Thoughts aired on block scheduling (09/13/06)

Dr. Greg Ulm got an earful.

Ulm, a professor at Indiana State University, sought public input Tuesday night as part of a study of Jay County High School's class schedule.

His findings - based upon surveys and meetings with students, faculty and parents - will be presented to the Jay School Board in February or March.

If the board opts to modify the "block 4" scheduling system that has been in place since 1995, those changes would not go into effect until the fall of 2008 at the earliest, according to Superintendent Barbara Downing.

"I'm looking for themes and patterns about what people's perceptions are about what makes a good high school schedule," Ulm said. "I'm not looking for right or wrong answers. I'm looking for your perceptions."

About 20 people were on hand at Tuesday's session, and several urged Ulm to schedule a second meeting for input from parents and the public.

Among the concerns raised Tuesday night were:

•Continuity. Parents, including three who teach at other high schools in the area, noted that students taking language and math classes struggle because there can be a period of months between the study of related material.

"They're not keeping their wheels turning," said Lora Byrum, who teaches in Delaware County.

Karen Schwieterman, a JCHS parent who teaches at Coldwater (Ohio) High School, noted that under the current system it's possible for an academic student to go an entire year without an English class. "I don't agree with going an entire year with no English," she said.

•Pace. The nine-week semester in "block 4" is simply too rapid for many students and many teachers, parents said.

"There's no time to bring grades up," said Byrum. "It's too fast-paced for many kids."

Retired JCHS social studies teacher Jane Switzer agreed. "It's too fast for many," she said. "You get halfway through, and all of a sudden they're not making the mark, and there's not enough time to turn it around."

"They don't feel like they're being taught," added Byrum.

Switzer noted that with a nine-week semester, teachers are essentially "starting school" with a new set of students four times per year, making it hard to get to know them.

"When we went to this," said retired JCHS teacher Steve Ford, "we lost 900 minutes of instructional time per year."

•Gaming the system. With 72 credits offered under "block 4" and 46 credits required to graduate, students are finding it easier to flunk courses because the stakes are lower, parents said.

"You can fail 26 credits here and still graduate," said Schwieterman. "Kids are figuring that out. ... If your child fails, you don't get a refund."

Switzer said she sometimes saw eight or 10 students four times in a single year in her government class. "We went to block and gave them more opportunities to fail," she said. "If they don't have room in their schedule to screw off, they take it more seriously."

•Communication. Parents complained of not knowing what courses their students had registered to take and of not being kept informed by the guidance office.

•Effective use of the longer class length. "I like the idea I've got 90 minutes to work with them," said Anna Humphrey, a parent who teaches in a block schedule system at Norwell High School.

"In order for block scheduling to work, you've got to work," said retired vocational teacher Mark Stump. "Those who had a lecture type class just lectured longer."

•Continued problems with scheduling band participation under the current system. Ingrid Saxman, a parent and teacher, said she found the modified block schedule that was used for band classes a few years ago to be more flexible.

Several of the parents indicated that modifications to the current system, rather than simply returning to a seven-period day, would make sense.

Coldwater High School, for example, has a system that varies the schedule from week to week. "Each class gets to experience the block" and its longer period, said Schwieterman.[[In-content Ad]]