Kicking off the 2025-2026 school year, students were met with an unexpected change to the academic lab, a preset class period used for retakes, club meetings, or independent study. Now, instead of signing up at any point on the day of, students must choose their academic lab module locations by midnight the night before. Those who forget to sign up for one or both of their modules are automatically assigned to a random class in their schedule.

Pro: Increased instructional time

On one side of the argument are administrators, who believe signing students up for academic labs is beneficial for learning. 

“When a student didn’t sign up, we then had to call them down to the office. We were pulling them out of their class later that day; there’s some class time [being wasted]. It was taking away time when students could be productive,” assistant principal Mario Pupillo said

Additionally, it was challenging for students who didn’t sign up for academic lab at all, as they would face consequences such as detention. 

“It saves some time. There were just a lot of kids who weren’t signing up, and that was causing a lot of issues for the office staff, and there was a lot of extra work to be done. 

Now, everybody just has a place to go,” librarian Lauren Reusch said 

Students who don’t have a specific teacher to go to for academic lab, want to see their friends, or just need a quiet study place, typically choose to go to the library. With so many students wanting to choose one of these activities, library slots tend to fill up fast.

“From the teacher’s side, [the policy is more convenient]. I think it’s definitely made it easier on us. The list of kids that come into the library is set, and we don’t have to worry about it changing at the last minute, and it makes it more concrete,” Reusch said.

Con: Decrease in student productivity

Students may have to deal with a scenario where they have a test in an academic lab, but forgot to sign up the night before. Under the previous system, students could sign up before the bell rang for the first module. With the new policy, however, those who forget are assigned to a class that cannot change. Previously, students could also obtain a pass from another teacher, but this is no longer possible under the new system. This is a frustration that many students have faced. 

“I think it’s really unfair for students, because it doesn’t let us move [freely] to [a] different class. If you’re going for a math test in the first [module] and you signed up for both [modules], but you [finished your] test early, you can be doing something better [in a different class],” sophomore Alisha Singh said. 

Research found that students were more likely to finish their work with a study hall and support from a teacher. By limiting students’ ability to make last-minute changes, the new academic lab system takes away from valuable study time. 

“The thing that I don’t like [about academic lab] is that if you forgot to sign up anytime before the day of, the [system] puts you in a random place. I think that’s really annoying, because if I needed to see a teacher, and I forgot [to sign up], it’s not like I can just go to them,” junior Jude Taher said.

Due to the frustration with this policy, students have unique viewpoints on potential solutions. We believe that an academic lab should allow students to sign up for the entire week, as well as on the day of, because students’ schedules are constantly changing. 

It’s not easy to figure out how to make up tests or create a responsive schedule so far in advance. Moreover, many academic lab periods are already being used for counseling sessions, character lessons, or programming. It’s not fair to expect students to plan far ahead, without any backup in case of sickness or forgetfulness.

“I think I would change the second [mod] of academic lab, so you can sign up after the first block of academic lab is finished. That way, you can sign up for a different class [second mod]. I think that would be better,” Singh said.

Moving forward

Being able to sign up for academic lab modules on the day of could increase student efficiency. A suggested solution to ensure all students remember to sign up for modules is an email reminder to sign up for their desired location on the day of. 

Pupillo and administrators would be open to a change, as long as it proved beneficial to West students and showed an increase in performance. 

“We’re always willing to take feedback and look at our processes and adjust to make them the best possible for the overall function of the building, for teachers, for students. As of right now, we are looking at this as a permanent change that will continue to operate in this manner, but nothing’s ever guaranteed. We’re always willing to look and review the processes, but I think the intention right now is to continue with this into the future,” Pupillo said.

Academic lab is a key part of students’ academic success because it has a direct impact on their learning and understanding of a subject. This is especially useful since many students don’t have time to study due to sports or other extracurricular activities. Limiting where students can go on the day of the academic lab may cause difficulties; however, having the ability to sign up for the academic lab further in advance is more convenient. There are valid considerations for both sides of the debate, but as students, we believe that the policy could benefit from slight adjustments, like adding more organization and flexibility, like allowing last-minute sign-up changes, which could make the system easier.