Has JAG Improved Since Last Year?
The new JAG at Blue Valley West has made a significant change due to the huge time and schedule change. Put in effect on August 28th, administrators believed students would benefit from this new system, attempting to aid students with hectic schedules that didn’t get enough time before or after school to consult their teachers about assignments, make up missing tests or quizzes, or attend club meetings.
With the new JAG, lunch is served within the time period. While students are able to complete assignments, and discuss with their teachers, they also have the option to grab lunch within the time period as well. Students are also given the option eat in various locations around the school and spread out in the halls, pods and sometimes in their teacher’s classroom. This JAG time is supposed to be a positive change and overall proves to give a significant time increase.
As a comparison, students now receive the maximum time of five hours and 48 minutes of JAG time every week on a normal schedule, which is a significant difference compared to the three hours they received before the schedule alteration.
To make this session time more academic than social, the administration of BV West has announced that if a student has a C or below in a class, the teacher has the option to have them show up to their class during JAG or you will have “private dining”, meaning a student has to eat with a teacher as disciplinary action. This is a slightly controversial form of punishment and means of discipline and has been in discussion to have looser terms depending on circumstance.
The old JAG was held every Tuesday and Thursday. During this time, the teachers did not allow students to leave the classroom until passing period, which was halfway through the block. With the new JAG schedule, students are able to be more independent and are forced to form better time management skills.
Although there is still room for improvement, overall the new JAG schedule has proven to have a positive change to the academic lives of many students at BV West.
