As Garfield prepares to transition into 2nd semester, administrators and teachers are grappling with the future of the advisory period. Once seen as a vital time for academic support, catching up on work, or participating in clubs, advisory has now become a source of concern for student safety and accountability. Travel days, in particular, have led to students wandering the halls, making it difficult for staff to keep track of their whereabouts, and raising security risks. “We’ve got these times when there’s just literally hundreds of students wandering around the building,” stated language arts teacher Mark Lovre. The challenge has become more urgent as concerns about student safety deepen. “After last year, our main priority to keep you all safe,” Timothy Zimmermann, language arts teacher and advisory contributor emphasized.
Garfield’s advisory issue is linked to broader district policies, according to Lovre. He believes that a “consequence-free high school” has been created by the district’s grading policy, where the lowest grade a student can receive is 50%. This has made it easier for students to skip class without suffering any real academic consequences, contributing to the rise in absences and disengagement. “You can miss a whole bunch of class and still pass,” Lovre said, resulting in students not feeling compelled to attend advisory and instead roam the halls or just skip class entirely.
From a student’s point of view, advisory is falling short of its original purpose. “It’s supposed to be a time for students to get everything done, but they only let you travel once a week,” said Garfield senior Unity Jirkovsky-Gual. The limited amount of travel time makes it difficult to catch up on work or meet with teachers, leaving students frustrated and feeling that advisory is not living up to its potential.
Additionally, advisory is a source of stress for staff because it is not considered a formal class and therefore is voluntary on the teachers’ part. Teachers are not contractually required to oversee advisory, “advisory pushes most or all teachers above 150 students,” Lovre explained, making it difficult to manage on top of their already heavy workloads. Some teachers are even ignoring the rules by allowing students to retake tests or make up work during non-travel advisory time, further undermining the period’s intended purpose.
No solutions to this issue have been communicated by administration, and many teachers are fed up and leaning towards getting rid of advisory completely. While eliminating advisory could solve some immediate issues, it would also take away the only scheduled time for students to meet with teachers or participate in clubs.
Garfield’s advisory problem is part of a larger issue of student disengagement and accountability. “If advisory disappeared, that would make the hall-walking time go away, but it wouldn’t do anything about the number of students who are just not going to class periods one through six,” Lovre said. It is clear that a change needs to be made, but with no announced solutions, students and staff alike are left wondering what the future of advisory will look like.
