Start school schedule planning now

The well-known Benjamin Franklin quote "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail" is good to remember when managing your child's school schedule.

Parents of eighth-graders in the Moses Lake School District would do well to start thinking about their child's schedule now by marking a parent information night on their schedules. The meeting is 7 p.m. at the high school theater on Feb. 18. School registration officially starts March 5, so it's best to attend the meeting and be prepared to help your child through the registration process.

Next year's schedule is more complicated because of a recent board decision to have classes start earlier in the day (7 a.m.) and end later (5 p.m.) to lessen overcrowding at the high school. Parents may want to start having conversations with their employers now about how this could impact their work schedules, and making appropriate plans. If they haven't already, students might want to consider all their class options and further review their career choices to make the best use of their time. There are benefits to making career choices early in one's high school career.

While there are several concerns about the new schedule, it's important to remember new opportunities could arise for parents on the work front and students on the school front with an expanded day. Perhaps a student can work part-time when he or she couldn't before. We hope that everyone will be as flexible and as forward-thinking as possible when plotting out next year's calendar.

- Editorial Board