Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: THURSDAY, September 28, 1995 TAG: 9509290034 SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-10 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Although Salem High School officials had been been considering block scheduling for about two years, Principal John Hall recently spearheaded a study at the request of the School Board.
He has appointed committees to look at several concerns raised by teachers, administrators and School Board members. One group, for example, will look at the effects on existing policy, while another looks at financial and administrative effects.
Hall said the fall of 1997 is a realistic goal to have a block schedule in place. Until then, the school is using an experimental block schedule for English classes and may do the same for math classes next fall, he said.
In block scheduling, students take longer but fewer classes per day. Classes are also broken up into semesters, rather than the traditional yearlong class.
Roanoke City high schools implemented a block schedule two years ago, and Roanoke County is studying the possibility.
School Board members, administrators and teachers raised several questions when Hall made his initial report during a recent School Board work session. The consensus was that Salem perhaps should take its time before acting on block scheduling.
"I came in there fully expecting to be on a one-year track," said Hall, adding that after seeing the broad scope of the issue, he may have been a little too hasty.
The School Board recommended that before anything is implemented, block scheduling should be looked at from every angle.
"I'm very pleased they wanted a fuller study," Hall said Friday.
"Not to slam on neighboring school systems, but I think they were precipitate to jump into block scheduling as soon as they did," Hall said during the work session.
Those attending the work session also discovered that scheduling wouldn't be the only thing to change.
Hall said he believes the most important issue for Salem is dealing with students transferring from one type of system to another.
For example, now, if a student transfers in from a school with a block schedule, he has missed more than half of a class. With block scheduling, Hall said, the student would have only missed one month of the class.
But, some argued that the number of classes a student misses would be amplified with the longer classes.
"A student could be out for a week, and he's so far behind by that time ..." said board member June Long.
Procedures for attendance and discipline also would have to be altered, said Joe Kirby, director of instruction
"With a one-day suspension, a student would miss twice as much class time," Kirby said.
"You have to totally revisit how you're going to handle removing students for any serious length of time," Hall added.
Even teachers would be affected by going to a block schedule, board members said. Planning sessions would have to be lengthened, and teaching styles would have to be changed to keep students interested during longer class periods.
"If you don't have good [teachers], they will teach a 90-minute class the same way they would a 50-minute class," Hall said.
Several students interviewed after school Friday said they find an early graduation possibility particularly attractive.
Jason Greer, a junior at Salem High, said he also liked the idea of block scheduling because it could give students the option of not going to class for the entire school year.
For example, Greer said, students who lack only one class after the first semester of their senior year wouldn't have to take a full course load the second semester.
"If you can't graduate [immediately] and don't want to go for the full year, you can just take the one block," he said.
Some younger students questioned whether graduating a semester early would compensate for having to sit through longer class periods.
"I know as soon as that 50 minutes is up. I don't even pay attention for the last 15 minutes," said Valerie McKnight, a sophomore.
by CNB