Starting second semester of the 2020-2021 school year, it is now announced that class periods for Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) students will be modified. It is stated that five minutes will be reduced from class periods, making each class now only 55 minutes. 

This allows students and teachers to have a little time for themselves to do homework and other such work during these fanatical times. In addition to this, the District office and Union decided that teachers at Foothill Tech needed more time to plan better lessons and felt that they needed more time to grade work as well.

The five-minute reduction may also be connected to the possible renegotiation of Foothill Tech teachers contracts. Foothill Tech teachers are assigned to have no more than six classes, while at Buena and Ventura high schools teachers teach five classes. 

Russell Gibbs, principal of Foothill Tech, said he personally did not really have a choice in this decision but that it was based on teachers’ decisions. 

Gibbs also emphasized that teachers do not want a shorter day because they want to take away students’ learning amount, but that they want more time to get even higher quality lessons and grade work so they can be even better teachers. 

Since Foothill Tech teachers are teaching more than most other teachers at other high schools, this five minute reduction will give them more time to do many things they need to do for their classes.