The new school year has brought new changes to Lincoln and its schedule. Many of these changes occurred without the administration informing students. Students and teachers have been left to learn about these changes by word of mouth. 

One change that largely impacts students and teachers is the reduction in the number of FLEX periods. Instead of having two FLEX periods every full week, the district has decided to reduce the number of FLEX periods to four each month. This ensures that students meet the state-mandated number of instructional hours. 

“We did not want to be in a situation like last year where seniors fell six hours short of instructional time,” Elisa Schorr, Area Senior Director of High Schools says. The changes are not as drastic as many students may believe. “This year we have 22 flex days first semester and 24 second semester.  Last year we had 22 first semester and 28 second semester.”

The goal has been to maintain FLEX as a time for students to go to teachers, but also leave campus if they want to. The reduction will also provide the district with cushioning, in case inclement weather days are put into place. PPS has also tried to put more FLEX periods at the end of each semester to allow students to catch up on work before the end of the grading period. This means that there are fewer FLEX periods in September and February.   

However, this change has forced students to rethink their schedules. Senior Eva Hartge is concerned about balancing school work and extracurriculars with the reduction in FLEX periods. “Without a consistent amount of FLEXes, I worry that I’ll fall behind in the college process as well as keeping up with my classes. When am I supposed to go retake a test or remake participation if I don’t have FLEX for two weeks in a row? I worry about my fellow seniors, having so much on our plates, not having the time we were told we’d have to keep up with our busy schedules.”

These changes are meant to affect students as minimally as possible when it comes to students’ time and schedules while still meeting the state requirements for instructional time.