History Teachers were “adamant about the fact” that the school needed to do something to help the students learn the course content and apply it, according to Mr. Parrish, assistant principal. In result the English III and US History classes were paired and are now yearlong courses.

        “It’s not about the test scores, but a bunch of other things as well,” said Parrish. “A couple of years ago, we expanded AP courses and teachers thought it more beneficial. We had a plan to move more courses to the AB schedule but we wanted to weigh the options first and felt that the educational benefits outweighed the other stuff.”

        The English III curriculum is set around American Literature, whereas US History focuses on the background information of America.

        “US History is an information driven course and English, a skill driven one. By combing the two courses, we are hoping to infuse content from both,” said Parrish.

        Students signed up for classes at the end of last year, not knowing that English III and US History were to be combined. Some of these students signed up for Advanced Placement (AP) classes along with English, History and four other classes. In result they now have to handle juggling more courses than the average high school student.

        “I think it's more difficult with two A-B classes. You may forget what class you have on a certain day. You may feel it's too complicated and too much work,” said Ashley Saunders, junior.

        Some juniors are also involved in clubs, sports, work and other extra curricular activities. These activities usually require time and effort from their members, as a result they contribute to the loss of study time.

        “It’s not so fair, but on the other hand, these are the very students who will have to juggle a lot of course work in college. They will benefit in the long run,” said Sara Overby, English III teacher.

        Juniors now have two days to do their homework for English III and US History which gives them more time to process the information they are taught in class. 

        “It will be better for students, because they will be able to take advantage of the ‘spacing effect’ that studies on learning show is necessary in order to gain long-term knowledge,” said Overby.