On February 13, 2024, the Lincoln Board of Education voted for the termination of PLC days, leading to the start of whole days off beginning the 2024-2025 school year. With the end of the first quarter there is a question that seems to be lingering; Are the six full days off better than PLC early dismissals?
Every Tuesday for the 2023-2024 school year and back until the 2007-2008 school year, students in LPS got dismissed an hour early at 2 pm instead of 3 pm, totaling 38 hours off for the entirety of the year. It seems like a long time but the six full days off adds up to 42 hours off of school. Full days off brings the benefit of more hours off of school, but some students still prefer PLC days.
After the board meeting and news struck the school, students and teachers seemed outraged at even the thought of it and were in unison about their frustrations about losing their PLC days. As the school year progresses, students and staff get more adjusted to full days off, and are now preferring it over early dismissals.
“I did enjoy having a break from our schedule with time off on Tuesday,” junior Elizabeth Elitzin said. “However, this year when they switched them to being full days off it feels like an even better reward.”
A longer week with a bit of a break is appealing to many students as not many teachers give much work on Tuesday. Most students have a full schedule, so it’s not surprising many enjoy having an early dismissal. Upperclassmen can have shortened schedules and they would rather have full days.
While it may seem like full days off is the obvious choice with more time off from school. Teachers have a different perspective on how they teach with a change in schedule. Joe Hovorka and John Matzke are both teachers in the East math department.
“I would prefer PLC time because we were able to work collaboratively with other teachers,” Hovorka said.
Matzke agrees with Hovorka on the math situation but can see that teachers can understand the two different sides of the debate, depending on the circumstances.
“Math uses the PLC time pretty efficiently. It helps to have five algebra teachers to stay on the same page,” Matzke said. “One of the six days came off of fall break and with doing the meeting and a plan day it was a nice buffer from being on break to being in the classroom. There are pluses and minuses.”
PLC days are a nice break to help get students through the week but it is certainly worth the wait for a full day off to enjoy.
