Since the opening of Skyline High School, passing time has always been five minutes. 

Ann Arbor Public High Schools have different shapes and sizes, and yet their passing times don’t always accommodate these differences. According to most Skyline students, Skyline’s passing time is not sufficient. “Skyline is a huge school with four stories and multiple wings,” says Elsa Wenzlaff (‘26) of Skyline High School. “It’s just not enough time to get to your classes.”

Some students are satisfied with their passing time, but many are not. Getting to class can be difficult, especially when taking care of personal needs. “Passing times are way too short,” says Wenzlaff. “If you stop to talk to anyone, do anything, or fill up your water you’re late.” When students have time to use the bathroom during passing time, they don’t have to miss class time. Huron is a huge school—seemingly larger than Skyline—but they only have five minutes of passing time, just like Skyline. “Since I can’t use the bathroom during passing time, I use it during class lectures,”  says Zachary Xu (‘25) of Huron High School. “I miss out on [the material] we’re learning.”

Community High School is an outlier among the AAPS high schools with 10-minute passing times. Considering their 100-minute class periods, the 10 minutes are a refreshing break. “We only have three classes every day so having a break between each one is really nice,” says Community’s Nina Beals (‘26). “We have enough time to get to our classes and socialize.”

Skyline students often complain that it is hard to navigate crowded hallways in only five minutes. Students only have five minutes of passing time, so they are less motivated to follow schedules if it will make them late anyway. Students make the most of the small amount of passing time and crowd the halls. “My main issue [isn’t even] the time,” says Miles Borgsdorf (‘24) from Skyline. “It’s the other students that are especially in the middle of the hallways.”

Many students take the bell lightly since they think the time they have is not enough. Plus, students might think that if they are going to be tardy anyway, why rush to class to be on time. Whether it’s using the bathroom, or even just needing a breather in between classes, students don’t let the start of class interrupt their break. “You get so cooped up in class [for] 72 minutes, I think you need some time to loosen up,” says Skyline student Matthew Christiansen (‘25)

Pioneer High School’s students share similar viewpoints on their passing time as Skyline’s, even though their passing time is seven minutes. Pioneer is more spread out than Skyline, which has more floors. “I think [our passing times are] pretty good,” says Pioneer student Sole Beck (‘27). “But I’d make them a little bit longer because it’s a really big school and my classes are really far apart.”

For Skyline students who have classes that are far apart, getting to class is even more difficult than students who just have to deal with the crowded hallways.“If you have a class on the first floor, you can’t really get to the fourth floor in time,” Adrienne Schadler (‘27)  says. “I’m really rushed.”

After sitting in a class for so long, passing time is a beneficial time for students to prepare for the next class. “It just gives you that minute to check in with friends, take a breath, listen to a song, whatever it may be, before you have to refocus,” says Borgsdorf. 

The required amount of instructional time in a school year for students in Michigan is 1,098 hours, excluding passing time. “Changing passing time could potentially lengthen the school day,” says Skyline’s interim principal Casey Elmore. “You can only count so much [time out of the school day] towards passing time.”