The Career Center is a high school that draws its student population from each of the 10 main high schools, including Reynolds providing an extension to the regular high school programs and course options. Students who attend Career Center have the option to divide up their classes between the Career Center and their home school or take all of their classes at the Career Center. Many students at Reynolds decide to take some courses at the Career Center, as well as Reynolds, which brings the decision of where to take which classes into consideration. This decision and balancing classes between each school leads many students to ponder: Which school offers tougher classes?
“I think that the classes are harder at Career Center,” junior Allie Rice, who takes three classes at the Career Center, said. “The teachers are always very productive and the classes are shorter.”
There is one distinct difference between classes at Reynolds and ones at Career Center and that is the length. Reynolds and all of the other WSFCS high schools have class periods that last for an hour and a half in a four-period day. However, the Career Center has approximately 45 minute periods in an eight-period day. This allows for different schedules, making it easier for students to take classes at the Career Center and their home schools, without missing instructional time. The time in class evens out as Career Center classes meet every day all year, while the hour and a half classes at the home school meet either every day for one semester or every other day all year.
The shorter classes are generally popular and beneficial to many students, but do require hard work in order to get the most out of the 45 minute period. “The classes are shorter, so you have to work hard and more diligently in the different time frame,” Rice said.
Junior Robbie Parris, who takes two classes at the Career Center, feels that the Career Center class period system works better for him. “My attention span doesn’t last long enough to take some classes at Reynolds.” Many students also enjoy venturing out to the Career Center to take classes and interact with students from other schools, as well as getting more of the “college” experience that is provided by the Career Center. “The Career Center gives you insight to people from different schools,” Parris said. The Career Center also offers some Advanced Placement and special subject classes that are not provided by the home schools.
“The Career Center is more independent and offers more of an abundance of classes and opportunities for new friends,” Rice said. All in all, it really depends on the specific class when looking at how challenging it is. Whether the class is at the Career Center or at Reynolds really does not matter if you put in the amount of work and effort necessary to make you desired grade.
“I think that the classes are equally challenging, because the [shorter] class periods at Career Center make you pack in all of the work, and it ends up equaling the amount of work you do in one and a half hour classes at Reynolds,” Parris said.