tjTODAY
THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 6560 Braddock Rd., Alexandria, VA 22312
MAY 21, 2014
Prom P10
VOLUME 29, ISSUE 6
THE FCPS BUDGET: The discussion on the FY2015 budget has got everyone asking,
“WHAT HAS TO GO? WHAT NEEDS TO STAY?” photo illustration by Sandy Cho
Budget cuts force staff Sleep deprivation targeted reductions for next year through later start times by Lindsay Williams Online Editor Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has decided to make expansive budget cuts, forcing Jefferson to cut 4.5 positions from their faculty of 130 for the upcoming school year. To make up for the losses, many classes will increase in size by at least one student. Some courses will be cut due to low enrollment, based on projections of class sizes by student request. Lower enrollments in some classes will cause a decrease in sections, whereas classes with higher enrollment will force teachers of those subjects to pick up some of the slack by taking on more students. “We look at projected class enrollment based on student requests, as well as try to make class size larger by one student, on average, across the school,” Principal Evan Glazer said. “For example, there was an increase in Economics and Computer Science, so we would need more sections. However, there were low class enrollments in chemistry and tech, so you would expect to see fewer sections.” Though classes should only grow by one person, this may affect the learning environment. “My most personal class this year has been HUM II, which is 14 students for two periods. Obviously class sizes that small aren’t possible ubiquitously, but they definitely allowed for more discussion-led, intellectually challenging classes and I was able to have a more intimate relationship with my teachers and peers in those classes and that simply isn’t as easy with larger class sizes, so to make classes larger is something I would not be a fan of,” junior Anant Das said. Participation in humanities courses, such as world languages and music programs, is projected to be lower, so these courses will be hit harder by the budget cuts. “Taking away funding for world languages would not only rob students of the chance to broaden their vocabularies, but also of the chance to expand their world views,” senior Maria Psarakis said. continued on p. 2
P5
Debating the hype of John Green
P7
Soccer wraps up spring season
by Ellen Kan Managing Editor If you’re the typical high school student, chances are that your mornings begin with the incessant ringing of the universally despised alarm clock as it cuts through the darkness of predawn. Parents, students and School Board members alike have recognized that there is a problem when it is just as dark outside when teenagers wake up for school as it is when they go to sleep. Fortunately, this issue may soon be resolved. The Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) School Board hopes to implement later high school start times to alleviate teen sleep deprivation, effective fall 2015. There are currently four proposals to modify the bell schedules. These plans are a result of a $143,912 study commissioned by the School Board in April 2013. “We hired a consultant, Children’s National Medical Center, to help our staff craft these plans after collecting input from the community through a stakeholder committee and community focus groups,” Ryan McElveen, an FCPS At-Large School Board member, said. “I think the consultant did a great job developing concrete plans with a reasonable cost based on community input.” This is not the first time that FCPS has considered altering the bell schedule. Policies to combat sleep deprivation have been proposed periodically since 1988. A plan implemented this year allows seniors to not have first and second period classes, as long as certain requirements are met. The results of this new study show that, after much deliberation and delay, definitive change is on the horizon. The Children’s National Medical Center assisted the School Board in creating and finalizing four new bell schedules, after discovering that 55 percent of high school seniors get less than six hours of sleep a night, a far cry from the recommended nine hours. Each of the new bell schedules outlines changes that will be made to start and end times for elementary, middle and high schools. Each scenario will also necessitate between $2 million and $7 million of additional funding and anywhere between 25 and 60 new buses. High school start times could be pushed from 7:20 a.m. to 7:50 a.m., or as late as 9:15 a.m. continued on p. 2
P12
Cryptography class ventures on field trip
P14
Privacy issues online abound