The newly implemented Bridge Day on the last day of the semester, January 17, will be incredibly beneficial to students that are struggling with poor grades. It will also offer a break for students who have good grades and do not need to attend.

Bridge Day is only required for students who have an F or D in their classes; this means that, until the final grade check, there is a push and incentive for students to get their grades up in order to get a day off. This incentive is great for students, especially for students who already work hard and will be rewarded with a day off. It is also a good opportunity for students who have issues outside of school to fix a grade that could be hindered by familial issues, workplace issues, etc. Allowing students an extra day to just work on their grades instead of punishing them for something they may not be able to control is an excellent path to follow at the end of the semester.

However, the schedule can be tricky for students that only have a bad grade in one class; because they are following their schedule throughout the day, they may be stuck in school for longer than necessary to fix one D in a core class. While being forced to stay in school all day offers another incentive for students to fix their grades before Bridge Day, it still may waste resources that a student doesn’t need to fix one grade and leave them stuck in school doing nothing for hours on end. 

Bridge Day also has the opportunity to be unfair to the teachers who may be rushed and pushed to prepare labs or tests for students who previously failed them. With the end of the semester coming up so quickly, it can be hard for teachers to properly and accurately grade missed work at the end of the semester. This can be exacerbated by students with passing grades coming in to boost their grade up to a B or A, only worsening the workload on the teachers. 

Overall, Bridge Day is a good opportunity for students to improve their grades and pass a class they may otherwise fail before the end of the semester. However, the schedule can be taxing on teachers and tricky for students who only have one or two bad grades and have to stay the full day.