Having missed multiple days of school last year because of figure skating, senior Jamie Hyun found herself trying to squeeze makeup classes for physical education within the 10-day deadline. 

“It was almost impossible to make up [P.E. classes] 10 times [within the deadlines] for all the weeks that [I had] missed,” Hyun said. 

According to Bob Pieper, instructional supervisor for the Physical Education,Health and Driver Education Department, a committee of over 40 teachers and administrators from the P.E. Department at Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South finalized changes to a variety of existing policies which were approved by the school board this summer. 

The time allotted for a student to make up a P.E. class was changed from 10 school days to 15 school days, and the time now starts from the day students return to school instead of the day they missed, Pieper said.

Students can make up classes before school in the fitness center with a teacher present from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., after school until 5:30 p.m. or during their free block, Pieper said. 

According to P.E. teacher Beth Figaro-Brandt, the committee also reintroduced the opportunity for students to make up a class during their free periods with another P.E. class. 

Figaro-Brandt likes the new policy concerning missed-class makeups, she said.

“I think it’s really nice for the students,” said Figaro-Brandt. “[The new policy] gives them more time when they get back to get caught up if they were out sick.”

According to Pieper, this year attending only one early bird P.E. class is required to make up one missed P.E. class. 

In previous years, two early bird classes were required to make up one regular P.E. class, Pieper said.

The committee was put together in response to a lack of efficiency and difficulties with P.E. policies, Pieper said.

In previous years, only junior and senior varsity athletes were allowed to opt out of P.E. class during their seasons.

The new policy has been changed to include all junior and senior athletes during their season, Pieper said.

All winter athletes who were eligible for exemption in previous years were only able to opt out for the part of their season, either in the first or second semester, Pieper said. 

Now, all junior and senior winter athletes are allowed to opt out of P.E. classes for their whole season, Pieper said.

According to senior Elan Schonfeld, the new changes will ease the stress of making up P.E. classes.

“I think that the extension of student accessibility to makeups was an incredible policy decision,” said Schonfeld. “It’s going to ease both the time pressure of makeups on students’ mental health, as well as increasing the time available for them to participate in extracurriculars.”