As the school year comes in full swing, the Mayfield staff and students are working on the new “self-paced” class structure.

Principal Jeffrey Legan came up with the idea along with other staff members. He said, “[Teachers have] said that this past week has been fantastic. They look forward to seeing what comes next in this process.”

Alexandra Shaw, a 12th grade English teacher, is taking a risk on this idea and is personally enjoying the class.

Shaw said, “I have enjoyed this journey because it is challenging me to find new ways to teach my students, which is making me a better teacher. I’m looking at the content from different perspectives than usual, and that is generating a lot of new ideas.”

Legan also agrees that these classes are challenging the teachers and really pushing the students to make their own initiative to come and learn.

Legan said, “The staff also said that it’s very difficult on the teacher because they have to be 20 steps ahead of everyone in order to be ahead of those faster paced students.”

Shaw acknowledges how the staff really appreciates the students taking the risk to be the school’s guinea pigs.

Shaw said, “Trying something new can be intimidating, especially when it involves students’ learning and their gpas.”

Junior Bella Roberts is taking an 11th grade self paced class. Roberts said, “Being the first students to do this has been challenging because we have to figure out what works best for us.”

Roberts, Legan, and Shaw all have improved in their own ways by experiencing this new opportunity.

Roberts said, “What I personally have realized about myself is that I do not know how to time manage but with the help of other students on my schedule, I’ve learned to fix that.”

Shaw said, “It is challenging to plan the content so far in advance when you are unable to adapt it to the students because you don’t yet know their strengths and weaknesses. But I’ve just been making small tweaks along the way, and so far things have been going great.”

Legan and Shaw are all in on impressing the community and giving students a better edge on education.

Legan said, “I just care about the community, just being able to provide individual attention is really important for our kids and I love giving back to this community and that’s always been my goal.”

Shaw said, “ I think it’s great that so many students and teachers are willing to take a risk to try and make Mayfield a more innovative school.”