WJCC Administration Recommends Hybrid Schedule For High Schools

By Amber Lester Kennedy Tuesday, December 28, 2010

High school students in Williamsburg and James City County will likely be adjusting to a new high school schedule soon.

Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services Dianna Lindsay delivered a recommendation that the high schools transition to a hybrid 4X4 schedule at the WJCC School Board’s Dec. 21 meeting. The recommendation is the result of a three-year study completed by a group called the “time cohort.” The cohort included 65 teachers and administrators charged to investigate the division’s scheduling options and national best practices.

After three years of study, the cohort chose to recommend switching to a hybrid 4X4 schedule as a way to address some of the board’s concerns about the present block schedule. As it stands, students in WJCC high schools take four 90-minute classes per semester, with new classes beginning each semester.

Under the proposed schedule, some classes, such as Advanced Placement and performing arts, would be taken on alternating days year-round. Lindsay said that change will enable more students to enroll in band and other performing arts classes, while allowing AP students to take their courses right up until the AP tests are administered in May. Currently, many students take AP courses in the fall semester and wait months to be tested. York County also recently approved a plan to implement a hybrid 4X4 schedule at the start of the 2011/2012 school year for some of its high schools.

Lindsay did not give a specific start time for the implementation of the schedule, if approved, but did say the change would be “not radical, but incremental and will continue to evolve over the next several years.” She emphasized that while no schedule is perfect, the hybrid option will address, anticipate and assess the division’s needs.

In their evaluation of schedule options, the cohort examined each option’s impact on academics, documentation (such as transcripts), equity, communications, implementation and athletics and co-curricular activities. They found that the hybrid schedule could offer more opportunities for performing arts coursework, along with more opportunities to enable struggling learners to catch up.

Along with the changes to the schedule, the switch offers opportunities to address two major concerns within the division: establishing a bridge between middle school and high school, and drafting a more comprehensive attendance policy. Lindsay said she’d like to start a cohort to investigate the attendance policy and find ways to encourage attendance as opposed to suspension for behavioral violations. Alternatives to suspension could include school on Saturdays and evenings, or virtual classes allowing students not to miss any lessons or coursework.

Because many students have completed the necessary core credits by their senior year, the cohort has suggested creating some sort of senior year experience. It could possibly allow students to pursue career aspirations, or complete a research project. “We don’t want the senior year to be the same as all the others,” she said. “We think four years of the same is not exactly the way we want to present the senior year.”

Board member Ruth Larson asked whether any other courses, such as math, could also become yearlong classes on the alternating day schedule. Lindsay said the division is planning to make broad-based changes to its math curriculum from Kindergarten to 8th grade, which will delay changes to the math program at the high school level. She said the division will determine which courses need to be yearlong based on student needs, however.