Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130075
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
The county School Board approved an alternative block schedule Monday that will begin next fall.
The idea had been under consideration since March, when a voluntary committee of teachers was formed to study the concept.
William Gibson, principal at the the high school, said test scores and other indicators showed the seven-period school day involved "just too much starting and stopping" that diminished the ability of teachers to coordinate and students to stay focused.
When asked what he thought was the most important reason behind the change, Gibson said: "Block scheduling will give students and teachers the time to do their jobs. It will give them a fighting chance. Right now, there are too many obstacles before we even begin class."
Under the new "4/4" plan, students will take four 90-minute classes each day for one semester, and four new ones the second.
The bottom line: Teachers will teach half the number of students they do now, and they will teach those students twice as long.
The "4/4" schedule has been in place for two years at Pulaski County High School, where Principal Tom DeBolt said it is a "very powerful educational tool."
DeBolt said three high schools in Virginia used the block format in 1993. This year, that number grew to 27, he said.
"Our test scores are up, good grades are up, and attendance is up. Bad grades and disciplinary transgressions are down," he said. "You'd have a hard time finding anybody around here who wants to go back to a seven-period day."
Raymond Williams, an English teacher and chairman of the Franklin County scheduling committee, said the seven-period system "wasted a lot of time just moving" the 2,000-plus students between classes on the big campus.
Teachers will be able to do more during a class period, and will need to vary activities to be successful with longer classes, he said.
Since 1991, when a six-period day was expanded to seven at Franklin County High School, classes have been broken into 46-minute blocks for the entire academic year.
Students could take eight classes a year and earn 32 credits in four years with the block schedule. They also will have the option to take certain electives, such as band, during both semesters.
Graduation requirements will not be revised, Gibson said.
The block schedule will not shorten or extend the school day by any considerable time, but will increase instructional time by almost 11/2 hours a day, according to a report by the teachers committee.
The School Board approved the plan at the same time it is discussing possible sites for a $6.5 million technology center for eighth- and ninth-grade students. Franklin County voters approved a bond referendum that included funding for the new school last month.
School Superintendent Len Gereau wants to incorporate similar block scheduling at the technology center - which will emphasize modular education using laboratories and a core curriculum adapted to fit such subjects as robotics, computer problem-solving and health occupations.
With block schedules at both schools, it will be easier for students to leave the technology center and continue similar "hands-on" learning at the high school, said Gibson, who presented the scheduling committee's report to School Board members Monday.
Of more than 130 teachers at the high school who voted in a survey, 93 percent favored the block schedule, he said.
Raymond Williams said the committee - which held separate public forums on the plan for students and parents in November - encountered minimal opposition to block scheduling.
by CNB