Under a block schedule students would have three to four periods a day of 80-90 minutes.
Casey Manzella
Features Editor
During Scheduling Committee member and social studies teacher Kristine Goldhawk’s last year and a half of high school, she studied under a block schedule where she took four courses one semester and then four entirely different courses the next. “The block schedule was not good for me with math and science because I ended up having an entire year between courses,” she said. “I was a very strong math and science student, planning on majoring in them in college, and the block schedule blew that away.”
After the New England Association of Schools and Colleges’ visit last year, the faculty formed a Scheduling Committee, which has begun to look at other options for class schedules. “It is not just a block schedule versus our traditional schedule,” Ms. Goldhawk said. “There are many different types of block schedules and there are lots of hybrids that combine the two.”
Since the formation of the Scheduling Committee, no major changes have been planned. “We start by looking at outcomes, and our students are doing very well so there’s not a driving need to make a change right now,” Dr. Luizzi said. “We also want to look at opportunities though.”
Block scheduling was first introduced in the 1990’s and today one in three high schools nationally have some form of a block schedule. Due to its increasing popularity it is one of the committee’s focuses. “A block schedule generally has classes of 80 to 90 minutes and there are four that meet a day,” principal Bryan Luizzi said. “In an 80 minute block, versus a 48 minute block, there is significantly more time for students to be actively engaged in the work that they’re doing.”
Although many studies assert that block scheduling leads to higher test scores, the is no incontrovertible answer to the effects of block scheduling. “There are no studies that definitively prove that a block schedule is better than the schedule we currently have,” Ms. Goldhawk said. “For every study you will find that says block schedules are better and raise test scores, you will find another study that says scores actually go down. It is very dependent upon the school, the students, and the teachers.”
While most classes at the high school are taught in a single period of 48 minutes, American Studies takes two periods, resembling the block schedule. “In a way I already teach in a block style environment and I really like it because I feel it enables me to do a variety of different things during the period,” American Studies teacher Robert Darken said. “There is this big stretch of time that you can manage in different ways to meet your needs. When you vary the task it keeps things interesting, but during that big expanse of time you’re also digging further and further into the material.”
Math teacher Amy Smith believes the additional time from a block schedule could especially benefit math students. “In math it’s tough to get a really good activity done in 48 minutes,” she said. “With a block schedule you could fit in an investigation, a discussion about it, and a follow up practicing the discoveries.”
Students also recognize the potential benefits of changing to a block schedule. “With a block schedule we could take a longer period to fully understand and try to learn something,” freshman Drew Davis said. “A longer, undisturbed learning time could help further comprehension of a subject.”
As former principal of Brookfield High School, Dr. Luizzi also experienced some benefits when he oversaw Brookfield’s transition to a block schedule. “Teachers found that you were actually able to fit three classes worth of work in a block schedule because of the fewer transitions,” he said. “Since they only had to start the period, check homework, take attendance, and warm up once for the entire block they could get a lot more done.”
Junior Sarah Hardy also sees the advantages in longer classes. “I would actually prefer a block schedule,” she said. “You could get more done in one class period if they were longer. Also, I think since the longer periods of the block schedule are more like college classes they would be better for us to have.”
Locally, most schools still have a rotating schedule. A typical school day varies from school to school.
Mr. Darken agreed, citing the many similarities between block scheduling and a typical college class. “Having time to look more closely at material challenges kids in a way that is good preparation for college,” he said. “We’re preparing kids to go to college, so the more they can have that kind of experience, the better.”
Although a block schedule would provide more time in the classroom, an A/B block schedule could actually result in less instructional time. In an A/B schedule students take three to four classes on A day, and a different three or four on B day, which alternate during the week.“If we go to an A/B block we are going to lose 10% of our instructional time,” physics teacher Paul Reid said. “Right now I am usually right up against the time limit for the AP Physics exam in May. With 10% less time I don’t think I could fit in all of the material.”
In an A/B schedule students would only have a class, at most, three times a week. “It is very important that students are exposed to material in math on a daily basis,” Ms. Smith said. “An A/B block schedule would be tough in a subject like math because exposure and reinforcement from the teacher on a regular basis are very important.”
A block schedule, especially a semester block schedule, can also cause learning to become disjointed. “It is really hard to keep that knowledge when you don’t have continuity in the classroom,” Mr. Reid said. “Today, as we are realizing how important the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects are, to lose people from those fields is a shame. There are a lot of talented people that might get discouraged from the lack of continuity in a semester block schedule.”
The efficiency and timing of a block schedule also raises concern among students. “I feel like utilized class time totals up to 30 minutes per class before kids tune out,” senior Andrew Penchuk said. “When we switch classes we tune back in. I don’t think adding an extra 50 minutes of time, that will largely go unused, will help anybody.”
With the benefits and the downsides of a block schedule, some members of the school community prefer the current NCHS rotation schedule. “When I came to New Canaan High School I felt like I had found the best of both worlds,” Mr. Reid said. “The schedule moved around so people had the class at different times of the day, and it built in the opportunity for longer periods to complete labs. Also, we meet almost every day so the continuity is there.”
The rotating eight-period schedule provides other benefits as well. “Scheduling eight periods and having seven a day lets students take a full program of courses,” Dr. Luizzi said. “By being able to schedule eight full periods they’re able to experience more classes that way. By dropping one out each day the classes can be a little longer.”
Although the school is looking at the schedule, they have not yet taken any serious steps towards changing it. “We are in the preliminary stages of all of it,” Dr. Luizzi said. “We are talking about it and looking at it because it is part of our responsibility, but if we were even considering making a change we would include students, parents, and teachers in the conversation.”
Right now, the Scheduling Committee is working on initial research. “We are going through research data, taking a look at what options are out there, and collecting feedback from the faculty” Ms. Goldhawk said. “At this point in time we’re just gathering internal data.”
According to Ms. Goldhawk, it is important to consider how NCHS specifically will react to a schedule change. “If we have a schedule switch it is going to be because it is right for our community, not because some researcher said it was a great idea,” she said.
Regardless of whether the schedule changes, Dr. Luizzi feels it is important to discuss the possibility. “I think it is important for a school to always look at what we’re doing and then see if there are better ways to do it,” he said. “Whether it is looking at our schedule or our program of studies, I think we owe that to our students.”
