With the start of the 2023–2024 school year, there have been a number of new regulations and procedures put in place, and in the center of them all–the new student support system.
Student support was intended to be for students to get homework done and ask teachers for help, but last year students were not spending this time wisely, instead were leaving campus with their friends. The purpose of this new modification is to better keep track of students, add a more structured system, and include further academic opportunities.
“What had been missing was an effective way for teachers to communicate to students what options are available during Student Support time,” said Angie Corritone, an Assistant Principal at Monte Vista. “Walking around to find an open classroom obviously is not helpful, and even became a source of stress, or unwelcome distraction, for some students.”
As students have become more familiar with the new scanning system that was implemented last school year, administration has now added a new layer to the attendance regulations through Infinite Campus that affect the way students sign up for student support.
“When we moved to the scanning system a year and a half ago, it was always the hope that some of the automation that technology provides would take the logistical parts off of our plates, and could help us save our brain power and relational energy for tasks that involve supporting actual humans,” Corritone said. “Automating the movement part of Student Support was the next natural step to take.”
In order to sign up, students will use Infinite Campus and choose the “Responsive Schedule” tab where there will be a list of teachers and classrooms that are open. Sometimes a teacher will have already requested for a student to be in their class. This may be to make up a test or to get some extra help, and you are required to show up.
This system may have been just introduced to Monte Vista, but many students are familiar with this new form of Student Support. A large portion of the student body has experienced similar Student Support processes at the local middle schools in the Danville/San Ramon area.
“In my middle school we had a program that was very much like this where you had to sign up for where you were [going to] go before you went there and I did not like it,” said Olivia Canova, a junior at Monte Vista. She is one of numerous students who’ve expressed distaste for the Student Support change, likening it to their middle school Student Support system which was generally not favored by students.
Additionally, Canova, along with many other students, preferred to have more freedom when choosing which of their classes to spend her time, due to how quickly things come up and change. Having to sign up to go to a class early on in the week, only to have a change in plans pop up, can be difficult for students to work around.
“I liked being able to make a last minute decision,” said junior Olivia Canova. “[If] I wanted to ask questions about [a lecture], I wouldn’t have to worry about signing up ahead of time.”
Students aren’t the only ones with strong feelings towards the Student Support change. Teachers have opinions on the new system, with some expressing warmth towards the system generally frowned upon by the student body.
“Last year there was a lack of structure that created loose ends for teachers to not offer sessions and students did not have a clear snapshot of what was happening in the classes across campus,” said Ryane Siegel, the dance teacher at Monte Vista.
The old system allowed leeway for teachers to ignore student support sessions, that in many cases, abandoned the needs of students and their hopes for support, hence the name “student support.” Arguments reinforce the concept that the old system lacked structure, and as a result, students struggled to identify what class to choose due to a lack of knowledge of what classes were provided including the offerings within them.
“The student choice to sign up is great,” Siegel said. “The teacher’s control to responsively schedule is also beneficial and it will bridge gaps for student achievement and learning.”
As it has only been a few months since the new rules were set in place, it is difficult to identify if they will carry on for the whole school year.
“While change can be hard, we have to remember that we cannot get better unless we are willing to be curious about how new things can make life even better,” Corritone said.
