What did you do last night? If you have struggled in high school at all, the answer to this question might be: “I attended my night school class.”

Traditionally, night school has been for adults and geared toward personal enrichment and furthering job or life skills. In other cases, high schools offer night school as an option for students who are unable to attend day classes or need to retake failed courses to complete the requirements for their high school diploma.
Currently, PB offers night school courses in two sessions: one that begins at 5 pm, and one that begins at 7 pm. Each session meets for two hours a night, two to three nights a week. Students enrolled in night school can only take two classes per semester.

This session, Paint Branch offers nine night school courses: English 9-11, Algebra 1, Biology 1, Bridge Algebra 2, Geometry, and Matter and Energy. The teaching staff during Paint Branch Night School consists of Ms. Stridiron, Ms. Feher, Mr. Schiller, Mr. Gerber, Mr. Jabari-Kitwala, Ms. Greene, Mr. Cottrell, and Ms. Hardin. According to Ms. Pettis-Jones, the role of the administration is to help make the environment conducive for the students.

Obviously, the goal of night school courses is for students to make up failed or missed credits and get back on track for graduation. However, night school has strict rules related to attendance, so students need to be diligent. In night school, like any other class, a student can lose credit or fail a course if s/he is absent for a specific number of classes. Attendance is clearly an important issue in night school, something that is outlined in the night school contract students sign, along with paying their $300 course fee.

According to Ms. Stridiron, “Night school is not prominent” in all Montgomery County schools. She also noted that there is an alternative, “high school plus,” which is currently available in Seneca Valley High School and provides the same opportunity to earn back credit as night school. High School Plus meets right after school.

In addition to the diversity of courses offered in the traditional night school schedule, there is a new way to attend night school – the hybrid course. In the traditional night school, students come in to complete classroom-centered activities and assignments each night. However, the hybrid course is an online course that is offered for only English and Algebra. In the hybrid courses, students meet face-to-face with the teacher of the course to elucidate more on the subject and answer any questions.
The benefit of taking night school is to earn credit in a course you previously failed. According to Mrs. Pettis-Jones, night school is an equivalent program to summer school.