Students and parents press Northampton School Committee over ‘third-period’ scheduling gap at NHS

A wave of students, parents and staff urged the Northampton School Committee on June 12 to address a “scheduling crisis” at Northampton High School after this spring’s staffing reductions left dozens of rising seniors without on-campus third-period classes.

The committee heard more than a dozen public comments from high school students, parents and employees describing seniors told they face an open third-period or must take classes at Smith College or asynchronous courses that remove them from the high school for significant parts of the day.

The issue, students said, is a direct effect of last year’s budget cuts and the district’s inability to run additional class sections. Student union president Artis Vaughn, who identified himself as the newly elected president of the student union, said he was “kicked out of honors Spanish 5 because the school is unable to run 2 sections and unable to switch me into any other classes because it would create a whole third period second…