Dear Blue Valley High School Teachers,

First off, I want to say that I greatly appreciate all of the hard work you put in, both in school and out. It’s because of your copious efforts that we are a first class school with first class students.
That being said, I want to draw something to your attention. There are many, many student athletes here who are desperately trying to balance school and their sport(s). I, personally, am on the bowling and swimming teams.
Bowling season isn’t that stressful for me, but swim season is absolute insanity. The team has ten practices a week, which take up approximately 20 hours that I would typically be sleeping, relaxing, and, yes, studying or doing homework. However, during spring sports’ season, I lose those 20 hours each and every week. Because of this, I cram most of my schoolwork into my weekends, when I have the most time and energy.
This usually works out pretty well. However, occasionally, I need some help. My parents are extremely supportive of me, helping me when I need it (which is a lot.) Between my dad driving me to morning practices and my mom packing numerous lunches, they encourage me so much, and I am incredibly appreciative.
I would like to ask for your assistance as well. Since I do try to do as much schoolwork during the week as possible, I would appreciate some notice, especially on projects due during the week. Giving large amounts of work that are due within the same week may not pose a problem for other students, but after a long day of school and practice, I am really not in the proper mindset to sit down and work on a project due that week. I would much rather do this work on the weekends.
I’m not asking for you to bend your schedules around mine. However, if I were to be given a heads up a few days before so that I would be able to work when it fits for me, that would be great. I’ve had teachers who print out calendars that show upcoming due dates and tests. This helps students because if we know upfront that we’re going to have a crazy busy week, we can work ahead. SchoolCenter is also a fabulous resource as far as calendars go.
I’ve learned many things this school year — one of the most important is something I learned in Mr. Jason Peres’ class, even though it has little to nothing to do with AP European History. Students go to school to learn. Not to get good grades, not to do well on the SATs, not even to do well on the AP Euro test. We come to learn. Because I think that I do my best work (and therefore, learn more) during the weekends, I like to be able to plan around and use them.
It would also be nice if we had some form of a rotating schedule. Although this is an unlikely wish, I truly believe it could help athletes as well as performers, managers, and any other students participating in activities during school hours. At Rockhurst High School, for example, students have A, B, and C days. Four classes remain the same everyday, and three classes rotate, including the last two hours of the day. Therefore, students who often miss classes for sports don’t always miss the same class. This wouldn’t only benefit students involved in activities. I believe that everyone would enjoy the break in monotony in their schedules.
When so many students are student athletes or other students who are missing class, the needs of those students need to be taken into consideration as well.

Sincerely,

Sally Cochran