Free periods represent the sacrifice that many students have made to earn open credits. This privilege is earned, not given. Since the 9th grade, every Jackson-Reed student has looked forward to having free periods during their senior year.
Every grade has a town hall meeting where they discuss future plans and expectations for the year ahead. As juniors, our town hall focuses on what’s to come: SATs, ROAR values, and, most notably, free periods. When we heard about free periods, we imagined waking up late and spending our time off with friends. These breaks allow us to combat senioritis, manage college applications, and handle other responsibilities. However, we were hit with the reality that, for the 2025-2026 school year, free periods will only be granted to students with jobs or internships. Many students already work after school, and being required to work a shift during a free third period is far from ideal, as they would have to return to school immediately afterward. This policy also forces seniors to take the first or second half of the school day off to accommodate jobs in the D.C. area, limiting their flexibility.
Over the past three years, students have taken anywhere from 8 to 14 classes per year, and by senior year, most of us only need 1 to 4 credits to graduate. With this new policy, students will be forced to take unnecessary courses just to fill their schedules. This is a devastating blow to the hard work we’ve put in countless hours of studying, taking electives we didn’t truly need, and enduring the challenges of junior year. The new requirement places an unfair burden on seniors, increasing the risk of burnout due to overwhelming schedules, limited time for breaks, college tours, applications, SATs, and more.
Jackson-Reed is the only school in the district to offer free periods, and we want to keep it that way. Stripping away this privilege for rising seniors is an unreasonable decision that will do more harm than good. It will lead to increased skipping, higher stress levels, and lower enjoyment of our final years of high school. We have worked too hard for this opportunity to be taken away, and we urge the administration to reconsider.
