By Sophie Hu ‘26, Feature Editor

The new 7-14 NA schedule (Photo courtesy of Sophie Hu ‘26)

One topic of conversation has transcended grade levels and friend groups, uniting students from all corners of Newark Academy. And no, it’s not the new Assignment Center on MyNA (though I’m sure there’s a lot to be said about that too). Whether you’ve been sitting at the lunch tables or walking through the halls, you’ve almost definitely heard talk about the new schedule. As NA nears the end of the first month of the 2024-2025 school year and everyone has had a chance to experience the schedule that has been teased since last spring, it is time to take stock of how the community is feeling. 

According to Dr. Atwell, Upper School Principal and a member of the scheduling committee, notable changes to the schedule include moving club, council, and extracurricular meeting times to school-day flex periods, slowing down the pace, and incorporating longer but fewer classes. While we will have to wait to see if flex-period activities will allow students the opportunity to build connections and explore interests, we can already get a sense of how the other two changes have affected NA.

Longer class periods give teachers more freedom with their lesson plans. Ms. Brandwood, an Upper School English teacher, mentioned, “It feels like we have more flexibility in class, and we can allow more time for multiple smaller activities. I think, at least for English, it works pretty well.” However, she also noted that, “It’ll be an adjustment doing back-to-back seventy-minute classes and [dealing with shorter] passing periods.” Dr. Vega, an Upper School math teacher, agrees with Ms. Brandwood about longer classes, saying,  “We have more time to spend on specific examples to review topics at a deeper level.” She hopes she will get the opportunity to explore more of a variety of activities in her classes.

And what are the students’ opinions? Junior Christina Silva, ‘26, said it has been easier for her to pay attention during the seventy-minute classes than she had initially expected. However, she added that she “feels more drained by the end of the school day,” a sentiment echoed by Senior Lucy Halstead, ‘25, who also noted that “every day feels longer, even though I’m taking fewer and easier classes.” Katie Liang, ‘27 thinks that having breaks during classes to stretch and walk around would help address the issue of tiredness after school. Some other challenges the students brought up were overcrowding during lunch and shortened passing periods. Christina Silva voiced a concern about lunch later in the year, remarking that “it’s going to be even more difficult to find places to eat once outdoor seating is closed.” Not everyone thinks that the new schedule has been challenging to adjust to, however. One new student at NA, Izzy Jordan, ‘28, pointed out that she had a similar schedule at her old school, so the new schedule has helped her have a more seamless transition. Multiple students, including Christina Silva and Katie Liang, have also said that they enjoy how the longer classes allowed them to get a more in-depth understanding of their courses.

If you have any other concerns about the schedule, Dr. Atwell reminds us, “Nothing is set in stone.” For example, the administration is still trying to find ways to adjust the 10:35 lunches on some days for Upper Schoolers, so they can spare hungry students from the need to ransack Ms. Kuser’s drawer of snacks after school. The administration says they would appreciate student feedback on this and other issues with the schedule, and a survey will be sent out later in the fall for the NA community. Students can also reach out to Dr. Atwell, to the new Upper School Assistant Principal Mr. Reed, or to their class deans if they have any feedback. Dr. Atwell even confirmed that she would be open to having informal meetings (with snacks!) in her office to discuss the schedule with students. As we move forward in the school year and phrases like ‘1R’ and ‘Flex period’ start to replace ‘Day 1’ and ‘Universal drop’ in the NA lingo, there will be plenty of opportunities to give feedback and your second, third, even fourth impressions of the new schedule.