The problem Beginning in the 2020-21 school year, a new schedule — pushing back the academic year and shifting finals to after winter break — was adopted district-wide. From students to teachers,...
![For the past three years, Parkway has administered high school finals after winter break, a practice that proves to be detrimental to the success as well as the mental health of students. With finals after break appearing to do more harm than good, the question of what changes can be made arises time and time again. “The pressure for finals is difficult, and to have that [pressure for] a few weeks because you're on [a] break can make you generally sad. It's a bummer in general. I wish [finals] were before break, so we [could] have a break to sleep, celebrate and not study. Everyone I've talked to about it is like 'yeah, finals sucks,' and I wish that wasn't a thing,” junior Meadow Kostial said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/decembereditorial-1200x963.jpg)