Any kid’s dream. It’s a high-schooler’s paradise: leaving school early or sleeping way past when school starts. This option has a name at our school: No Credit Flex. This course that seniors can take allows us to have a little more freedom with our time and integrate into out-of-school society much better.
No Credit Flex, or simply Flex, allows seniors specifically to use both their in-school and out-of-school time more efficiently, because they can have less of the more ‘useless and time-filling’ classes, and more time to work, do after school activities, participate in clubs and community events, and complete homework. Seniors can take up to 6 hours of Flex per day, but they have to be connected. For example, a student can take flex for 3 hours in the morning, then attend school for two hours, and finish off the day with another three hours, but they cannot leave more than once per day for Flex. Some students use Flex to simply go home earlier and have more time for at-home responsibilities and activities, while others take advantage of the time to rest and have good sleep schedules.
The course came about after seniors last year took the old Flex course, which is equivalent to this year’s work study, and didn’t do the assignments for the class, leading to overall lower GPAs for the senior class and impacting the student’s’ college applications. To solve this, the staff rebranded Flex into a course to take if you didn’t have anything else or if you wanted to leave school earlier or come in later, without impacting your GPA. This also brought about the creation of work study, which still counts as an elective credit.
Although Flex has these benefits, some students can’t seem to fit it into their busy class schedules, with requirements, band, choir, and other classes taking priority over a ‘free hour’. As senior Tucker Willoughby says (about taking Flex), “I would love to if I could get the chance to.” The course is not for everyone, but the ones that do take it seem to enjoy having more free time very much.
