This year, Burke took on a new schedule including a homeroom in between the first and second period of the day. Advisement is a 25 minute class period where teachers are encouraged to connect with their students by doing different activities, checking grades, and overall, trying to make Burke a better place.

“So, what we did is we took roughly about 7 to 10 minutes off each block and we shaved off a little bit of the passing period time as well,” Matt Brooks, English teacher and member of the Advisement Planning Committee said.

The overall goal of Advisement is to play a positive role in building a community with the staff and students.

“I know it is an opportunity for teachers to explore social and emotional learning with their students which is a very important aspect of learning that we don’t necessarily get to adjust in our classrooms. Also, I think it is a great opportunity to remind teachers that they can just be with students,” Brooks said.

Many teachers believe that Advisement is a good opportunity to be able to connect with students that they aren’t familiar with.

“I think it will give a chance for more teachers to know more students, especially me. I don’t know many students in the whole school, actually, and now I know kids outside of my department,” Brooke Christensen, French teacher and member of the Advisement Planning Committee, said. “It is especially difficult for Foreign Language teachers to meet new students when they are limited to teaching students that take their language.”

Last year, Burke had homeroom during fifth and sixth period, which gave teachers extra time during class to share important information and the lunch menu to students. However, that time was not used to the advantage that many teachers would’ve wished it had.

“Homeroom used to be with lunch, and we found that even though having a closed campus, sometimes there are different challenges with getting students back in the building around lunch time,” social studies teacher Christina Collins said. “The fact that it’s now in the morning, I’m seeing better attendance in mine. I have seniors and the fact that seniors who have late start are coming for advisement, that’s pretty powerful.”  

Many teachers have found that Advisement brings a positive experience to school and allows students to take a break from the stress of sitting in class and build a community with the people around them. Some Advisement classes have come up with a schedule of what to preoccupy themselves with each day to keep it engaging and fun.

“We have different activities for each day: Music Monday’s, Work Wednesday’s for homework and TV show Thursday where we watch a show on the smart board,” senior Nolan Christianson said. “I think it will have a positive impact on our school because it gives students a break throughout the day. It’s pretty beneficial if we use it in the right way.”

On Instagram, the Digital Journalism staff took a poll, asking for students, teachers, and parents opinions on Advisement. Fifty-nine percent of people said that they like advisement, while the other 41% of people said they do not like it.

“It’s a waste of time, because that’s 25 minutes that we could be doing something else,” senior Judy Dismuke said.

Numerous students believe that Burke could do something more beneficial towards the school than Advisement, such as adding a fifth lunch period, so that the cafeteria isn’t crowded and so students can get their lunch quicker.

“I never have enough time to eat and it’s always crowded. People would be more spread out so there would be less of a long line and more room,” junior Katie Layendecker said.

Other students feel that Advisement shouldn’t be substituted for a fifth lunch.

“I personally like it, I don’t think it should be substituted into a fifth lunch because I don’t think anyone prefers fourth lunch anyways,” senior Abby Patterson said. “I think its a good way to add a short break into the day.”