A Vote Against Calendar B from a Marching Band and AP Student

[LUKE FAVORITE]

Dear honorable members of the school board, Superintendent Guy and Assistant Superintendent Payne,

I am Luke Favorite, a junior at LAHS who is interested in responsible judgment from the school board. I am involved in a number of clubs and activities including iVote, Rotary, Key Club and Speech and Debate in addition to being a drum major in the Topper Marching Band. These connections have given me the opportunity to ask around at the high school and hear what high school student and teacher opinions are regarding the calendar. While one week may seem like an insignificant amount of time, calendar B ought not be implemented because it disregards previously made schedules.

When voting on the calendar, you must consider people who already have plans for this summer. One such example is marching band. In the summer weeks immediately before the beginning of school, our marching band does a thing called “band camp” to kick start the year intensively, which allows us to be competitive with other programs. Our head marching band director scheduled band camp a long time ago so as to give people time to plan around it and ensure good attendance. Schedule B would step on this premade plan by cutting out a week in which we have band camp--one week which would be detrimental to our program. Because our schedule was set a long time in advance, it would be completely unfair for it to be overridden and is itself a reason not to adopt any schedule that begins earlier than previously planned. Doing so would be irresponsible.

Additionally, schedule B will be injurious for AP classes. AP teachers would have two fewer weeks (than calendar A) to teach the content required of them by the College Board which will prevent their students from being as prepared for the exams as they could be. While two weeks may not seem like that much time, it will add to the stress of teachers trying to make sure that their students can continue to excel on the exams. The most responsible option for the board to take is to avoid implementing B to avoid unnecessary stress on AP teachers and students.

Between the three calendar options, the clear best option for marching band and AP classes is anything but B. Because B goes back on previously planned schedules, it is an irresponsible schedule to use this coming year. As a board, you must decide on the schedule for the coming years. Any significant shifts in the calendar (like start date) need at least a year’s warning before implementation. Any drastic changes (like balanced calendars) need to be executed incrementally. Both of these practices will ensure that people can react to future plans effectively. As such, providing advanced warning in these ways is the most responsible move. Overall, while the best option is undoubtedly A, it would be irresponsible to select calendar B because of its unfair negative consequences on previously scheduled undertakings. For the sake of students in marching band, students in AP courses and maintaining the prestige of your positions, do not move the start date of next year’s calendar sooner.

Thank you for your interest in the student perspective. I know that any decision you make will be well thought out and responsible.

Sincerely,
Luke Favorite

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Luke Favorite

Topper Band Drum Major

Hilltalkers Congressional Debate Captain

iVote Secretary/Treasurer

Los Alamos High School

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