Implementation Of New H.S. Schedule On Track In York County

By Amber Lester Kennedy Friday, January 14, 2011

The York County School Board received a comprehensive update Monday of the preparations to implement a new high school schedule next fall.

The administrators leading the efforts to transition three York County high schools to a hybrid 4X4 schedule supplied the board with a list of 68 tasks and the progress toward completing each one, updates on the development of the Master Schedule and changes to the Program of Studies and information about how teams of administrators and parents are working together to navigate the process.

The York County School Board approved a plan to transition Bruton High School, York High School and York River Academy to a new schedule in October. Tabb High School and Grafton High School will continue on the existing schedule, taking six 90-minute classes on alternating days and one 50-minute course that meets daily. Under the hybrid 4X4 schedule, students will enroll in four, 90-minute classes every day.

Most classes will meet every day of the semester, but some classes, such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and performing arts, will meet on alternating days for the entire year.

Once the plan was approved, the school division assembled a steering committee that includes Director of Secondary Education Kipp Rogers, principals and guidance counselors. In addition, site-based teams were formed that include parents, students and principals who will help plan how to implement the new schedule at each individual school. For the presentation at Monday’s meeting, Rogers was joined by Bruton Principal Vicky Corlett, York Principal Antonia Fox and York River Academy Principal Walter Cross.

The group outlined what efforts have already taken place and how they’re moving forward. First, the groups identified 68 tasks to address in the implementation process. The tasks are categorized under the type of issue they address, such as assessment, attendance, grading and interim periods, instruction, IT, Program of Studies, professional development, program evaluation, special ed, staff, student fees, transcripts and transfers. The tasks have been tracked on an Excel document, where the team members update their progress.

The “completed” list includes checking on the VHSL eligibility requirements, checking on the implications for Governor’s School students and determining how many grading periods to have per semester (they decided on four per semester). About 20 of the 68 tasks have already been addressed; eight additional tasks are pending School Board approval and three tasks are pending review by the site-based teams.

The teams have also begun work to build the Master Schedule and make changes to the Program of Studies. This includes examining if the division’s IT department could create a report on course requests, which would give guidance to counselors trying to figure out what courses would pair well for first and second semesters. The teams are also looking at changes to the math progression, such as having students take an “Algebra Fundamentals” course instead of the current double-block course; that course would strengthen the skills of students struggling with the concepts. They are also looking to add a capstone math course for college-bound seniors.

For world language classes, the teams suggest having students take languages on the alternating days all year for the first and second year. When they reach the third and fourth years of their chosen language course, they could take them on the semester schedules.

The group also discussed the need for some professional development to prepare teachers for the transition to 90-minute blocks. They hope to help teachers examine how to make the best use of the instructional time, and prepare them to see the same students every day.

During the meeting, the board asked how information is being communicated to the community. When the 4X4 hybrid schedule was first proposed, many parents criticized what they saw as a failure to disseminate the information to the public. This time around, the steering committees and site-based teams are providing updates through the websites of the division and schools, keeping middle school staff updated so they can spread information to the parents of future high school students, planning “Parent Universities” to share updates and sharing information at board meetings. Fox said that the discussion has been so robust that the site-based team for York has kept pushing back items on its agendas for lack of time. “But that’s a good thing,” she said.

Board Vice Chair Robert George asked the administrators what the school climate is like now, after facing some strong opposition to the plan when it was first proposed. Fox said she feels like people are interested in making the new schedule work for them. “They’re asking questions and looking for answers,” she said. “They are saying, ‘How do we make it our friend?’”

For further updates on the implementation process, agendas for implementation meetings are posted here.