The End of an Era

This Wednesday marks the Final ‘Late Start Wednesdays’ in the History of Langley High School

The data in this graph was collected through a poll of Langley students by grade to see how many students take advantage of an extra hour to sleep or to study. As it turns out, sleeping in is the most popular option for freshmen and seniors!

The data in this graph was collected through a poll of Langley students by grade to see how many students take advantage of an extra hour to sleep or to study. As it turns out, sleeping in is the most popular option for freshmen and seniors!

Nearly a decade ago in 2006, former principal Mr. William Clendaniel implemented late start Wednesdays to Langley High School. Back then, late Wednesdays were intended for students to still arrive at 7:20 a.m., but have a full period to meet with teachers and catch up on school work, similar to what we now call “Saxon Time.” According to Mr. Clendaniel in an interview with Northern Virginia Newspaper, The Connection, the goal of late Wednesdays was to allow “The kids [to] work with teachers on remediation and make-up work.” With start times changing from 7:20 a.m. to 8:10 a.m. next year, Langley will no longer be successively starting one hour late on Wednesdays. “It’s the last late Wednesday… forever!” said the principal’s administrative assistant, Ms. Norma Jamsheed, when speaking about the bell schedule for this year, putting an emphasis on the word “forever.” As such, with AP exams and SOL testing beginning in May, the last late Wednesday of the year will be this week on April 29. These late starts gave students an opportunity to get more sleep or study for tests before school. In fact, some students recall late start Wednesdays as the highlight of their week. “I’m going to miss making up 25 minute runs in the morning,” exclaimed sophomore Grayson Elias. “I used these days to study and relieve stress.”