One of the worst feelings in high school is being on the verge of a higher grade with no way to change it. Rather than asking teachers to bump their grades, students now have the opportunity to earn these points with a new Students Maximizing Achievement, Relationships, and Time (SMART) Lunch incentive being instituted this year.
SMART Lunch is a great opportunity for studying, completing work, engaging in tutoring and more. While SMART Lunch is similar to how it has been in the past, there are some important changes this year that students should know. Throughout all of this, the most important change is the student’s ability to boost their grade through the re-institution of the SMART Lunch incentive.
Students can now boost their grades by attending SMART Lunch sessions for each class, and the opportunity is given to students every quarter. If a student attends two SMART Lunch sessions before the first half of the quarter and one after interims are sent, they will get a five point boost to their lowest minor grade. Teachers and administrators are hoping this will help students attend more SMART Lunches and assist in their learning and relationship-building in all of their classes.
A Green Hope teacher that wished to remain anonymous has experienced many lunch changes in their ten years of working for the school. When asked their thoughts on the new SMART Lunch incentive, they said, “It will help those who are struggling in class, but maybe not so much the people who are doing very well in classes.”
While this incentive provided assistance for struggling students (or those who just want a boost to their grade), some say it might not be worth going to three SMART lunch sessions per quarter. The incentive is both better and worse compared to previous years.
Two years ago, teachers would remove the student’s lowest minor grade in exchange for attending four SMART Lunch sessions per class. However, last year there was no incentive at all. The reinstatement of the incentive with its current outline has been met with both positive and negative feedback.
Matthew Taylor (‘26), a student at Green Hope dedicated to his academic success had his own opinions about the new rule. Taylor addressed a commonly discussed downside, “I wish it was a little more. I feel like a lot of people won’t end up going because five points on a minor assignment isn’t very much.” Many students have reached this same consensus.
Regardless of the overall opinion on the SMART Lunch incentive, it is presented to all students in all classes. Ultimately, it’s up to Green Hope students whether they want to take this additional learning opportunity to boost their grades and participate in individualized learning.
