The removal, at least temporarily, of Patriot Path came as a shock for students and some faculty. Some students were outraged by the newly added “Academic Flex” that replaced Patriot Path. I personally miss Patriot Path a lot. I was not for the Academic Flex change at all at first because I thought it was unfair to take away that aspect of student life. Knowing now the reasoning behind it, it makes more sense but it just is not the same. I used to do “Coffee with Friends” or attend club meetings during Patriot Path and now it’s just a study hall. Not the worst-case scenario but definitely not a fan favorite.
Academic Flex’s main purpose was to improve the scores and grades of the student body whereas Patriot Path was more about building relationships, stress relief, club meetings, and some academic make-up work or tutoring. Students chose their activities from a menu, and that choice determined which teacher students were with and also which students. In Flex, students are assigned their Flex teacher and also assigned different things to do based on their grades and student needs.
After a small survey of 28 people, 85.7% of people prefer Patriot Path to Academic Flex.
Some students shared more positive or neutral opinions. Cypress Bryce, a sophomore, said, “I honestly don’t mind it. I have a friend in there, and I can work on things I’m late on.” A few students have similar responses to the change. One student wrote, “I love having a free study hall where I can get schoolwork done in silence.” Another said, “I like learning and being able to prepare more for the ACT, but I still miss Patriot Path more.”
Mrs. Nichols, our media center aide, responded, “It is still a new concept, but I appreciate the teachers who are taking on the extra material to help students be successful. Mrs. King went and did a whole curriculum to help 11th graders with the ACT, so the ones (teachers) that are embracing the new change to move in a positive direction will make it worth the time.”
Perhaps students and faculty will learn to appreciate it more whenever the ACT or WorkKeys testing comes along. This change may not have been predictable by the students but hopefully after this semester of seeing how effective it is, maybe we will come to like Flex. I know that I’m enjoying my quiet time to either study, catch up on work, or take a power nap for sure.
