(COVINGTON, La.)– St. Paul’s students recently participated in a survey gauging preferences for the 2019-2020 school year. The survey, conducted and tabulated during Pack Time, asked students to weigh in on proposed electives, hours of the school day, and daily routines. Of the 49 packs participating, 725 student responses were included in the tabulations. Proposed classes in electrical fields (89%) and culinary arts (52%) were preferred by more than half of the students.

 Students were able to voice their opinions in the form of an averaged percentage calculated at their teacher’s desk. Students were asked to vote on 19 new classes if they were hypothetically added to the plethora of electives and courses offered on campus. 

“I’m interested in taking a forensics class next year,” said junior Hal Fox. Art majors may find that classes such as photography and game design fascinating, so it is effective to see student responses as to what they would like to study. For the pre-medical student, one might one day find nursing, therapy, and psychology courses valuable in learning the much-needed experience for entering fields related to health. 

Students were asked whether or not they would like to start an additional 15 minutes later, go back to last year’s times, keep the same schedule without student news in the morning, start at 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., or start from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The overwhelming majority of students preferred the 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. option with a whopping 74% preference. The most unpopular of the times was the 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. choice, with only 4% of student preference. Based off of the data collected from the polls, the 2019-2020 school year may see a change from the 8:03 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. schedule. 

Start Times

Of the 49 packs surveyed, the general consensus is to start at 7:30 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m.

• Starting school 15 minutes later (8:15 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.)
  • 26%
• 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
  • 74%
• Last year’s times (7:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.)
  • 50%
• 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
  • 8%
• 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., no student news
  • 57%

Class Preferences

725 Students were surveyed on classes they would be interested in seeing become available for the 2020-2021 school year.

• Auto Mechanics
  • 34%
• Plumbing
  • 10%
• Electrical
  • 89%
• Woodworking
  • 35%
• Culinary
  • 52%
• Welding
  • 37%
• Nursery/Therapy
  • 19%
• Interior Design
  • 12%
• Nutrition
  • 14%
• Forensics
  • 25%
• Fashion
  • 6%
• Photography
  • 20%
• Drafting
  • 15%
• Geology
  • 7%
• App/Web Design
  • 29%
• Life Skills
  • 50%
• Latin
  • 11%
• Psychology
  • 23%
• 20th/21st Century History
  • 16%