Many students have been wondering why the call was made to take a three-week break from Liberty Hour. This also brings up the question of whether or not Liberty Hour is actually working.
Most teachers and administrative staff are proud to answer these questions because of the positive results. Is Liberty Hour a good thing for students?
“The short answer is yes. We have seen a reduction in the number of D’s and F’s in our 10th-12th grade students,” Assistant Principal Brett Coffman said. “With the added time in tutoring, the data has shown that students end up passing classes with much higher grades.”
Liberty Hour coordinator, Laura Hartman also sees the positives Liberty Hour.
“One of the biggest things that we’ve seen is a 200% increase with students involved in clubs,” she said. “So not only does Liberty Hour help students on the academic side, but also on the social side, and total involvement at LHS.”
Furthermore, number of D’s and F’s is expected to drop further based on results from other schools, such as Blue Springs, where the low grade rate has dropped to as low as four percent. Coffman also commented on this comparison.
“I think Liberty Hour has progressed very quickly,” Coffman said. “In visiting Blue Springs, they shared with us their Wild Cat hour took a year to really impact the student body. We were hearing about the positive impact of Liberty Hour from teachers, parents, and students very early this school year.”
Teachers can answer most students’ questions about Liberty Hour, thanks to a thorough briefing.
“At the beginning of the year, we sat down and said this is what Liberty hour is going to look like and during Christmas break we were briefed and told we’re going to take a break and get grades in,” American Government teacher Ronald Ludwig said. “We looked at numbers, at the D and F rate, and determined if Liberty Hour is what we want to do.”
The three-week break was to ensure that students new to the school realize the benefits of Liberty Hour versus the traditional lunch.
It was also to have students accumulate enough grades so that the school could identify students who truly need tutoring versus those who only received one bad grade.
“I’d say the biggest reason [for the three week break] is we wanted to get enough grades in the grade book so that a student’s grade accurately showed their performance this semester,” Liberty Hour Coordinator Joyce Gilmore said. “So we wanted tutoring status to be meaningful.”
The break has also led to students and teachers alike voicing their true feelings about the still new Liberty Hour.
“I think it’s working because it’s giving us more contact time with students and I believe that the F rate is improving,” Ludwig said.
Students in every grade have their own opinions but most have come to a general conclusion that they want Liberty Hour to live on.
“I think overall Liberty Hour has helped not just me but everyone get schoolwork done and have a time to relax,” junior Spencer Hamilton said.
Seniors Sarah Cadd and Kristen Poe agreed with Hamilton. In the library they bubbled up at the opportunity to share their opinions.
“I have more study time,” Poe said. “It lets me recuperate so I can focus for the rest of the day. It’s more of a campus environment because they give you fewer roles.”
Cadd also agreed that fewer roles meant a lot to her.
“Not everyone has to sit in the cafeteria,” Cadd said. “So you can get away from the noise by going somewhere else. There’s already so much pressure on high school students and then I have to go and eat lunch like an elementary student. Liberty Hour makes it more like being an adult.”
