By Maggie Rechkemmer

Eighty-nine percent of the students at Mount Vernon High School are satisfied with the school day schedule, and 95% of the students said that they were happy with the length of classes according to a survey taken by 245 students in grades 10-12.

The survey was written by the School Improvement Team (SIP). “We wanted to look at different ways to improve school in general, the schedule, and classes offered,” said foreign language teacher Tom Wilkinson, a member of the SIP. “We really wanted the students’ feedback,” he said.

One aspect students said they want to keep is the lunch line, commenting that the way the two lines are working in general is well-organized.

The water bottle filling station was also a must have, along with the 8:30 start time for school.

Students were also given the opportunity to voice their opinions on changes they would like to see.

Open campus was at the top of the list of student desires. “It would give me time to run home and get something to eat instead of paying or eating the school food,” one student said in a written comment on the survey. Another said, “I have two free periods in a row that I could do college classes online, but I can’t focus at school.”

The main issues students see with their schedule involved band, physical education and sports. Because of commitments before and after school, students in earlybird PE and band who also participate in sports do not have enough time to talk with teachers.

Fifty-eight percent of the students said that they want more time to retake assessments, and 39 percent said they wanted more time to meet one-on-one with teachers.

Many students surveyed requested to not have to take a PE class if they are in a sport. “We are already getting the exercise and freeing up a gym period would allow for us to take more of the classes that we would want or need to take,” one student wrote on the anonymous survey.

Locker rooms, moped parking, and soccer with Lisbon were also things that were brought up about changes for the high school. Students would also like to be able to take more electives.

“I was very pleased with the students on the results and how seriously they took it,” said Mr. Wilkinson. Some additional comments were made in the survey that made teachers smile, such as how great the staff is and the communication they have with students and other teachers.

Responding to the question, “When making changes for MVHS, what would I make sure did NOT change? Why?” One student responded, “The great staff!! I can truly tell that our staff has great communication, relationships, and motivation. Every time I walk into the high school I know that there is always support and encouragement from the staff.”