In an effort to acquire deeper layers of feedback and data collection, regarding the proposed schedule change, Molly Stewart, director of INsite, has been holding open discussion focus groups. INsite is a data collection organization, associated with Indiana University that MCCSC is collaborating with to aid in collecting input from the community on the desired schedule change for the 2025-26 school year. 

Numerous focus groups have occurred at South during the past few weeks to gather student feedback; however, several students do not believe that these sessions give students an adequate chance to voice the entirety of their opinions or help shape their educational experience. 

Students express this is due to the highly selective manner in which students were picked for these groups, as well as the topic of conversation being reserved to only South’s current schedule, trimesters. Sophomore August Wu said, “It was mostly about how our schedule is now and if we liked it and if it was working for us.” 

Junior Lily Stull said, “There were probably about 20 people there. It was during lunch and they kinda just had us raise our hand and say our opinion if we felt the need.” Stull appeared entirely unimpressed with the execution of the meeting. Wu agreed that the groups were solely opinion-collection-based, saying, “Yeah, I don’t think we even discussed much of a different kind of schedule. The actual schedule hadn’t come out yet so they didn’t really tell us anything about another schedule.” 

Teachers were also asked to attend focus groups. Social studies teacher Kendra Parker was in attendance on Monday, Oct. 30. Parker met with 10 other teachers (three from North, one from Academy, and six from South) as well as Stewart, on Indiana University’s campus.

Parker said, “Stewart was able to tell us her recommendations to the district but that she could not publicize those recommendations. The recommendations more or less aligned with the student and teacher focus group opinions. Beyond that, it was more or less general thoughts about the schedule and schedule change process.”

Noticeable differences between the two types of meetings were location, amount of people, and focus of the discussion topic. In contrast to what the students discussed, Parker and other teachers discussed alternative schedule systems. Parker said in addition to discussion over the trimester and block schedule, the teachers “essentially noted how a hybrid block schedule would be a major disadvantage for some of our groups that we are most focused on providing equity for.”