Maggie Sgaramella ’26
In previous years, the fall semester has been significantly shorter than the spring semester. This year, EA has chosen a solution to this issue by moving the class days of service and programming days to the spring semester.
Regarding the rationale, Head of Upper School Mike Letts explains, “This is something I had been talking about for the last couple of years. Because of the relatively new Science curriculum and the relatively new English curriculum.” Before science and English were semester courses at EA, the length of semesters was not an issue. Letts adds that now, “Significantly more than half the Upper School has one—and many have two—exams before the break.”
Photo courtesy of ea1785
In the past, courses running in the fall semester have been up to a full 8-day rotation short, and even with the changes, the fall semester is still short three-to-four class sessions. Having more instructional time allows students to be better prepared for first-semester exams. 10th Grade Form Dean Zachary Richards states, “My spring semester covers a little bit more content than my fall semester. Now it kind of balances out a little bit, I think there is still some room to grow. But it definitely does help.”
Semester classes that run in the fall are often short on time to get through material. Upper School science teacher Christy Rheam says, “You really have to almost force it to get through everything. In the second semester, it’s more spread out and we have to find more stuff to teach.” She continues, “This did make a big difference. I feel like this year, I’m not rushing as much and there is a little more flexibility with time.”
In the future, EA is looking for more ways to get back more class time to even out the semesters. Along with service days and non-instructional programming days being moved to the spring, the PSAT was moved to weekends during the school year instead of during the day. Joy Ying ’25 says, “Last year we took them [PSAT] at school on a weekday. This year, I took mine on a Saturday and it felt more like the actual SAT.” Now, courses running in the first semester do not have to account for the days off for students taking the PSAT as well. This will assist in providing equal class time before the exams for all students whether they take the PSAT or not.
The rescheduled programming and service days will function exactly the same. Letts confirms, “Service will still be in the morning, with programming in the afternoon.” The only change is that now they will be during the spring rather than the fall. Typical service days include the entire grade splitting up based on advisory and performing service for community partners in the area. EA wanted to continue service days while not sacrificing academic time for them.
Greville Haslam Head of School T.J. Locke concludes, “I love that Mr. Letts is trying to balance out the amount of instructional time for the two semesters. Even small things make a difference, and I am glad they are getting creative.”