By Elena Ramirez ’28
Sherman Oaks CES offers many unique experiences because of its SPAN system. Our school offers a wide range of ages ranging from fourth graders up to seniors nearing adulthood. This raises a question: what is it like being at a school like SOCES?
Beginning in fourth grade, the transition from a traditional elementary school schedule to Soces’s block schedule is difficult. When questioned about the change, 4th grader Jaylen Allman answered: “It was hard at the beginning, but I’m used to it now. It’s kinda rough cause I have to walk a few buildings for the second period”. He said the schedule change was difficult at first and makes him feel older than he is.
While the transition from a normal elementary school may be difficult, when asked about being able to stay here till 12th grade, the majority of 4th graders answered with positive views. Samvel Simonyan answered, “I feel like I’ll make a lot of friends and stuff and get used to the teachers changing classes and learning more stuff” when asked his opinion on potentially staying till senior year.
Getting to stay in the same school appears to relieve some of the stress of having to transition as well. When asked about what it’s like staying at Soces since 4th grade, 6th grader Sydney Shapiro answered “It definitely helps coming here from fourth grade because you already know where everything is and you’re already used to periods”. Charter students are already accustomed to Soces’s block schedule and already know some of the teachers they may have. Students who stay also don’t have to worry about losing their friends as they move to middle school as well.
While middle school students may have a positive view of our 4th-12 system, some older students find that having 4th graders in the same school as them while they are approaching adulthood is a bit odd. When questioned about what it’s like having 4th graders in the same school as her, Anahit Amitkhanyan answered, “They’re all really annoying. They don’t… they don’t really have basic [respect]” and went on to describe how the fourth grade students at soces are often very loud and struggle with socializing with older students
Although some seniors had complaints about 4th graders at SOCES, many expressed positive notions about having stayed with the same peers for so long. Seniors commented on the relationships they built throughout their years at SOCES, and Anahit spoke about potentially missing her peers that she grew up with after graduation, despite not knowing all of them very well.
