Flex Period Is Useful

Typical Flex guidelines for a CHS classroom

Flex: Twenty-five minutes of getting help for classes and homework done? Or twenty-five minutes of students hanging out with their friends? The original intention of Flex time was to provide additional supports and time for students who were struggling in classes or simply too busy outside of school to complete homework. How Flex works is, if a student is failing a class or has something they need to get done, the teacher of that class can write the student a pass to their class. On Mondays at CHS Kodiaks use Flex time to participate in a program called Character Strong. Character Strong is a curriculum aimed at teaching high schoolers and middle schoolers to have good, strong character traits. Every other day of the week students can use Flex for catching up on homework, checking in with teachers, participating in clubs, and/or a brain break.

All students at Cascade have advisors, teachers they check in with before Flex time. This year CHS started having the advisor of the student determine whether they get to have a twenty-five-minute break from school or stay in their classroom the whole time by checking their grades, if they have passing grades then student can choose how they spend their time, if not, they stay in the advisor's classroom or go to the class they are failing. The teacher’s note gets students out of the advisor’s classroom and into the classroom that they need to complete work in to raise their grades. If students are not failing a class, all they must do is check into their advisor and they get to determine how they use their time.

Many students at Cascade love their Flex time. Chase Runions, a sophomore at CHS said, “I find Flex to be very useful because even if I don’t have work to do for one of my classes, it gives me time to work on extracurricular activities, like TSA projects.” Chase is a very involved student at Cascade. He is in the select choir along with being involved in clubs. Flex is a useful time for him, because he has a lot of activities going on in school that he can get done. Chase is a great example of an amazing student; his hard work pays off by getting a small break from schoolwork. Stella Johnson, a junior at Cascade High School said, “I find it to be a really nice brain break, where you get to laugh and relax and not think with your friends!” Stella Johnson is a hardworking and passionate student at CHS, she uses her time wisely throughout her school days.

Kaston Dillon, a freshman at Cascade this year said, “Personally, I think it is a good thing to have, and it helps everyone that uses it, however, most people do not use it, so as much as I like it, I don’t know how helpful it is.” Kaston invests a lot of his time and energy into sports and his schoolwork. Many students at Cascade use Flex to their advantage however, many students do the opposite. Like Kaston, sophomore Ruthie Biebesheimer enjoys the time, but is not determined that it is incredibly effective. She said, “I like Flex because it’s like a brain break for the day. I do not know how productive it actually is, but it is a great time to get ahead on my homework or do the homework I had no time for the night before because of sports. Also, I like it because I can eat all my snacks that I am not allowed to eat in classrooms. So overall I think that Flex is a good thing.” Ruthie is an active member of Publications along with many other activities.

The way that Flex is organized right now works very well. In high school it is easy to use the excuse of not having enough time to get things done. Having an extra amount of time, in school, is motivating to get help. Although many students use the extra twenty-five minutes to hang out with their friends, students must earn that time. Students who are failing a class or truly need help in classes get that help in Flex. Students who are not struggling in their classes get a reward.

Flex is a good use of student's time, because it creates a juncture for students to get help in school with their personal issues and questions about school that the whole class shouldn't have to sit through. Students are also provided with a time to do homework or study before a test in their classes to come. Students who are involved in sports have limited time to do assignments without Flex. Although Flex is a short amount of time it is helpful to the student body at CHS.

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What do you think? Is Flex a good use of school time or not? Why?