Hershey High School students petition school board in favor of asynchronous Wednesdays

Hershey, Pennsylvania – Students from Hershey High School are circulating a petition to challenge the Derry Township School Board’s anticipated decision to end “asynchronous Wednesdays.”

The high school students are preparing to make their case in favor of asynchronous Wednesdays at the school board meeting Monday evening. The meeting will be held as a virtual public conference.

Students are citing mental health exhaustion resulting from an inconsistent schedule pattern that has been ever-changing throughout the academic year to accommodate virtual learning. Asynchronous Wednesdays have been designated as time for students to go to work, attend clubs and academic meetings, get tutoring from teachers, as well as time for studying and catching up on homework.

Sources say that the administration now plans to eliminate asynchronous Wednesdays in the fourth marking period, prompting the students to petition the school board in favor of keeping asynchronous Wednesdays. The petition has gained more than 500 signatures after circulating for less than 2 days.

Jenna Baker, a senior at Hershey High School, is circulating the petition to all Derry Township School District families on social media via Nextdoor:

Throughout this challenging school year, Derry Township School District has changed the schedule on us many times, and we’ve all willingly complied. Just this week we were switched from a 4 period a day block schedule to 8 shorter periods per day. Now, they are attempting to take away our asynchronous Wednesday when most students have their club meetings, get tutoring from teachers, alongside getting a break from this demanding learning environment. DTSD states they want to “ensure the best educational environment for our students and necessary support for our students social and emotional well-being are provided.” I can tell you this is not the right decision for our mental health and overall wellbeing. There is a school board meeting being held this coming Monday which we would like to attend (virtually) with the most support possible! Please, if you hear us, sign this petition to keep our asynchronous Wednesdays. Thanks!

Jenna Baker, Hershey High School