As of now, the schedule for next year’s school year will be changing from the typical block schedule to a completely new schedule.
The new schedule, called a rolling block schedule, will make each day look different: Monday will be a gray day with all eight classes; Tuesday will be classes one through three, drop the fourth, and then five through seven, drop the eighth; Wednesday will be classes one, two, and four, drop three, and then five, six, and eight drop seven; Thursday will be classes one, three, and four, drop two, and then five, seven, eight, drop six; Friday’s classes will be two, three, four, drop one, and then six, seven, eight, drop five. Trojan Time and Advisory will be rotating days and each will be twenty minutes long.
By changing the class number a day from four to six, this will only allow for fifty-nine minutes for each class period. This short amount of time will cause a change for every class, but it will make it especially difficult for the art, woods, ag, FACS, and science classes to function in the normal way. For arts and woods classes, by the time the project is explained and the materials are handed out, there will barely be any time for work before class ends. In science classes, like Chemistry and Biology, this short amount of time will make it very difficult to finish a lab or dissection.
Although this schedule will allow students to have each class four days a week, this additional day will only increase the workload for students. Now, rather than having a buffer day in between classes to finish assignments, students will be expected to hand in their work the very next day. This schedule will also be challenging for students and teachers who need structure and repetition that will not be found in the rotating class times of this schedule.
So what was the need for this sudden schedule change? Because the school shares teachers on both the Junior High and Senior High side, the current schedule would not be able to function any longer. The main objective of the new schedule was to get all secondary teachers and students on the same schedule.
Although there are disadvantages to class time being cut short and the constant changing of class times, the consistency of each class per week could be beneficial for the students. According to Mrs. Rohrer, “ I anticipate that it will be a learning curve for everyone, but I think the consistency to see where students are struggling will allow for more one-on-one reteaching that I can’t do in a block schedule.”
A survey was conducted regarding the new schedule and sent out to the students. Eighty-nine percent of the students were against the schedule change, two percent were for the new schedule, and nine percent were neither for nor against the change.
Overall, the next school year will be a learning curve for all students and teachers, and it will take adjusting before the schedule becomes a routine.