With the school year drawing to a close, plans for next year have started to become more finalized. Many are likely wondering what next year is going to look like. FHN administrators have stated that scheduling for next year is going to be very similar to that of this year.

“We’ve kind of been up to our eyeballs just staying afloat in 2020-2021,” Head Principal Nathanael Hostetler said. “So we really haven’t planned anything for 2021-2022.”

When discussing scheduling for next year, there are two aspects that can be taken into account. The first aspect is the overall academic calendar. This is the calendar that contains information regarding the first day of school, breaks and other related dates. This year, several changes had to be made to comply with COVID protocols and legislation from the Governor. One of the only major changes that will be taking place next year is the first day of school, which will be Aug. 23. Hostetler has stated that they are “kind of in a wait and see game” for several other calendar items including freshman transition day, which was not able to occur this year.

“We’re in a lot different place now than we were six months ago with COVID,” Hostetler said. “I’m hopeful that two months from now, so June, that we are in an even better spot in which case we can start to bring people back into the building for voluntary things and worry less about contact tracing.”

The second aspect in regards to scheduling changes is student schedules. There were more changes to student schedules this year than to the general academic calendar. These include things like number of lunch periods, class sizes, and class availability. Number of lunches, for example, had to be increased from three to five and this is something that will continue next year.

Class sizes were another big change this year and while they are set to increase next year with the return of many virtual students, the increase is not incredibly immense. They are set to look closer to pre-COVID levels while not being exactly the same. The return of virtual students, in turn, brings the return of virtual teachers which opens up more class availability as more teachers will be available to teach the classes.

Finally, next year will see some new things, like the incorporation of blended learning. This is a more college based style of learning that will be offered for AP Literature, Pre-Calculus, and Algebra 3.