Staff and students have reflected on Extension Request Forms after the first nine weeks of the school year. An Extension Request Form is something that was introduced to our High School students just this year. If a student did not do their work within the deadline, they can fill out the form and receive full points for late work. Honors class students are permitted to use one extension request form per quarter. If you are in a non-honors class then you are permitted to use one retention request form per unit. 

Mrs. Schrebe said, “I am not a huge fan of the Extension Request Form because I feel like we should just be able to do our work in a timely manner.” She also said that she sees her Freshman using the form more than any of her other students. On the other hand, Mrs. Cox said, “I think that having the Extension Request Form this year is a huge benefit for the students and teachers because there is more accountability for students to get their work done.” Mrs. Cox also said that she has seen her Juniors use that form the most. This is because in the past they had all the time in the world to complete their assignments and were not yet used to having very strict deadlines. 

Freshmen do not know what school was like before the Extension Request Form was introduced, and because of this, a simple test was conducted. Fifteen Freshmen were polled on the form. However, none of them had used the form before and only five, out of those fifteen students knew how the form even works. One freshman said, “I haven’t used one but I like the fact that it is there just in case.”

Extension Request Forms seem to be popular among the upperclassmen and not so much among the other grades. It seems as though the upperclassmen see the new opportunity as a way to get in a few extra days of work. As the other students do not know the difference between having the chance to use the form and not having the chance to use one. Whether you love them or hate them, it’s up to you. 

I also spoke to Mrs. Jones about how she feels regarding the Extension Request Forms as a counselor and not a teacher. “I think that it is very important that we have that option for students because there are certainly circumstances where students need them.” Mrs. Jones told me about how she has some students that have mental health issues and require more time to turn in assignments. “It is very important that the students are communicating with their teachers and getting the very best out of the resources they are given.” 

The form is a wonderful resource and we are lucky to have it at our school. We just need to take advantage of this opportunity and use them when needed.