(September 30, 2003) — It has been rumored that “Tutorial” was to be dropped from Clark’s schedule if its name was not changed to “Enrichment Period.” Through sources wishing to remain unknown, Clark was being threatened by district personnel who felt that students were not making use of their tutorial time. However, according to Assistant Principal Joan Shoff, the name was only changed because the name “Tutorial” may not have met state criteria requirements. As the last forty minutes of a regular school day, Enrichment Period was given to Clark students for their own benefit to take advantage of by getting help on difficult lessons and asking questions, Principal Doug Dall stated. In a joint effort to renew the opportunity for students, Clark’s staff is working together to commit to using Enrichment Period for academic and club purposes, according to Shoff. Shoff assured that Enrichment Period is not currently being threatened by the state, “but when budget cuts are the subject, everything extra that Clark has is always being threatened.” According to Shoff, “the name was Enrichment Period/Tutorial from the beginning. The ‘Tutorial’ part was simply dropped.” Shoff further indicated that Clark stands out from other high schools because it is the only one in the district that gives students this type of opportunity. “If Clark’s teachers were to tutor outside of school with their credentials, they would make at least one hundred dollars an hour. The students need to realize not only the benefit of Enrichment Period, but also their savings.” “When the daily schedule at Clark was designed, it included a period for remediation called the Enrichment Period,” explained Dall. It is an integral part of the instructional program, requiring students to set priorities, make choices, allocate their time, plan ahead and make ‘reservations’ for the activity in which they will participate on any given day–a quality that should be considered a higher level thinking skill.” Math teacher Ellen Armitstead does not mind the name change. “It doesn’t matter to me or the students what it’s called,” she said. Instead of using the time to kick back and visit friends,” Armitstead said she hopes students will use Enrichment as a time for enrichment. For junior Rene Menjivar, Enrichment Period “seems and feels the same,” although he thinks that “the name should not have been changed because ‘Tutorial’ was simply a lot easier to say.” For most students, Enrichment Period is about “getting used to saying a more complicated name,” as Menjivar put it.