Principal Dr. Terri Benson has decided not to transition the school to block scheduling for the 2024-2025 school year. Staff currently does not have an official schedule and is still testing to see what works best for students.
“I think we should postpone this decision for another year,” Benson said. “The school just has been so successful, why should I change everything?”
Originally, block scheduling was planned by former Principal Dr. Jeffery Stichler in January of 2023. The two main concerns are how block scheduling changes students’ days and the way teachers educate their students.
“We have to take time to teach the teachers how to teach in a 90 minute block of time versus 45 minute,” Benson said. “Teachers need to teach a single lesson and do something that’s called ‘chunking’ where you break up your lessons in to thirds and that takes training especially when a teacher has been trained to teach only a 30-minute lesson.”
She took this decision into consideration due to the effect this would have on the students who will miss a day of school and leave them behind on their classes.
“When we started to identify the cost versus benefit for students one of the things we were determining is if a student misses a 90 minute class, and the next day the teacher is out, essentially that would be a week of school the student is missing work.” Benson said. “How would they make up for a week of school?”
The block schedule would also have a big effect on student athletes and their practice hours.
“They (athletes) won’t be able to practice every day,” Benson said. “There are UIL rules, and that changes also.”
She also believes that the block schedule change will create further complications for students in athletics.
considering the fact they would most likely add an eighth class for the student athletes to have enough hours for their training and practices.
“I did talk to the students and one of them said ‘I’m barely able to keep up with seven classes, I don’t know if I can manage the stress of eight’ because we will be adding an eighth class.”
One of the biggest reasons for leaning towards block scheduling days is because of the hiring of more teachers and the removal of some electives.
idea than doing a double block schedule. “I think it would just be best if we have eight classes, it will make it easier to divide everything and not repeat another class again.” De La Trinidad said. She also believes that the block schedule change will create complications for students in athletics.
“I’m not excited for next year’s block schedule because it would be hard to contain a constant practice schedule for people in athletics, such as myself.” De La Trinidad said.
Other students like junior Camila Ponce seem to think different,
“Yes I think it will help students,” Ponce said. “Just because It gives us more time to get help from teachers if we’re struggling on a subject, or need time to finish work we know we won’t be able to after school.”
She thinks adding an extra class period to the schedule won’t be a good idea.
“I like it the way it is now, because it might add another elective if we do get an 8th period, and I just feel like another elective adds more stress then what we should have.” Ponce said.