High School Schedule

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the new high school schedules take effect?

The new schedules will take place at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year.

Why are the high school bell schedules changing?

As part of the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP), parents, educators, students, and other stakeholders identified a need to examine high school schedules in order for students to have “more opportunities for academic growth and development in order to be competitive in post-secondary settings.” In making these adjustments, the district will be able to achieve the following goal and objectives:

GOAL: Beginning in the 2018-2019 school year, both Fox and Seckman High School will have a new schedule that meets the goals/outcomes of the CSIP by increasing the length of class periods, aligning with the new rigor and inquiry requirements of Fox C-6 curricula, provides structured time for students to find instructional support/remediation/enrichment, and provides greater opportunity for teachers to collaborate.

  1. Connection to CSIP - As part of the Student Achievement Goal, the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan, created by Fox C-6 stakeholders, identifies Response to Intervention and high school schedules as an area to examine and revise to make the most successful environment for students.
  2. Alignment with Curriculum - As our Curriculum and Instruction Department has worked closely with its Curriculum Advisory Committee to align our courses to provide greater rigor and inquiry, our schedules must reflect the needs of courses. More opportunities in middle school and more rigorous courses throughout high school mean our students need the appropriate structure and time in place in order to be ready for success.
  3. Professional Learning Communities (PLC) - In order to meet the growing demands of the education profession and the increased rigor of our courses, our teachers need the time to collaborate with one another. This time will allow them to offer individualized learning for their students as they work as a team to design and develop the best approaches for educating students.
  4. Response to Intervention (RTI) - In order to support every student in our building, it is important to have a structure that provides time for students to be able to get the help they need. In looking at schedules, one of our primary goals is to include 85 minutes every other day to students so they can work on the academic areas where they need the most support. Whether a student is struggling in a subject area and needs some extra time with an instructor or whether they are an athlete who needs time during the week to work on homework, this time built into the schedule will help any student find success.

Is block scheduling the only solution you’re examining? Isn’t there another way?

Although other options exist, there is no other option that addresses all of the aforementioned goals without drastically adjusting school instruction times/days. Further, in discussions with parents and other stakeholders, other options, such as a late start or early dismissal, were too disruptive for families with younger children and create an additional burden on transportation.

What is block scheduling?

Block scheduling, also known as alternate day schedule, is a type of schedule that consists of 4 longer class periods in a school day where students and teachers meet every other day rather than meeting every day for shorter periods. Typically in a traditional school day, students may be in 7 classes around 46 minutes each and an advisory period. In an alternate day schedule, students would be in 4 longer classes every day around 90 minutes each.

How will this affect course selections?

As with other adjustments made as a result of the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP), the adjustment to the high school schedule will provide more opportunities for students to take courses, including AP courses, than the previous structure.

Will this mean more homework for the students?

Longer class periods should not mean more homework. In fact, it should allow students more time to go deeper into concepts taught in the class with the teacher readily accessible for help with understanding the material. Additionally, this type of schedule will mean the possibility for students to have an “academic lab” period every other day that can be used to work on homework during the school day.