By Patrick Avognon and Cailin Reid
Opinion Editor and Features Editor:

When students at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) returned to school this past August, they were greeted with a few changes. Along with dealing with some staffing modifications and the influx of new students, the school’s administrators also increased the amount of classes students have from six to seven.
“I’m not sure how to feel about our new schedules,” said senior Noy Baraness. “It’s definitely a big change that will take time to get used to, but it makes the days feel longer than they felt last year.”
To ensure that all students receive the classes they need and fulfill graduation and A-G requirements, School Counselor Martina Torres thought the new schedule change would be beneficial.
Since DPMHS has such a limited amount of teachers and a new abundance of students – enrollment is now around 380 up from about 310 in the spring – the new schedule is meant to help decrease class sizes and allow for a more relaxed environment where teacher can allow more one on one instruction.
The change in the schedule will also help students in the long run because now they will be able to get more credits, making it easier and less stressful for their senior year.
“This change is definitely helpful for all of the students, and for teachers too since the class sizes will be much smaller,” Torres said.
This year, because of the large amount of students that enrolled, DPMHS was fortunate enough to keep music teacher Jackie Gorski, who they’d previously laid off, and bring in new teachers to provide a wider selection of class choices. This year, Gorski is working full-time, compared to last year when she taught only three classes.
“I’m enjoying the new students because we have extra teachers this year and it will bring more diversity, diverse experiences, and diverse backgrounds,” Torres said.
Even though DPMHS was able to keep its music program, the school was unable to add more Advanced Placement (AP) classes to its roster. Part of the reason they could not obtain more AP classes was because the school doesn’t have enough students to create these classes. In order for an AP class to be approved, there must be a certain amount of students interested in the course and there must be teachers qualified to teach it.
“The school promotes that they can give us a head start in school, so it’s hard to see that they aren’t offering as many Advanced Placement Courses as other schools are,” said freshman Michael Goss.
Some students like being able to take another class, often an elective, but don’t like the additional load.
“The seven periods are better because we get more credits, even though it’s a lot of work,” said junior Daniel Pak.