THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501200265
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
FOR HIGH SCHOOL students who just love their classes, good news. For those who live for the bell, oh well . . .
Block scheduling, a method of putting classes in longer time periods than traditional class scheduling, will begin next year at Lakeland and Nansemond River high schools.
Class periods will last 100 minutes, nearly twice as long as current class periods, said Joyce Trump, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. But . . . students won't have to attend the same classes daily.
The classes will be rotated, so that those held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday one week will be scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday the next week, and vice versa. Students will still have one 50-minute class daily.
``We knew there had to be a change,'' said Trump. ``We decided the least drastic change that would be most advantageous for students, teachers and the general climate of the school would be the reorganization of time.''
A growing number of school divisions across Virginia and elsewhere have adopted block-scheduling to better prepare students for college and the workplace, said Dr. Lynn E. Cross, coordinator of curriculum and staff development.
``Block-scheduling is part of educational reform in Virginia,'' Cross said.
Michael D. Rettig, a James Madison University professor who surveyed school divisions statewide last spring, found 94 Virginia high schools - one third - using block scheduling to plan for this year. Among them are several local divisions, including Franklin, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Isle of Wight and Surry counties.
The change will strengthen education because teachers will have more opportunities to team up on special projects and will have time to teach in-depth lessons, Cross said.
Jane Butler, who teaches English at Lakeland High School, is confident the extra time will reflect in student achievement.
``When you only have 45 minutes, you really don't have time to even get started on a project before the period is over,'' said Butler. ``You spend a lot of time motivating the students and getting them excited about learning and then have to drop the ball in the middle of the game.
``That makes picking up the momentum the next day pretty difficult.''
Instead of changing classes after 45 minutes, students will work work longer and cover more. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Assistant Superintendent Joyce Trump is hoping to get block
scheduling off the ground next year in Suffolk high schools.
by CNB