Germantown High students look forward to longer school day

With the new school year underway, some of the school days at Germantown High School will be a little longer. Starting on Sept. 14, students will receive an extra hour of education on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The extra class periods will be dedicated to an elective of their choice.

“The school district looked at our math and reading scores, and based on the fact that we’re a struggling school, we are doing this to turn ourselves around,” said Reginald Johnson, the vice president of Germantown High School.

All of the teachers at the school were polled to determine what kind of supplemental learning opportunities they would like to provide. “A lot of the classes are based off of teachers’ hobbies,” Johnson said. Classes include cooking, Lego robotics, poetry and sewing.

“It’s going to be pretty fun,” said senior Gwen Lassiter, who chose the supplementary catering program offered. “We make our own menus, we sit down with the chefs, and we choose what we will make the next week.”

The catering program is an extension of an already established culinary program at Germantown High School. Instead of teaching the students how to cook, the instructors will focus on how to run a catering company. The hope is that by spring the school will have a fully operaging the catering business.  The business would serve events like Parent Night and awards ceremonies.

For Gwen Lassiter, who plans to open a sould food restaurant in Philadelphia, the catering elective is a great learning opportunity. “They are prepping us to go off into the real world,” Lassiter said.