Andi Hayes, Features Editor/
At the beginning of the new school year, students were greeted with more than just new windows at the front of the school.  This year, Prospect changed its former late 8:10 start to a later 8:30 start.  This time change was made mostly to be on the same schedule as other District 214 schools who started at 7:30 regularly.
According to Associate Principal Greg Minter, this extra time allows for teachers to have more time to meet in groups and discuss the curriculums of their classes.  During these meetings, teachers also plan, review and take critical looks at their classes to see what they’re doing wrong or right. These meetings usually begin around 7:20-7:30 and end about five minutes before school starts.
However, for the students who take the bus, the situation is not quite the same. According to Minter, the buses arrive at the same time they do on a regular start day, causing the students to have a significant amount of time before school, somewhere from one hour to an hour and a half.  Minter says supervising all the students at a time where all the teachers are gone can be an issue, but is trying to control the situation as much as possible.
“Supervising the kids is a little bit of an issue because all the teachers are working in groups, so we just have to make sure we have enough people to supervise the kids that are here and help them to find productive things to do,” Minter said.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel for students who do not have to take the bus to school.  The extra 20 minutes in the morning allows for students to sleep in, or come into school early at a more reasonable time to do homework and access resources such as the Math Science Resource Room (MSRR) and the Literacy Lab.
“I’m a lot more awake, and I have time to eat breakfast, instead of being rushed and I can have a full morning routine,“ junior Michelle Welk said.
“It gives [students] an opportunity to get more sleep and more time to get ready,” senior Mara Meersman said.