Written by Anika Kini and Zoe Roth

The Rye Country Day Upper School schedule has been a source of contention for parents, students, and faculty alike over the past few years. From eight day cycles to classes meeting every other day to extended lab periods, the schedule embodies the term “variable”. Despite the frequent changes, one new feature of the schedule has been more hotly contested than ever before: the lack of passing time between periods. 

The five minute passing period was a component of past schedules that allowed students to move between classrooms and buildings without being late or missing any content. This year, however, many students were surprised to see this beloved grace period replaced with an extra five minutes of each class.

The elimination of passing time was implemented to combat a prevailing issue witnessed by teachers in prior years: hallway distractions. With five minutes to transition from class to class, administrators often found that students would stop to converse with their peers in the hallways rather than promptly walking to their next classroom and arriving early should they not require the entirety of the passing time. Students’ brains would quickly shift from an academic setting to a social setting, negatively impacting their ability to arrive at their next class focused and ready to learn. Without time to socialize between periods, the brain remains academically oriented, resulting in a more productive school environment. 

Not all students are upset about the new schedule and timing. As the year progresses many students are finding that lack of passing time has not impacted their day-to-day lives at school. Evie Shurslep ‘25 agrees. “I don’t think it changed much. Teachers give us a few minutes anyway because they know we need time to walk there”. While many teachers have adopted this system, others have taken advantage of the extra five minutes built into each block, leaving no time for students to travel from class to class. Critics of the new schedule question its efficacy in improving academic performance; although students’ minds remain focused on their classes throughout the day, it comes at the cost of missing important content during those initial five minutes which, in the long run, may prove to be more detrimental.

While passing time may have allowed for unwanted socialization between blocks, it also enabled students and teachers to regather themselves  before their next class. Being able to use the restroom or stop for a drink of water during the allotted five minutes not only prevented students from having to leave in the middle of class but also ensured their comfort and well-being upon arrival, paving the way for a more constructive classroom environment. Furthermore, some students found that quick hallway conversations gave them a much needed boost of energy that carried through to the rest of the day. 

It is unclear if passing time will return in the following years, but in the meantime, as they have done countless times before, students will have to adapt to this new schedule change.