In the 2026 school year, Jones College Prep is proposing a possibility for a new alternative schedule, called colloquium day. This day is set to feature brand new classes that students can enjoy, and is currently in the process of being piloted.

Colloquium day is meant to be a replacement for the current C day, which many students find unproductive. This new plan will provide students with new creative and engaging opportunities, inspired by the colloquium days implemented in multiple other CPS schools, like Walter Payton and Northside College Prep. 

A group of teachers have come together to discuss possibilities for how this day would look. 

“It’s going to be a modified schedule with three periods, and students will select a fun activity for each of those three periods,” said Suzanne Makol Zamudio, one of the organizers. 

Inspired by other CPS schools, the faculty of Jones are aiming for the day to provide students with new opportunities to express themselves creatively. 

“It’s meant to be something that is outside of the traditional educational experience,” said assistant principal Sean McGuire. 

While students are familiar with the C day schedule for when there is an uneven amount of A and B days in a quarter, this day is also being presented as a substitute schedule for this. 

“A C day is very different, because it’s just regular class, but with all of your classes,” said Ms. Makol Zamudio. “But for colloquium, this is more just an alternate day where you’re doing something outside of your core classes and academics.”

The classes taking place during colloquium day will provide a change of pace for students from their typical schedule. 

“Teachers took their personal interests and made colloquiums out of those,” said Caitlin Miller, an English teacher. “There will be stuff like field trips, or different art projects. Some are doing movies or sports–there’s a lot of good variety.” 

The novelty of the day’s activities is what makes it most interesting to students. 

“I think it will give students an opportunity to explore classes that they can’t access on a daily basis at Jones, and maybe form bonds with new teachers they haven’t met before,” said Robert Gustafson ‘27. 

Not only will students be introduced to new teachers, but they will also have the opportunity to meet other students that they do not have classes with normally. 

“You get to hang out with people who you don’t normally interact with because they’re not necessarily in your classes,” said Makol Zamudio. 

These schedule alterations may be exciting, but teachers still expect some opposition to the newness.

“A lot of people are scared of change, like teachers and students, so there might be some resistance to trying something new,” said Makol Zamudio. 

Students have their own opinions on if the day will be useful to the school or if it will pose too many challenges.  

“I think it would create too much chaos, something wouldn’t work properly. I think we should just stick to the same system that we keep with the C day,” said Gustafson. 

These mixed opinions are the purpose of the pilot day, allowing students to express whether they believe the day would actually be beneficial for them after experiencing it. 

“Being a pilot, it would just be a great opportunity to get feedback from students and staff on if this is something that we want to pursue long term as a schedule,” said Miller. “If this is something that we want to switch, I also think that coming to school and building communities that aren’t just academic is really important and something we don’t spend a lot of time doing.”

Teachers have high aspirations for the future of colloquium day. 

“I think it’d be fun if it was a regular thing, because we’re lacking in social interaction at Jones,” said Makol Zamudio. “So I think this could be one example of helping to build community.”

Jones is ready for a change in schedule, and faculty and staff are excited to see the reactions to and potential of it. 

“We are blessed though to have wonderful students and wonderful staff, so we’re hoping that despite the newness of the experience, we’ll all enter it with positive spirits and open minds,” said McGuire.