When Lucas B. (‘25) saw Milken’s new class schedule in the fall, he was “resistant to it at first”, but eventually, it left him “pleasantly surprised.”
Milken Community School recently changed their class schedule to match the middle and high school times. Whereas the old schedule had A and B days, the new schedule has Days 1-5. It is a rotating, snake schedule where classes meet three times per five day cycle. In the new schedule, there are a total of eight blocks, with five classes per day on Days 1- 4 and four classes on day fives. The classes go in alphabetical order on Day 1, and it keeps that order all week.
In the old schedule, classes met two times every full week, and Fridays would alternate between A & B days. A days would be on Mondays and Wednesdays while B days would fall on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Lucas was not alone because Parker G. (‘25) also felt skeptical about the new schedule. “At first, I was kind of questionable about it,” Parker said. However, the new schedule began to grow on him. After a few months, he is “getting used to it now and [liking it].”
For some students, a few months was enough time to change their view while for some others, the time did not help. Senior David M. (‘25) felt the opposite of Parker, saying “I’ll have math homework that’s assigned early in a day, [and] the next day I’ll have it due,” which he explained put a strain on his work flow.
Sophomore Hannah B. (‘27) agreed with David, explaining a few months did not feel like enough time to get used to the schedule. She talked about how she found it challenging “having the same class [two days] in a row.” She also spoke about missing “longer lishm[ot]” because it gave her more time to meet with teachers and get work done.
The new schedule is controversial among students, but teachers seem to stand in unity. For instance, Upper School Math Teacher Lilit Minasian felt that the schedule helped her teach topics more thoroughly. She liked how her “classes meet more often now,” and the new schedule gave her the “opportunity to do a lot more in the classroom or spend a little more time with the same topic.”
Similarly, 11/12 Division Head Beau Lindsay, an administrator who helped create the new schedule, wanted to revise and make this version so that it “would align [the] 6th-12th grade.” He believed it gave students who were missing too much school because of sports or coming to school late the opportunity to attend more classes.
After a few months of this new way of experiencing Milken days , people are starting to get the hang of it, and time will tell how it feels for everyone.
As Parker G. (‘25) said “it’s making a lot more sense.”
