Eagles SOAR with new program allowing students to hone their time management skills

Every day at 11:15 a.m., Oak Mountain High School students have an hour all to themselves.

Sophomore Savannah Wood chooses to spend her time in the media center catching up on homework.

Senior Christian Lampley likes to hang out with friends she doesn’t get to see during class.

Some students simply find a spot in the hallway to sit down and chat.  

“It’s really nice to just relax and take a breather in the middle of the day,” Lampley said while hanging out with her friends and catching up on her math homework. “It can get hectic sometimes, so it’s nice to have this time.” 

Since the beginning of the school year, OMHS has extended its lunch hour from 30 minutes to a full hour in an effort to give students more time to study, attend club meetings or take a break from class and socialize.

The initiative is called SOAR 60, which stands for “Students Optimizing All Resources.”

Marissa Rath, English department chairperson at OMHS, said the program has proven to be a success. 

“We’ve seen a decrease in failures, and the students seem to really like it,” Rath said, who advocated for the initiative after observing out-of-state schools doing a similar program and seeing success. 

OMHS Principal Kristi Sayers said the goal of the program is to allow students more opportunities to meet with teachers one-on-one and get more involved with school clubs and organizations.

Or, Sayers said students can take a break from the day and spend time with friends outside of class.

The program has also introduced “interventions,” she said, which specifically target students who may be falling behind in specific subjects. 

“If a student is not progressing in an academic class — regardless of the reason — then that teacher assigns an intervention, so that student then has to come that week to that teacher for help,” Sayers said. “And what we have seen with that is a decrease in failures at the end of the nine-week period. It’s very exciting.” 

OMHS is the second Shelby County school to implement an hour lunch block for the entire school. Helena High School also has introduced the program this year. 

“I know that it has been a success for us, and in talking with the principal at Helena, it’s been a success for them too,” Sayers said, noting that the program has also allowed students to practice time management skills because there is no enforced structure during the hour lunch period. “I certainly hope to be able to continue it.” 

Before the program launched, Sayers said faculty and staff spent a year mapping out SOAR 60 to determine its feasibility. Because all four grade levels are now eating lunch at the same time, Sayers said lunch had to expand past the cafeteria. Students can now eat outside, in hallways, classrooms, the media center and other approved areas, she said. 

“It’s introduced a lot of freedom for the students,” Sayers said. 

Because the initiative is still considered a pilot program, Sayers said she couldn’t confirm that it would be in place in the next school year. She did say, however, that if its success continues to grow, she expects SOAR 60 to stick around. 

“Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about it,” she said. “It’s been really exciting to see the kids take ownership of it.”