After the West Linn-Wilsonville (WLWV) School District decision in the fall of 2023, Life class is in its second year since being established as a required class for all grade levels. 

The class is intended to focus on mental health and build skills that will be beneficial during and after high school. Life class consists of daily assignments such as pulse checks and covers topics including job searching, team building and leadership, college preparation, and more. The last 45 minutes of class are generally used as a study hall for students as well. Matt Culter,  Life class teacher and education specialist teaches a class of juniors.

“Life class is something that has more attention than other classes at West Linn right now,” Cutler said. 

It is known as an extra class and counts as a credit towards your GPA. Nathan Rubow, sophomore, sees some value in the time the class provides.

“The study time is the best part of Life class,” Rubow said. “I don’t think there should be any lessons.” 

As much as Life class is supported, there have also been complaints about the lessons. 

“They should, at this point, just make it a study hall. There’s no point in the lessons,” Rubow said. “We really don’t need to learn about how to create a cover letter and control our breathing.”

However, Cutler looks at Life class as more than just a study hall. 

“Honestly, I think it’s pretty divided. Some students like the lessons, some don’t,” Cutler said. “My job was to create a class that involves study time to look at something like a study hall class, but also give these kids life lessons that could maybe help them in the future.”

As a 10th grader, this year in Life class, we have gone through topics such as emotional health, creating a resume, searching for a job, and more. 

Blake Williams, Associated Student Body (ASB) Director and Leadership teacher, has received feedback from students.

“I think that [this] stuff is important, especially for these 15 through 18-year-old kids,” Williams said. ‘’You look at how many kids are suffering from mental health issues a year, I mean it’s crazy.”

In the first half of the school year, 10th graders have mostly focused on mental health and depression. After the semester ended, the curriculum shifted towards job searching and personality strengths and weaknesses. 

“The reason why we’re now focusing on personality traits is looking at the big picture of ‘you can do anything,’ and not having any weaknesses. This provides for schoolwork, life around the house, basically anything,” Cutler said. 

A thing that students have been more interested in is more access periods. 

“From a student perspective, what it looks like is Access periods should be the blueprint of Life class going forward,” Williams said.

Cutler also sees why Access periods are preferred by some students.

“You know Access periods give a lot to the students, they give the student a chance to go see your teacher and get almost two hours of help from that teacher,” Cutler said. “That benefits a lot.”

As time goes on, the school administration and teachers across the school look to build Life class more and more as years build up.