Students who have attended schools in Jacksonville District 117 in middle school or high school have always received time at the end of the school day to work on homework or visit teachers. The 2022-2023 school year was no different for Jacksonville High School students until the second semester came about. The policy regarding the end of day advisory, Crimson Time as JHS calls it, changed drastically. 

At JHS, Crimson Time is the last 25 minutes of the school day on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Previously, students would report to their designated room for attendance and then could go to a teacher’s room, as long as they had a pass, any day of the week. As of second semester, students cannot leave their designated room on Mondays or Fridays and can leave on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The new schedule has caused uproar across the student body. 

The new rules were put in place in order to encourage students to use the provided time to focus on school work and eliminate students leaving the classroom for non-school related reasons. “I think I understand why the policy was created, to help kids stay focused on work during Crimson Time instead of using it as a social hour,” states an anonymous student at JHS. The policy makes sense on paper; however, the question many have asked is, “Is it realistic?” 

According to three teachers in the building, the policy isn’t as successful as planned. Students are not focusing on homework anymore than they were. One of the teachers states, “There are less students in the hallway now, but they still aren’t working.” This was expected by many teachers. “By the end of the day students are checked out and it’s only 25 minutes, so why would they want to work on their work?”

The new policy has displeased many students in the building as well. For students, the new policy “feels unfair to those who are responsible and go to other classrooms in order to get help,” states one JHS student. The new Crimson Time policy makes it so students can only get help from teachers, get missed work, or makeup assessments two days a week. So, for example, if a test is given on Friday and the teacher requires their students to finish the test that day, students may be forced to turn in unfinished tests because they cannot finish during Crimson Time and may be unable to finish after school.

The new Crimson Time policy had the best intention of students, but many students and teachers argue that the policy isn’t necessarily helping.