January 24, 2025, marked the start of a new semester for Athens Drive. Students at Athens Drive started new classes, and some even met new people, including teachers they hadn’t seen before.  

Understandably, staff and students may experience hiccups as they acclimate to the new classes they are taking or teaching. 

Early Childhood teacher Rebecca Marsh is one of many teachers adjusting this semester as she ventures into a new semester. 

“This is my fun semester because I have my interns, so I have my upper-level kids. They get to dive into some of our bigger content, like in early childhood, and they get to prepare to go out to internships and work with other businesses outside of Athens. So it’s exciting for me because I get to be a little bit more involved outside of the school, not just in the school. So it’s fun for me,” said Marsh. 

Everyone has different opinions about each semester. Some people find the first semester easier, and some find the second semester easier. 

“Second semester [is easier], I mean, first semester, like I said, everyone’s back from summer, they forget how rules work, they forget, you know, how long the day is. And it’s also hard for us, like our stamina is not there to be awake and active and talking and doing all of the things all day. So second semester everyone’s kind of in the flow of day-to-day routine,” said Marsh. 

In-school suspension coordinator Jimmy Ray provides additional out-of-classroom support to the students who need it.

Like many of his fellow educators, Ray believes that the second semester is the easier semester for staff and students alike.

“By the second semester, students usually have adapted to the expectations of the school, administration, and teachers. For most students, things begin to slow down. Upperclassmen focus on finishing their current year or preparing for senior year, while underclassmen have matured and come to understand the significance of high school and its accompanying freedoms,” said Ray.

Administrators see the second semester differently. They break it down into what they call the 10-80-10 rule. 

“From a discipline standpoint, the situation often breaks down into what administrators refer to as the 10-80-10 rule. According to this concept, 10% of the student population will never be close to receiving a discipline referral or consequence. The next 80% of students generally stay focused on their tasks, having occasional minor discipline issues, but nothing significant. Finally, the remaining 10% of students struggle to adhere to school expectations due to a variety of circumstances, some of which may be out of their control, while others could result from poor life choices,” said Ray. 

Nobody can ever say for certain that second-semester In-school suspension numbers will either be higher or lower than the first semester. 

“In-school suspension numbers often increase as the semester progresses; however, this can vary based on the day, week, or month,” said Ray. 

As Marsh said earlier, she finds the second semester easier for both staff and students. Ray also shares this same belief that the second semester is the more chilled established semester.

“I find the second semester easier if that makes sense. By this time, as educators, we have built rapport and established expectations with our students. With these relationships in place, students tend to be more receptive to redirection and more trusting of our encouraging words. They begin to understand that we are here to be a resource to help them succeed,” said Ray. 

Students like Cristina Ruiz, Joi Wilson, and Natalie Rodrigo felt strongly about second semester and acclimating. 

“Personally, second semester has always been the easiest semester for me because my schedule has always had hard classes first semester and second semester has always been my chill semester,” said Ruiz.

“My second-semester classes have always been the classes I’ve enjoyed the most. I’d say I prefer second semester over first,” said Wilson. 

“Second semester, I’m taking some classes that I want to take, and sure, the first semester was fun, but I’m ready for what’s next,” said Rodrigo.