Palo Alto High School and Gunn High School have both launched a new bell schedule, decreasing the former 10-minute passing periods to seven minutes long for the 2026-27 school year. A key factor of this change was to prevent student-athletes from missing too much instructional time for their respective sports, according to an interview by Gunn High’s official student newspaper, The Oracle, with PAUSD Public Information Officer Lynette White.

At Gunn High, the new schedule shifts the end of class to 10 minutes early on Mondays and 11 minutes early on all the other days of the week. Despite only a three-minute difference in passing period, students noticed a considerable shift in the starting times of their classes, clubs, and extracurricular activities.

One anonymous junior acknowledges the policy’s intended effects of having the school day end earlier, though they don’t believe that the change is worth the confusion it causes.

“Sometimes, you’ll expect the class to end a little later, but it actually ends right then, and you think: ‘wow, this class was short’,” the student said. “[But] the times are so off, I don’t know when the bell will ring anymore. It’s [randomized] whether you’ll be early or late.”

Junior Neve Chakraborty echoes this belief; in her opinion, the old bell schedule had brought about convenience that the current schedule lacks.

“I’m not sure everyone needed the entirety of the [previous] ten minutes, but sometimes teachers keep you after class or you need to go to a restroom or fill up a water bottle,” Chakraborty said.

At Palo Alto High, the schedule change results in school ending 10 minutes earlier on Monday, 11 minutes earlier on Tuesday and Thursday, and six minutes earlier on Wednesday and Friday. 

Palo Alto High junior Megan Murphy-Chutorian expressed her confusion and annoyance with the new schedule.

“I think it’s kind of pointless because it doesn’t help anyone get out early,” Murphy-Chutorian said. “It also doesn’t stop anyone from going off-campus [during passing periods] and will just make kids even later to class.” 

Palo Alto High freshman Harlow Baker, who has only ever experienced the new schedule in high school, still notes her confusion and difficulty keeping track of class times. Senior Felicia Littke expressed similar sentiments.

“I don’t see the incentive to save so little time by the end of the day to stress during the times we are going from class to class,” Littke said. 

While others struggle to find a reason for this decrease, Palo Alto High junior Asaf Milman can find the silver lining in this predicament, saying that he understands the administrative desire to prevent student-athletes from missing school.

Although Milman and other Palo Alto High students differed regarding the logic behind making the day shorter, many agreed that they would return to the old bell schedule if given the chance.

“I would love to [go back to ten-minute passing periods],” Littke said. “We have long periods of learning, so to not even be able to have a 10-minute break anymore, it feels like what we gain… is not enough for what we lose.”