrative staff, like [Craig Bowden] and [Shannon Parker],” Opstad said. “I even included a survey from my Homeroom students as well.”
As a result of his thorough work, when it was finally presented to the district office and the union, it had been extensively reviewed.
Opstad foresees that it will be beneficial for students and teachers alike.
“I’m hoping that we get some more campus involvement since students will no longer have to rush out of class,” Opstad said. “The campus is a ghost town by 4 p.m.. So, having us get off a little earlier will allow students to stay after, have conversations with teachers, and maybe get one-on-one help. Teachers will also get a little more [preparation time] for their classes.”
Opstad is thrilled with the result for the upcoming year.
“To most people, 10 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot,” Opstad said. “But, it’s a huge accomplishment [and] a great first step [since] we are literally being given the gift of time. It’s 50 minutes I’m getting back per week, and though I’m still doing work, I’m not sitting in a classroom for longer than I should be. It’s just a win-win situation for everyone.”
