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4-period day at FLHS on the way out |
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Wednesday, 05 December 2007 |
Cliff Buchan
News Editor
Get ready to say good bye to the four-period class schedule at Forest Lake High School.
Indications are strong that the ISD 831 School Board will act soon on a change that will bring a modified seven-period day to the high school this fall. This comes after a detailed report was made to the school board last Thursday at a special board work session.
Steve Massey, high school principal, spent an hour outlining the pros and cons of the current class schedule and how a new format might work. In a time of new demands on academic performance, the time may be right to make a change, Massey said.
“It meets some of our needs, but not all of our needs,” Massey said of the four-period day that has been used at the school for past 12 years.
The school board is expected to conduct a first reading for a proposed change at the regular meeting tonight (Thursday). That would set the wheels in motion for a formal change in schedule.
Massey said the high school needs a decision this month in order to meet a Jan. 4 deadline for having schedules developed for student registration which will begin on Feb. 7.
Massey in part based his recommendation on test data from the state of Washington that indicated students do better on a seven-period modified schedule than on the four-period day.
“The difference is significant,” the principal said.
The new slate
Under the preliminary plan presented by Massey last week, students would take classes under a seven-period time block that would be divided into block and skinnys. The block classes would provide more time during a class period while the skinny would be a shorter class period.
The format would call for four quarters during the year. Students could enroll in two 90-minute block classes each year or three 50-minute skinny classes. The skinnys would command a half year of classroom time while the blocks would be quarter class offerings.
In short, the seven-period day would be modified to offer a five-period class format.
A 30-minute lunch would be provided but the passing time between classes would drop from 10 minutes to four or five, officials said.
Key concepts of the seven-period day are:
•Skinny classes would equal 72 hours of instruction for .5 credit.
•Block classes would equal 67.5 hours of instruction for .5 credit.
•Teacher would teach four of five classes. If the teacher prep falls on the block, the teacher would have a 40-minute duty period and the 50 minute prep time.
•Over the course of a year, the teacher could teach 12, 11 or 10 classes.
•Students would have fewer classes per day than under a standard seven-period day.
•Teachers would have fewer classes per day than under the standard seven-period day.
•Potential budget savings.
The high school would also be on the same format as the junior high schools.
The key for implementation, Massey said, is to determine which classes must be on the block and those that must be on the skinny. Classes that require labs are more apt to be offered on a block format, he said.
The current four-period day allows high school students 16 course options a year or 48 courses over the final three years. The district has modified its high school graduation requirements over time in part to accommodate the four-period day.
A student can now earn 31 possible credits, including Grade 9 credits, with 28 required for graduation.
The school board must also act to change its graduation requirements. Under the proposed seven-period day, the school will have 28 possible credits with 26 to be required for graduation.
The number of elective class requirements is now 11 and that total would drop to nine as a minimum under the proposal. Electives include advanced placement and College in the Schools classes. Electives offerings have also been hampered by new academic standards.
Superintendent Lynn Steenblock said the change would be within the district’s contractural rights with the Forest Lake Education Association.
Massey added that the initial meeting with teachers at the high school was positive.
Board member Joe Grafft said he believed staff would welcome the change. “They are trained professionals,” Graft said. “They can make the adjustment.”
Another potential benefit is the need for fewer teachers and a general fund budget savings, Massey said. The seven-period day could result in about four current staff positions not being required.
He said he was hopeful the staff could be retained to help lower class size. “As a principal, I would hope we are not cutting,” Massey said.
What may go
Board President Bill Bresin said he was on the board when the four-period day was adopted. At the time, he said, it was in part to give students “more opportunities.”
As academic standards have changed and test demands have increased, school officials believe a new format will better address those needs. Under a seven-period format, students may not face situations where a class such as math that is subject to state testing is no longer on the student’s daily schedule.
In some cases, Massey said, students are taking state tests weeks or months after a class has ended. The MCAII assessments are offered in April for 10th grade reading and 11 grade math. AP exams are in May.
Other shortcomings of the four-period day outlined by Massey include:
•85-minute time blocks are too long for some courses.
•Quarter long courses last some 43 days.
•Turnover of students every quarter makes it difficult for teachers to establish connections with students.
•Difficult to modify learning blocks of time due to multi-grade courses.
•Requires more teachers than other schedule models.
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