With third quarter coming to an end and students having already requested their class schedules for next year, the new bell schedule has recently been released for the upcoming 2023-24 school year.

This new bell schedule shares some common aspects with past schedules. For example, Odd and Even Days will be changed to Black and Gold Days, with periods one through four on Mondays and Wednesdays, and period five, Seminar/Access, period six, and period seven on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Fridays will have shortened all-period days, starting later, at 8:20 a.m. Another change is that Seminar and Access will be moved to the middle of the day, between periods five and six on Gold Days. 

This district-wide decision has taken over a year, with lots of time and communication, and soon enough, all Douglas County high schools will be changing to this same schedule and lunch times for the upcoming school year.

Discussion on the new schedule is abuzz throughout the hallways, and as this may be an adjustment for some, or not for others, students and staff convey their perspectives on what they think of this new idea.

Jay Bridges ’24:

“I don’t really like the change from Odd and Even to Black and Gold, but I do like Access in the middle of the day more rather than having it after. I think it’ll help me be more productive and finish more homework,” Bridges said.

Social Studies teacher Mat Henbest:

“I think I like it and it’s kind of similar to what we’ve had in the past. I think moving Seminar and Access to earlier in the day will be a benefit, and in general, I’m pretty positive about it,” Henbest said.

Abigail Graham ’26:

“I think this is a good idea, especially for Concurrent Enrollment (CE) classes and classes off-campus because it might be less confusing than using Odd and Even patterns. I like that Seminar is being moved to the middle of the day,” Graham said.

Counseling Secretary Julie Burns:

“I think once everyone gets used to it after a couple of weeks next year, it’ll be just fine. I like that Access is moving earlier in the day because it’ll help students use more beneficial work time for school,” Burns said. “Because of this, I think teachers and the counseling office will be busier now that students are at school more and can’t skip or leave early. This is good because we’re here to help and we’re here for you guys.”

Reagan Kerstiens ’24:

“I think that even if you label it Odd or Gold, it wouldn’t make a difference, because we’ve always had Seminar and you still just have to show up to school every day on time or mostly on time, so I don’t think it will make that much of a difference,” Kerstiens said.

Social Studies teacher Emily Tremaine:

“The new schedule hasn’t really changed much from what we’ve had in the past but I think it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out,” Tremaine said. “It might be a little harder for me to adjust from Odd and Even to Black and Gold, but I like that Seminar and Access are back in the middle of the day. The Friday schedule sounds nice.”

This schedule wasn’t a recent concept, but rather, one that took over a year to create. All nine high schools in the Douglas County School District (DCSD) have to adjust to it as well.

“This schedule in particular took over a year in communicating with various schools, different stakeholders, and community members because all nine high schools in the district are getting onto the exact same schedule,” Assistant Principal Karly Bloom said. “It was probably the biggest undertaking in the district because it’s all one common schedule but involving thousands of other people.”