Clubs are struggling, and while the somewhat new schedule for the 2021-2022 school year promotes longer class time, more sleep, and less unstructured time, a gaping hole remains that many club leaders are trying to fill. The overall lack of extra space in the schedule poses not only a challenge to clubs finding times to meet but also to student involvement in multiple clubs and extracurricular activities.
As it currently stands, clubs can meet during office hours from 8:00-8:45 a.m. before school every day except for Mondays or at 2:15 p.m. after school on Fridays. However, this timing is difficult, as this is the only scheduled time where students could meet with teachers. Therefore, clubs are now not only competing for members between one another but also competing for students’ participation over meeting with teachers, which can be difficult to balance.
Lily Liu ’22 says, “It’s kind of been impossible because the only time left has been Friday FlexÖ I know for sure that CSB meets during that time and the only times left [aside from that] are the other days during the morning or after school.” It’s difficult, though, because after school, students participate in a wide variety of sports and other activities, making it difficult for clubs that decide to meet after school. Liu adds that the morning times before school are “just too early [and] nobody wants to meet [then]. It’s been really hard to find time[s for clubs to meet].”
Some clubs have resorted to cutting back the amount of times that they meet in order to curb lower attendance rates. Sophia Vezmar ’22, leader of French Club, explains, “Initially we had a hard time, but then we decided to do it every other week, and that helped with the scheduling.” Though, Vezmar describes French Club as “lowkey,” explaining that the leaders “try to have treats and movies (like ‘Ratatouille’) to keep attendance high.”
For other clubs with more specific agendas, though, the schedule has posed significant challenges to gain and retain club members.
