The Pilot Bell Schedule will allow Kennedy Catholic High School to introduce a new block of time in the morning from 8-8:40am to provide students with dedicated time to receive help from teachers or meet in clubs. To allow us to implement this new block of time, class periods will run 70 minutes.

The Pilot Bell Schedule begins March 3, 2025, and planned to end at the start of Easter Break, April 17, 2025.

Standard Schedule

Late Start (Select B Days only)

Over the past few months, we have spoken with students, families and teachers about workloads, stress, and demands on student time. This new schedule will offer a balance between instructional time and student well-being. Simply put, the goal of the new bell schedule is to provide students and teachers with time to accomplish tasks that are currently challenging for many to complete during the school day. Whether it is making up missing work from absences, retaking assessments, or seeking additional assistance from teachers, the block of time available to students on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays affords them an additional opportunity to get the support they need. The block of time on Tuesdays and Thursdays will provide a more regular cadence of meetings for student clubs and activities, which has been identified as a challenge by many students and moderators.

As a Catholic school, we strive to accomplish several other goals beyond academic development with our students. Community Period has become the place where we have dedicated time in our schedule (and to prevent random disruptions throughout the year) to focus on these other goals. It serves as a place for sacramental life, school spirit, community education, community development, academic support, and club activities while also ensuring we can regularly meet with faculty and continue their development.  Basically, we are asking this period of time to do too much and some of the goals we have are not being met well.

For the pilot, Community Period will remain in place as we planned at the start of the year, reducing to 70 minutes with the rest of the class periods.  Mass and school assemblies will occur in this time slot. Should the pilot (or a variation on it based upon the community feedback) be implemented fully next year, it will require us to reimagine the purpose of focus of Community Period. We still have a lot of other important things to accomplish with our students to fulfill our mission and Community Period plays an important role. 

Yes, but some students may be expected to attend based upon individual circumstances (such as extended absences, missed classes for athletics, and low grades). Students who are not required to be on campus or do not participate in club activities must be in their first class of day starting at 8:45am (10:05am on Late Starts). Students who are expected to be on campus during the flex period for academic support may receive detentions for missing the flex period. Students who have signed up for club activities and miss multiple meetings without excuse may be removed from club rosters.

Office hours are proving to be insufficient to meet the needs of many students. Student-athletes with practice demands, students who ride buses, and students who need more time to make up a lab or test are all currently not getting their needs met with the two windows. 

The bus schedules will not change for the pilot period allowing all students access to the flex period. Students will be picked up at the same time each day according the published schedules (standard or late start)

Students who arrive to campus during the flex period window will go to the Cafeteria or Library primarily if they are not with a teacher or at a club meeting. The Cafeteria remains available to students every morning starting as early as 6:30am to accommodate families with unique transportation needs. The Library will be available to those students who seek a quiet study environment by 7:45am. 

School begins at 8:45am, except on Late Start days which begin at 10:05am. Students not in class by the start of the period will be marked tardy.

Attendance is taken every scheduled class period. The first instance of recording attendance will occur in first period (A days) or fifth period (B days).

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the time is dedicated to academic support, remediation, catch-up, and extension. This time is available to all students, but under certain circumstances will be required for individual students based on their needs and situations. Teachers will communicate when particular days in a week need to be dedicated to a particular class or activity (such as a make-up test, lab or quiz across multiple sections of the same course). More specifically, any student who is failing will be required to attend Monday-Wednesday-Friday Flex Period with those teachers until grades are brought up to passing. Students will receive notice the Friday prior if they are required to attend Flex Period the next week.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, this time is reserved for club meetings. A schedule for club meetings and locations will be published prior to the pilot. Our expectation is that this new dedicated time will allow more students to be engaged with clubs and activities while also reducing conflicts on their time.

Students who arrive to campus during the flex period window who do not belong to any clubs, will go to the Cafeteria or Library primarily if they are not with a teacher. The Library will be available to those students who seek a quiet study environment. 

Yes! Students, teachers, and families will receive a survey midway through the pilot to assess its impact, identify concerns and issues with the new schedule, and solicit feedback on whether it should be implemented fully in the 2025-2026 school year. We will monitor closely the feedback from teachers and students about the new length of class and evaluate the pilot carefully around the trade-offs.