HHS COMMUNITY QUESTIONS / COMMENTS REGARDING SCHEDULING CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION Under the block system, it seems that more thought needs to go into the four year plan. How will we address this with counselors? Will there be required meetings and planning session with families in either 8 th or 9 th grade? Yes, the 4-year plan will be addressed by HCS. Counselors will work collaboratively with HCS to provide a successful 4-year plan for students. The 9 th grade counselor will meet with the 8 th grade students in feeder schools to thoroughly address the 4-year plan. Families and students will be given the opportunity to attend an orientation where the 4-year plan will be addressed. All other grade level counselors will address their current cohorts concerning the 4-year plan and an orientation will be provided for families and students as well. Students will work closely with their grade level counselor to review and update their four year plan annually. If we move to block could seniors graduate in December? Yes, students could potentially graduate in December. There are many different acceleration avenues for students. Students wishing to accelerate will need to be purposeful in planning their four-year plan. Some students may even elect to graduate a year early if they choose. How will we address the pacing guide under a block schedule? Pacing guides would have to be adjusted if we move to block. HCS currently has four schools already on block and therefore have two different pacing guides in place.
I m hearing a lot of pros for athletes, but facing gaps in instruction time for math, English and fine arts. I don t see and did not hear about possible resolution for this in the block format. How will HHS make up for these net losses? If HHS s answer is the power hour, will the kids really use that time for math/english? Moving to a block system allows for gained efficiency. If we take two 52 minute lessons and we combine them then on paper we have 104 minutes; however, on the second lesson we cannot simply pick up where we left off; we cannot begin the first sentence of instruction where the last sentence left off. We must allow for a brief review or reteach of the previous lesson. This overlap is usually about 10 minutes per lesson. 104 minutes quickly moves to 94 minutes. There is not much lost in terms of instructional time. If we couple the above with the fact that the student also has to attend seven different classes then the quality of the time is also a factor. With block the instruction is much more focused. Power hour will provide students with opportunities to take ownership of their learning. Students must develop this skill or they will struggle in college. Power Hour will provides our students with the ability to decide for themselves if and when they need additional help. Can students who fail a course take the same course in the next semester? Students who fail a course in the fall could re-take the course in the spring. Currently when a student fails and attends summer school they receive content via GradPoint/Credit Recovery which is an online program. This is no replacement for a teacher. By holding the failing student immediately responsible and taking away an elective for the second semester we can reteach that student and ensure that they remain with their graduation cohort Bob Jones and James Clemens have significantly fewer students attending summer school each year because they have the ability to reteach students who fail a course ASSESSMENTS If we go to block, will we have testing? EOC exams? We will continue to have testing for benchmarks, end of course tests, exams, AP tests, etc. We are currently coordinating with the district office to review what such a schedule would look like.
If we go to the block schedule, will semester exams and benchmarks, happen twice for each block? For ex., in the Fall, semester exams happen in late Sept /early Oct and End of Course exams happen in Dec. The benchmark and exam schedules are set by the district office. We are currently discussing with the district the potential testing schedules on the traditional block. How would a change in schedule affect grading scale? Any change of schedule will not affect the grading scale. ELECTIVES What if student wants to take Choir/Band/Theater and Athletics? Block is meant to offer more opportunities, it s about increasing student choice. Students will have the ability to choose eight classes per year versus seven classes. Once the graduation requirements are met students are free to choose the electives that they wish. Beyond Health and Career Preparedness students must complete four credits of English, Math, Science and Social Studies, plus their electives. Will or can coaches require practice after school? Coaches can still practice after school, however, coaches will have opportunity to start practice earlier and will therefore be more inclined to end practice earlier. How is JROTC handled? I realize it is an elective, but rank is gained through continuous participation. Students may elect to take the JROTC courses sequentially; which means they may take the first course during the 1 st semester and the second course in the second semester. This means that students could start in JROTC as late as Junior year and still complete all four credits. You provided 3 schedules with students taking one elective, i.e. voice or volleyball or AP, but what does a schedule look like for a student who wants to play volleyball and take choir?
Students must take four core courses each year. During their freshman year students must take career prep. During their sophomore year students must take health. Students may take an arts course all year and participate in their sport while in season. Currently have 7 classes, 1 with band. Block 3 classes, 1 band. Instrumental levels 1 & 2 may be combined. Instrumental 3 and 4 may remain separate courses. Students will get credit for taking band both semesters. Won t my child be forced to make a decision between keeping her very high GPA or continuing to stay in Band? If she stays in Band that will take up 2 of 8 credits, instead of taking an AP course which would help her GPA stay competitive. Why should she be forced to make a decision when NOW she can do both? Won t this hurt our Band, Choir and Drama programs? Some students currently elect to take as many as seven Advanced Placement courses. This is a choice based upon the student s aspirations. Taking arts courses will not hinder a student s ability to earn a GPA of 4.0 or higher. Bob Jones, James Clemens, Sparkman, Hazel Green, and Athens all have vibrant arts programs as well as academically competitive students. I have heard that some schools are trying to put the Arts back into their schools because integrating the Arts with STEM education improves participation and retention in STEM education which ultimately leads toward career and college readiness. How can we keep our Arts strong? A move to block will provide arts courses with a net increase of 114 hours (moving from 52 minutes to 90 minutes over the course of 180 days) and additional credit each year. James Clemens and Bob Jones both have smaller student bodies than HHS and both have more students in band and choir. HHS currently has 3 show choir classes that are unique in nature. We also have a concert choir and a beginning women s choir. Because of their uniqueness, they cannot be combined. How will you be able to offer these classes in a Block Schedule? HHS currently offers Choir 1 4, Show Choir, and Treble choir. One solution is to combine Choirs 1, 2, and 3, maintain the show choir as a separate course, and combine Choir 4 with Treble.
Do you realize that the Arts are an outlet for many students, just as sports are an outlet for many others? Why do you want to change? Our schedule must support our instructional needs. Huntsville High has the following instructional needs: o Flexibility Acceleration for those operating at a high level The ability to reteach struggling students o Time for Students Time for reading and math intervention Time within the schedule for all students to participate in clubs o Time for Teachers Time for teachers to collaborate Time for embedded professional learning during the school day Regarding the 4x4 block, would cross country and track athletics always be 4 th block? Sports in season would have fourth block. Sports out of season may have a different block. Since cross country (fall) and track (spring) are essentially always in season they would have fourth block all year. Would coaches allow students to only take an athletics block during their sports season so that student athletes could also gain additional credit hours with a block schedule? Athletes will have the opportunity to take other courses while out of season if they choose. Athletes wishing to take courses during the off season would need to work closely with their counselor to coordinate this. I have a swimmer. They travel to the Natatorium for practice during 7 th period. Under Modified Block, would they be assured they would have swimming every day during 4 th block? Traveling back and forth during the day would eat up a lot of practice time. The schedule for swimming and dive will revolve around when we may have the natatorium. Currently we have it during the afternoon hours. As long as this remains the case then swim and dive would be during fourth block.
Will my child have problems with scheduling sequential classes, such as math, language and science? Won t this be even worse if she wants to take certain electives, such as band, choir or drama? The master schedule, regardless of bell schedule, is built to accommodate as many of the students requests as possible. That is true in any school regardless of bell schedule. Each year HHS like any other high school has scheduling conflicts. Priority goes to Seniors, then Juniors, then Sophomores, and finally Freshmen. Whether we change bell schedules or not we will continue to build our master schedule based upon the course requests of our students. AP / HONORS Currently students in Honors/AP English read several books which takes time. Will the amount of material have to reduce or are they expected to speed read? How will this affect comprehension? We must keep in mind that our students currently take seven classes all year long. If we make a change to block they will only prepare for four classes each night. Even if three of those classes are Advanced Placement they will have more time to devote to those three classes than they would if they had seven. Students may also study, read, or review during Power Hour. Some students may elect to complete assignments during that time. The great thing about Power hour is that students will have the opportunity to take charge of their own learning. If AP courses are encouraged in the fall, how does a student handle multiple AP classes that are moving twice as fast? Wouldn t every day of the power hour in the spring be reviewing AP for spring exams? If students take an Advanced Placement course in the fall then they would have all of the spring semester to attend Power Hour review sessions. Students will be permitted to attend as many review sessions during Power Hour as they like.
HHS and GHS students seem to take a large # of AP classes per year. As someone who encounters many Madison City and Madison County HS students, it does not appear that most take as many AP classes in Block Schedule. Do you have statistics on this? We do not have access to the current AP participation rates of Madison City, but we will certainly ask. Huntsville high currently has 773 students taking AP courses. Sparkman HS has modified their block schedule every year over the past 4 years they now have yearlong math and yearlong AP classes to address the concerns you have raised. Has this been considered? Sparkman currently operates on a modified block schedule. We are considering both forms of block scheduling traditional and modified. The modified block schedule permits students to see all of their classes over the course of the year. COMMUNITY INPUT Will teachers have input? Yes, teacher leaders (department chairs) and coaches are the leadership team that is doing the evaluation and making the recommendation for next steps. Our teacher leaders have done a great deal of behind the scenes work, visiting schools, researching the topic, meeting with their departments, etc. Will parents have input? Yes, parents are involved right now through the community meeting. Parents may submit questions and comments to www.huntsvillecityschools.org/askus The PTSA board continues to be instrumental in identifying concerns for any change in scheduling. I thought you were gathering input from the teachers, students and parents and community when will you actually allow us to give our input? The purpose of the community meeting held on Thursday, November 19 th was to present our findings and provide a platform for the community to provide input. The ask us webpage on the HCS homepage is another forum to provide input. Questions are being collected and posted to this FAQ.
We are currently in dialogue with the student leadership groups as well as the teacher leaders of our school. Parents may submit questions and comments to www.huntsvillecityschools.org/askus Are we going through the motions? We are following a process and part of that process is gathering community input. We ve met with our student leadership, as well as our teacher leadership. Our goal is to ensure that we have done all due diligence before a decision is made regarding our schedule moving forward. Is keeping 7 period schedule really an option? The option to do nothing is always an option. It sounds like a decision has already been made. Has a decision been made that all schools will switch to block scheduling? Is any consideration being given to switching all schools to a traditional schedule? If we re switching, why? This is a process. We are working through the process to ensure that any change supports our instructional needs. The schools operating on the block schedule have worked on traditional schedules in the past and have found that their instructional needs are better met with the block schedule. This is also the case for the Madison City High Schools. If Magnet Schools have to be on a block schedule and Dr. Wardynski has mandated that all schools have to be on the same schedule, hasn t a decision already been made? We have not been told that a change must be made; however, to meet our current instructional needs and considering the desire for collaboration both within our school and with other schools a change to block is certainly a strong possibility. Why are 2 schools in HCS different than the others? The Central Office seems to dictate everything else? In the past very little collaboration between schools occurred. Also students did not take courses between schools. Now that there is more collaboration there is greater need to sync up schedules.
While no change is being mandated we must adapt to meet our growing / changing instructional needs. Why must Magnet and IB Schools be on Block? Magnet and IB schools must operate on the block in order for magnet students and IB students to provide the students with additional course opportunities that are a part of their curriculum. Why change now? We are considering a scheduling change in order to meet our instructional needs. We must have time for collaboration, reteach, and acceleration. Our current schedule does not allow for this. CONSENT ORDER Is there any connection between this and the Consent Order? Equal access to education There is no mandate in the consent order to change our schedule. This decision is being weighed with our instructional needs in mind. POWER HOUR Is Power Hour scheduled or voluntary? Power Hour would be part of the schedule. Students would be empowered to choose how they spend that time. They may o Attend AP Study Sessions o Attend Club Meetings o Participate in student leadership groups o Attend additional instruction sessions / reteach o Make-up tests, labs, etc. Who determines what students do during Power Hour? There will be specific days scheduled for clubs/organizations, intervention, AP review sessions. Power Hour is all about student choice. Students are to be masters of their own destiny. If we want our students to grow then it is important for
students to have ownership of their learning. Students appreciate freedom and if we empower them then they will have choice in the matter. Will coaches be willing for students to go to AP study sessions during Power Hour? Coaches recognize that academics come first. They want their students to have good grades. They obviously want their players to remain academically eligible. There may be days where coaches want their players for team meetings, to review film, or review the game plan. Power Hour is scheduled and certain days are designated to provide a clear schedule. Does Power Hour = Lunch? When is lunch? Lunch is a part of the Power Hour. Students will be free to eat lunch at any point during Power Hour. Some groups may elect to make this a working lunch. We are exploring possibilities for how we may split Power Hour into two parts so that one half of the student body may eat while the other half participates in club meetings, review sessions, etc. How does it work for students who have 2+ AP classes during the Power Hour? Dedicated days spread out over the course of the week for review sessions for specific classes. We will create a schedule with Power Hour for key days for clubs, AP reviews, office hours for teachers, and of course lunch. How does a student go to reviews for multiple AP classes, to club meetings and get additional instruction that they might have previously received before school all within a power hour? Students must learn how to prioritize their time. This is a life skill that our students must learn to master. Power Hour will give our students an opportunity to practice prioritizing their time. Are students required to attend AP review sessions during the Power Hour Spring Semester when the AP class is taken in the Fall? The purpose of Power Hour is to provide enriching activities, review sessions, and reteach opportunities while allowing students to be in charge of their own learning.
When students go to college no one will make them see their professor during their open office hours. Power Hour will help students learn how to manage their time. How is Power Hour structured? Are students responsible for their own time or are they required to attend certain reviews, remediation, AP reviews, etc. Students would be in charge of their use of Power Hour. One day they may need to attend a club meeting, one day they may need to attend a review session. Another day they may need to make up a test. Do teachers trade their planning period for Power Hour? No, teachers receive their planning period in addition to Power Hour. SCHEDULES / TIME What about Homeroom on the Block? Why not get rid of Homeroom on the 7 period day? We currently use homeroom for the following: collecting attendance, voting for class officers, voting for homecoming queen, voting for prom queen, distributing report cards / progress reports, and setting up testing. If we make the change to block then we plan to collect our official attendance through 2 nd block. We will run an advisory class through Power Hour at least twice monthly. During that time we can accomplish everything we currently do in homeroom. On many 4x4 blocks, AP classes can meet all year (2 semesters) is this an option? From what we have researched this is untenable. This would severely hamper both the number of AP courses we offer as well as the number of courses a student could take. Why is traditional block better than modified block? There is no scheduling magic bullet. If there was a perfect schedule then every school would operate on the same schedule. For our community we must keep in mind our instructional focus. Modified Block teachers are preparing for 6 classes, and students are preparing for 8 classes alternating days. Focus of the student is on fewer subjects with a traditional block, versus modified block.
Each schedule has its positives. With modified block, students can take AP all year long. The major draw of Traditional Block is that it provides clarity and focus for students and teachers. There are fewer classes to prepare for on a given night. Time and energy may be dedicated to a smaller set of classes. This leads to more focus and deeper thought. Over the year, you will have less time for each topic with block. How do you overcome that? Here is the breakdown in time: o Seven Periods, 1 class, 52 minutes x 180 days in a year= 9,360 minutes o Block, 1 class, 90 minutes x 90 days (semester) = 8,100 minutes A 7 period day is structured where a teacher has to consistently review from the previous day. This takes roughly 10 minutes daily. This time will not be necessary on the block system because a 90- minute lesson provides time for more closure/wrap-up of the completed lesson. Power Hour will also provide additional time for remediation, review, and acceleration. Per HCS Webpage: Schools on block schedules are expected to cover 2 lessons per day. How does this work with the lesson structure? Won t many students have a more difficult time keeping up with the faster pace inherent to Block Scheduling? And, won t this create more extensive homework-2 lessons worth? More homework is never an expectation of block scheduling. Block scheduling allows the teachers to develop a 90 minute lesson (not 2 separate lessons). The majority of student thrive on block scheduling because the focus is on 4 courses. In a modified block schedule, do you alternate weeks? How are you avoiding A classes getting more time than B classes if you do not alternate weeks? For example: o Week 1 Monday-A Tuesday-B Wednesday-A Thursday-B Friday-A o Week 2
Monday-B Tuesday-A Wednesday-B Thursday-A Friday-B Has a schedule more similar to college scheduling been considered? i.e. M/W/F classes for 60 minutes, T/Th classes for 90 minutes? HCS are researched numerous schedules: 7 period day, 8 period day, modified block, traditional block, and a rotating block (as mentioned). There is a great deal of power in coordinating schedules with the rest of the high schools. This allows us to coordinate professional development for our teachers, Advanced Placement Courses, distance learning opportunities, etc. If we have to switch to block, will juniors and seniors get priority in scheduling classes? They don t have extra years to fit in courses they want or need. Yes, seniors are usually always given priority followed by juniors, followed by sophomores. On block schedule, what happens to classes that are 1 semester courses on 7 period schedule (i.e. Drivers Ed, Health, Government, and Economics? Semester classes would become 9 weeks courses. There is a possibility (depends on staffing) to allow the government and economics classes to continue on the semester scheduling. Lots of instructional time missed when they get held in a class for a few hours (i.e. during PSAT, other standardized test days). How does this impact a block schedule differently from 7 period schedule? On the seven period day, often up to 5 classes can be missed. With block scheduling, that will not be the case. Most testing is complete by lunch which will mean there is a possibility of missing two blocks. With current technology, we are looking to implement teachers assigning e- assignments so instruction can continue even if in another classroom. If the schedule changes to block, when would it be implemented? If implemented, block scheduling would be implemented in the fall of the 2016-2017 school year.
It seems block scheduling brings greater emphasis to group work. Group work is great when everyone in the group contributes, but in reality it is usually one student who carries the other students who coast. I do not believe group work is as practical as everyone believes. Cooperative learning groups are an important aspect of education and the real life experience. It is a simple fact that most professionals work as a member of collaborative groups. Our students must learn the important skills of collaboration and team / group work. There are strategies that will be discussed at block scheduling professional development to address just such issues. With block scheduling, will student class schedules be set for the semester or could there be changes like what happened this semester? There is never a perfect schedule. The changes this year where brought on by a lack of staffing. When we were able to provide additional units to HHS, we did what was best for students by moving them out of extremely large classes. Student schedule changes are always possible because the school is never aware of how many students may enroll during the first weeks of school. TEACHER TRAINING How will you ensure teachers are prepared for this transition? Our teacher leaders are currently in collaboration with local high schools, both inside our district and in neighboring districts. We have hired a scheduling expert who has helped schools across the country make scheduling transitions HCS will provide training to all teachers in support of a transition Training will be conducted by discipline/content specific areas I understand that the teachers who are experienced with Block Scheduling even have a hard time getting all the AP material covered. How do you expect our teachers who are inexperienced with block scheduling to do this? No matter the schedule, AP courses are rigorous to say the least. It is always difficult to cover the material completely. It is a matter of pre-planning and organizational strategies. Professional development will be provided to ensure teachers can cover the material the students need to be successful on the AP exams.
What assurance do we have that our teachers and schedules will be completely ready to implement this huge change? There has been extensive research completed on how to implement block scheduling in an organized, positive way. HCS is prepared and will continue to research the best practices for the roll out of block scheduling. If a change is made professional development will not be held until the last minute. We will begin to implement it so teachers can adjust to the planning and delivery expectations of block scheduling. How are the faculty going to be prepared for block schedule teaching? The majority of our teachers attended block schedule training this past summer. Our faculty has been researching and preparing in anticipation of a potential move since May 2015. HCS will work collaboratively with Madison County Schools and Madison City Schools to train teachers. Many of our own staff have much experience on block scheduling and will be able to provide in-house professional development to teachers. Mock lessons will be developed and modeled for all teachers. We expect to provide extensive training on implementing block scheduling in an engaging, positive manner. Of the 51% of teachers with experience with block, how many favor it? The vast majority of teachers are 100% moving to block scheduling. The few that have concerns still have an open mind about the implementation. With any change there will be questions and concerns that need to be addressed. The process we are following is meant to research these issues alongside our teachers. Our teacher leaders have been engaged in visiting school within our district, within our neighboring districts, and even out of state districts. What training or continuing education courses will our teachers receive to adequately implement block scheduling? HCS will work collaboratively with Madison County Schools and Madison City Schools to train teachers. Many of our own staff have much experience on block scheduling and will be able to provide in-house professional development to teachers. Mock lessons will be developed and modeled for all teachers. We expect to provide extensive training on implementing block scheduling in an engaging, positive manner.
HOMEWORK Will there be more homework with the block schedule? A move to traditional block will see our student course loads decrease from seven classes to four. The number of classes that a student will have to prepare for will decrease. The net homework load will be roughly the same, but the focus will be more narrow. I am concerned that homework on modified block will be more confusing and that must ensure no larger Homework load. Will this be the case? We do not expect to see an increase in homework if we move to the block schedule. This will all be part of the professional development teachers receive on how to prepare lessons and teach on block scheduling. The idea is for block scheduling to offer more in depth and engaging lessons not just adding on more homework. Also, with the addition of power hour students will have the opportunity to review difficult assignments in more depth, have their questions answered, or simply work through the homework alongside teachers or peers. For students taking multiple AP classes (over 4), is there time to cover the material in the spring AP classes? (AP tests occur prior to the end of the school year) Yes, students have ample class time to prepare for the exams. The Power Hour will also offer AP sessions to allow students to receive additional review for the AP exams. CAREER ACADEMIES What % of our students attend these career academies? Roughly15% of Huntsville High students currently participate in career academies. With a shift to block schedule our students will have more opportunities to attend career academies that they are not currently able to attend because of scheduling conflicts. Why don t schools on block shift to the seven period schedule? Several of the schools have worked on a period schedule in the past. No school in Madison County that has previously worked on the block has
switched back to a traditional period schedule. This is because the block schedule allows for more opportunities for students, provides time for reteach, provides time for acceleration, and provides opportunities for teacher collaboration. In short, schools that operate on block enjoy it. Is this decision being driven by the de-centralization of the career academies? If so, why are the needs of the arts and academics taking a back seat to the career academies? The discussion regarding block scheduling is being driven by best practices for teachers and students, as well as the instructional needs of the school. Students will have the opportunity to be exposed to more credits, early graduation (if desired), more engaging lessons, less homework, tests, and quizzes, etc. Teachers will have more planning time; therefore, they have the opportunity to develop more engaging lessons. Teachers have fewer students and can build a positive rapport with the smaller classes, more time for extended activities, and more time to devote to the delivery of instruction. MISCELLANEOUS How will HCS handle teacher absenteeism? Data suggests that moving to a block schedule decreases both teacher and student absenteeism. With the move to the block schedule, teachers and students realize the implications of missing a block day. All teachers will attend professional development on block scheduling where the data of absenteeism will be discussed. How will you deal with student absenteeism? Power Hour will allow students who miss a day to make up missed instruction, assignments, and tests. Data suggests that moving to a block schedule decreases both teacher and student absenteeism. With the move to the block schedule, teachers and students realize the implications of missing a block day. Will a substitute be qualified to teach a 90 minute block? A sub isn t qualified to teach a 52 minute period. Nobody can replace a certified teacher. That s a simple fact. There is no true substitute for a certified teacher
Will disciplinary standards change with block scheduling? How will disruptive students be dealt with? The student code of conduct is set forth by HCS not the individual schools within the district. HCS will always reflect on previous years to make adjustments that are best practices. Disruptive students will be dealt with by the teacher first and then move up the chain of command. The expectation of HHS is that students are actively engaged with little to no time to be disruptive. Block scheduling will allow for fewer transitions. Based upon research schools that transition from a traditional period schedule to block see a reduction in disciplinary infractions as a result of fewer transitions during the school day. COMMENTS This is a great opportunity for our students. The additional course per year can only provide additional opportunities for them.