Last year, students had at least five or six minutes to travel from class to class which enabled them to speak with their friends, get whatever they needed from their lockers, or use the numerous restrooms throughout the building. Now, however, there are only four minutes in between class periods, which has its own pros and cons.

 While sitting down with Principal Katz, she explained why Bourbon County High School switched to four minutes, as well as why they have added an extra class period; making what used to be six classes, seven.

  Katz stated that we used to have five minutes, excluding last year because we had to “absorb that break time that we go rid of midway through the first month of school”. She said that the school had to incorporate an extra minute, which many students had adjusted to, but they had to change the transition time’s to a “more reasonable timeframe.” Katz believes that four minutes is enough time for students to get to and from classes with extra time to spare, especially in a school that is not that large.

 When asked about whether the tardies have increased due to the shortened time frame to get to and from classes, Principal Katz responded by saying there has been a new tardy policy put in place at the school and that we will always have tardies, she cannot say whether tardies have increased from previous years without the accurate data. She did state that after the construction on the gym is finished, she believes that “having the gym doors unlocked will allow kids to go through the gym, which will help with some of the congestion.” Katz also said that the school will open up the back staircases that have been shut down for a few years, which will also decrease congestion and tardies.

  “We started taking a poll on what other high schools do,” Katz answered whenever she was questioned about the reason Bourbon added another class period. “The 90 minute fourth period last year were just so long. Kids who had math, or english classes first semester didn’t get another math class, so we knew we had to do something to stop that.” She said that they did research and found that seven class periods would allow for an intervention class, and students to be able to take extra classes that they are interested in; it also helps students who want to graduate early because they have one extra option to get required credits.

 While the four minute time change was seen as an annoyance to the student body, it actually turned out to be beneficial because it lets them take an extracurricular class, and they seem to enjoy themselves now, and they seemed to have gotten accustomed to it.