During activity period on Aug. 22, 2023, the seniors at Saint Ignatius received news of a policy change regarding their teacher’s absences. According to the deans of Saint Ignatius, if a teacher is absent from a senior (majority) class then the class may be canceled. Class cancellation would mean the students would not have to sit in the classroom with a substitute teacher, and they would be given the period to have free time around the school’s open areas. These areas include: Tully Hull, Brunswick, the hallway tables, or McLaughlin. If a class is canceled due to a teacher’s absence, then students are still required to complete their classwork or homework for that class. The classwork or homework for a canceled class will be posted on Blackbaud. Another requirement is that students cannot leave the building, even if the canceled class lands on a first or last period slot. Students who have a free period during the first or last period are normally allowed to leave the building, yet this does not apply to free periods granted by a canceled class. 

Questions have been raised on why this policy is even in place, and how it benefits both the teachers and students involved. Saint Ignatius  is dedicated to advancing their students toward success in their future, which is partly why they chose to enact this new policy. Dean Swanson, the Dean of Students at Saint Ignatius,  said that “the mindset behind it is a low stakes trial period, like in college. I maybe had one or two classes a day and you have to use your free time productively.” The idea is that students will gain more free time, yet they are still required to work and engage in the classwork on their own. Through this, seniors will gain knowledge in time management, a skill that is important in college. Also, before this policy was in place, students would have still been required to do classwork on their own, but they were supervised by a substitute teacher. This new policy not only allows for the students to have more free time, but also the teachers. At Saint Ignatius, teachers substitute for other teachers at the school when they are not teaching students of their own. The more classes that need a substitute teacher, means the more teachers who have to supervise  extra classes. Dean Swanson said, “Teachers get burnt out from having to substitute for other teachers.” This new policy takes away some of the stress and responsibilities of the teachers at Saint Ignatius by allowing the seniors to be productive on their own. This policy was put in place to benefit both the rising college students, and the busy teachers of Saint Ignatius by giving a little more free time for all.