Students with Early Release and Late Arrival are leaving Edgewood early and coming in later. Students have some mixed opinions on Early Release and Late Arrival.

Zoe Sproat arrives at school before second period and leaves after seventh period. When asked why she likes Early Release and Late Arrival, she has it “to sleep in and get out of school early. I mean, I wouldn’t want to be at school for eight periods a day.”

Another student, Peyton Parks, is at school for all eight periods. When asked about whether or not he would like Early release, he stated, “It would be nice to have it, though it’s not particularly necessary. It would give more free time to do things outside of school.”

10th grade English teacher Mr. Heflin also has an opinion on Early Release and Late Arrival. “I hate both of them. I think they have benefits for the students in terms of jobs and sleeping in and those things, but I think for school, it is detrimental to the overall school culture.” 

Scheduling is also a factor in those classes. According to Mr. Heflin, “It allows the school to schedule differently based on how many students are going to be in the building. You can offer more classes because you don’t have to have a spot for every student for every bell.” Mrs. Centers, one of the counselors at Edgewood who helps students with their schedules, says, “I think Early Release and Late Arrival is a great perk for our upperclass students. It does, however, create a scheduling nightmare for the counselors.” She also states, “Juniors can have up to two bells off. To get the second bell off, they have to be on track to graduate and not owe school fees. Seniors can have up to three bells off and the same requirements go for them to earn the second and third bells off.”