Recently, there has been a drastic change in the senior school year. The date of release has been pushed back, making the original May 17th date change to May 22nd. This has angered many high school seniors and parents as well. 

“I believe that the extended school year for the seniors is not fair to us,” said senior Maddy Johnson. “We work hard all of high school and what reward we get is getting out a couple of weeks before the rest of Guilford.”

   The date, May 17th, given over a year ago, has given excitement to seniors as well as the families of seniors. Many families have planned trips and parties to celebrate the early ending and graduation of their children, which will possibly be affected by these changes. 

   “I had not planned any trips personally, but I do know of others that now either have to miss school for trips or all together have to cancel them because with extremely short notice RPS changed the last date,” said Johnson. 

   Seniors attempted standing up to this decision. There was a QR code roaming the halls and attached, a google doc. In this Google doc, there were steps to contact the RPS 205 Board and a pre-created message to send to the members. The message reads as follows:

   Hi There, 

I am a Guilford High School class of 2024 student. Many fellow students and I disagree with the decision to postpone the senior’s last day for the following reasons:

• Several students and families have already made unchangeable plans after the 17th, having rightfully assumed RPS would have kept the calendar announced more than a year ago. 

• This sudden change in the calendar would top off the class of 2024’s unpredictable high school career. We entered our freshman year during the COVID-19 lockdown and restarted the year on day 4 after the ransomware attack. A mere 70 days notice for such a drastic change is not enough for the 1000+ seniors in this district at the end of our high school careers. 

• Finally, It is in the RPS Board of Education that governing policies- 600, 6.20- “The Board, upon the Superintendent’s recommendation and subject to state regulations, annually establishes the date for opening and closing classes, teacher institutes and in-services, the length and dates of vacations, and the days designated as legal school holidays.” The senior’s last day has been on the calendar given to our community for more than a year, an established date for closing classes. Per the board’s own policy, changing these dates must happen annually, not on such short notice. 

Sincerely, 

A concerned student and community member.  

   This fight was fought not just by us as Vikings but across the district. Many students signed the petition even if they were not particularly affected by the changed schedule. 

   “I did sign the petition to end the extension of the senior school year,” said Senior, Saja Razick.   

   Many seniors thought that this petition would gain them their last week back but unfortunately, that was not the case. However, this act allowed seniors to speak up against the board and their unfair decisions. 

   “ I did sign the petition! I feel like it was amazing that students were standing up for themselves and showing that this was a matter they cared about and that they found was unfair. Knowing the least I could do to get in the eyes of the board was to sign a petition, I did it immediately after it was posted,” says Senior, Maddy Johnson.