For the past few years, officials from the Petal School District have offered what are known as “Zero Period” classes at Petal High School, which are optional periods that are scheduled before the official begging of school designed to offer electives or advanced placements classes during that designated time.
That initiative has recently expanded, as on December 13, the Petal School District Board of Trustees approved the creation of a new science-focused Zero Period initiative, with funding help from an anonymous local donor. The class will begin in the spring of next year and will teach cyber safety measures, among other matters.
“There will be some other technology, software-engineering type stuff,” district superintendent Matt Dillon said. “Also linked with this, past the spring, would be possibly a summer internship, if we can partner with local businesses to get that done.
“We’re excited about this, and excited to have a local donor that was willing to put money toward this unique initiative for our students.”
The Zero Period class would take place before the high school’s first class of the day, which typically begins at 8:30 a.m. throughout the school week.
“You’d come in earlier for this class, so it does not impact the rest of your schedule,” Dillon said. “So it has to be a commitment from the students, to want to have more opportunities for growth in the field of science, and specifically in cyber security and some of the other things that’ll be taught through this class.
“Then that (possible) internship in the summer is (a) paid (position), so students can get exposed to the different types of technology and jobs that are available right here in the Pine Belt.”
The $30,000 cost of the class has been completely covered by the donor and will offer spots for 12 students.
Because this is the first time the Petal School District has offered this particular class, Dillon said it will serve as sort of a “pilot” experience throughout the spring and summer. At that point, officials will re-evaluate the initiative with the donor.
“The donor has a passion for this, and has expressed interest in continuing the program, moving forward into a full year,” Dillon said.
The new program came about as a result of a mixture of several factors, beginning with talks with the donor and moving forward from there.
“We had an active donor that really had a passion for this and really brought this to our attention,” Dillon said. “We had multiple meetings with that individual to kind of feel this out.
“And then (factor) number two, cyber security, software engineering and technology – and all the things associated with this – is such a sought-after position right now in the United States and throughout the South. We just thought what a neat experience this would be for our kids, in addition to the classroom, to have a hands-on internship experience over the summer So that was really the motivation behind it.”
According to www.enrichingstudents.com, zero period classes are full-length periods during which many schools offer electives or advanced placement/honors classes. The courses allow students to take another class or elective throughout the year, or for upperclassmen to have a free period at some point in the year.
