Revere High School (RHS) has discontinued Minutemen Time (MMT), an extra period intended for study and enrichment, resulting in adjustments to the Professional Learning Community (PLC) day schedule.
The decision to remove Minutemen Time will allow for a more structured PLC schedule, but some worry about losing the valuable time previously dedicated to academic support and extracurricular activities. RHS Principal Doug Faris has assured that the school will have alternative methods to ensure students still receive the necessary resources and support for their success. In other words, the time will be maintained, but its effectiveness will be increased.
“As a staff, we definitely looked at PLC time. So if we added those PLCs, there would be a lot of benefits. . . . We could have more class meetings with kids. Kids would actually get at least two or three more times to sleep in. Most importantly, our staff would be able to meet more often and talk about, as a group, what they’re going to do to help our students. It was a relatively easy decision just to say ‘bye bye Minuteman Time‘,” Faris said.
The effectiveness of Minutemen Time was decreasing over the years the extra period took place, so the addition of more PLC days provides many more benefits then Minutemen Time. Jeff Fry, the head of the Social Studies department, spoke more about the teachers perspective of MMT.
“Minutemen time was something that a lot of the people in my department were in favor of. Mr. Milczewski had Spectrum Club meet during that time; I had a current events club meet; Mrs. Walgate and Mr. Brown had a wiffle ball club; Mr. Rahas had the fishing club; Mr. Heyn and Mr. Nickol had football. So it seemed most of us had something going on. Other teachers didn’t. So there was an inequity issue that some people saw value in, and some people didn’t see value in it. When push came to shove, a lot of the departments were kind of like, ‘Well, you know, we could do without it’,” Fry said.
Members of the student body seemed to feel the same. Junior Angelina Camardo commented on the subject.
“I think Minutemen Time was a bit hectic, and replacing it with more PLC days will be a better stress relief. Students get to sleep in more and I feel that’s more helpful for relaxing throughout the year” Camardo said.
While some staff members were for keeping MMT, others did not see the value in a 24 minute period. Many believed the period was rushed, and lost its intentional purpose.
‘’The original intent of Minutemen Time was to give kids a break when we were on the trimester schedule. They had seventy minute periods, five periods a day, and most kids didn’t have study halls. Now, most kids have a study hall, which gives them a break in the day,” Fry said.
Faris mentioned that since MMT started, the school district has switched from trimesters to semesters, which gives students two more class periods throughout the day. This allows for students to have study halls and time to decompress. MMT being canceled allows for more PLC days, which many feel are much more beneficial. Faris continued to speak on the benefits of more PLC days throughout the year.
“Kids are always changing. Their needs are always changing, so it’s nice to be able to have that time set aside in the year where our staff can get together and talk about kids and talk about teaching and learning and how the times have changed and what we’re doing to keep up with the times,” Faris said.
While MMT helped initially, there are added benefits to extra PLC days such as more time for the staff to discuss issues, more opportunities to sleep in and the ability to meet with students without disrupting class time.
