Lack of Communication

Hi, my name is Oliver Brown, and I’m a Junior here at Holliston. I am representing the voice of many students in Holliston High School. At the last School Committee meeting, the HSC made the unilateral decision to change our schedule to a 2-day, 8-block format. Rather than relieving stress about the current schedule issues, this move has only seeded distrust, misunderstanding, and worry. As a student who’s senior year would be severely impacted by this schedule, and based on my conversations with many of my peers, I can confidently say that the majority of students are against the 8-block format, with over 100 students going so far as to create and sign a petition against the change. 

The lack of communication around this decision is the biggest issue. 

The way we organize our lives is dictated by school and the classes we take. Why is it that we feel unheard and ignored, when we’re the ones that are affected? Not all students have hours of free time to study at home. These are students who play on our sports teams, who manage our school events, who lead our clubs, who perform in our theater productions, who volunteer in the community, who excel in academic competitions, who mentor younger students, and who bring energy to our school everyday. 

Many students work jobs as well so they can afford things like college and car payments. This committee has chosen to ignore the fact that the workload in the schedule increases significantly, failing to account for the additional demands of assignments like projects, study guides, labs, and other time intensive tasks that require careful planning and effort outside of the classroom. 

Additionally, according to Mr. List’s student Q&A, the schedule fails to address or improve any of the existing issues in the math program beyond year long math, meaning we would be adding more content on top of the math classes we take. Furthermore, remembering and understanding the content from 8 classes is far greater than 4. Is the HSC prepared to tell these students to quit their jobs and activities, or work unrealistic hours to make it up? I already have friends who work into the evening, sometimes into the night, just to complete their assignments. When looking beyond the numbers, the reality of how the 8 block schedule impacts students makes it extremely difficult to see its benefits outweighing its drawbacks. 

Most of all, from my conversations with people in the building, I believe that it is not possible to properly implement this schedule by next year. Nobody in or outside of this building has been able to provide me with a clear and reliable explanation of how the school plans to afford doubling our supply of books, lab materials and paper usage– let alone ensuring that teachers have the time and resources to effectively plan for an increased course load. I am fully aware that Principle List said it was feasible to implement – however, there is a difference between implementing a schedule, and implementing a schedule with a seemingly lower quality of education. 

I understand and appreciate the amount of time and effort you all put into this committee, and how challenging this process has been; but regardless, rushing to ratify a schedule that has not been fully organized and thought out is an irresponsible decision. Many of the members on this committee admitted that this is not the ideal schedule and that another schedule switch could be in the near future. Please, don’t force us to suffer because of your desire for change without proper communication and process. Creating a schedule that works takes time – so please, take the time that’s necessary to ensure the best education for all students who will have to live with the results. 

I am in support of bringing in a new schedule to Holliston. Many people in our school building recognize that the current schedule has flaws that need to be addressed – I’m not here to argue that. It is clear from the communications from HSC that there is ongoing tension between the HSC and the teacher’s union – and that the HSC used its authority to move this change forward without full support of both bodies. I am not here to take sides, either. Instead, I want to remind everyone that students are the collateral of disagreements between these groups. I call on all decision makers to remember high school students have been through a lot of change over the last couple of years and that a rushed added schedule change creates more stress and tension for students. 

The HSC is a body that is meant to serve the community, and that community includes the students who attend this high school. With respect to the work that has gone into the schedule process, I speak for the majority of students when I say that we do not believe that the new schedule is viable or beneficial to our education, workloads, stress and livelihoods. We request the members of the HSC retract their decision to change the HHS schedule, returning the planned 2025-2026 year schedule back to its original form, with the intent to allow more time to reach and implement a better solution for the 2026-2027 school year. We believe this action is vital to the success of students, and we will not sit and be quiet if our voices are not heard and respected.