San Benito High School officials are considering two new
schedule proposals in an effort to improve test scores and make
sure students get the most out of their classroom hours next
year.
Hollister – San Benito High School officials are considering two new schedule proposals in an effort to improve test scores and make sure students get the most out of their classroom hours next year.
Principal Debbie Padilla brought two sample schedules to the board last week for consideration, but she said both still need some adjustments. Both schedules include a mandatory study hall, which the school hasn’t had for the last three years, and would shorten class periods.
After repeated complaints about this year’s schedule, Padilla and other officials hosted a half-dozen town hall-type meetings, inviting parents, teachers and community members to share their feelings about the schedule and how it could be improved. After compiling input from the different groups and researching the schedules of high-performing schools from across the state, Padilla came up with the two sample schedules.
The first sample, called the Green Schedule, would bring back the controversial zero period. Classes would start at 7am for students opting to take the 50-minute zero period and the traditional first class would being at 8am. Each of the six classes would be 95 minutes long, a full 15 minutes shorter than this year. The Green Schedule also calls for an hour-long study hall before lunch everyday.
Under the Yellow Schedule, block classes would begin for all students at 8am. The first class each day would be 95 minutes long and each of the six classes thereafter would be 85 minutes. The Yellow Schedule has a slightly longer study hall – 85 minutes – which would meet every other day.
Padilla said she plans to bring a final draft of both proposals to the district’s Board of Trustees for approval in the next few months.
“These are just samples,” Padilla said. “We still want to look at tweaking them a little bit more to get the best schedule.”
During her research of schedules at the highest-performing schools, Padilla found that everyone had at least one thing in common.
“They all had some support time, such as study hall or sustained silent reading,” she said. “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel, we have to visit some of those schools to see just what works.”
The extra study time figured into both sample schedule proposals could make a big difference on everything from grades to test scores, Superintendent Jean Burns Slater said.
“I think it will be very helpful,” she said. “It’s a time to actually get homework done and get help from teachers.”
Before school began this year, officials switched from a seven period block schedule with an optional zero period for struggling students to an eight period block schedule that makes the school day longer for both students and teachers. However, a grade report released last November led some teachers and students to conclude that the zero period experiment failed.
The report, which shows exactly what grades students got in every class at the school, showed students taking a zero period class, which started early in the morning before regular school day, did not perform as well as students who took the same class later in the day.
The schedule change for the 2005-2006 school years riled teachers last September so much that they filed an unfair labor practices charges against the district for changing the conditions and hours of their employment. Teachers had tentatively agreed to the schedule change before it went in at the start of the current school year, but never ratified the change. Chuck Schallhorn, president of the San Benito High School Teachers Association, is anticipating that teachers will have more input in the next schedule change and will have a chance to ratify the change before it is implemented. The unfair labor practice charge is still pending.
The new zero period proposed under the Green Schedule would be different from previous periods in that it wouldn’t be mandatory for struggling students. The new zero period would be optional and allow students to take classes such as electives early in the morning.
Junior Stefany James, who serves as the students’ liaison to the Board, is hoping to have the Green Schedule next year.
“Right now I’m leaning more toward the Green schedule,” James said. “It allows us to take a study period or advisory period every day.”
James said many students liked the idea of having a study hall every day that would allow them to get extra help from teachers during the day, instead of having to stay after school.
But Schallhorn hasn’t made up his mind on which schedule will be best for both students and teachers.
“At this point both schedules are workable,” he said. “But the devil is in the details.”
Padilla said she welcomes input on both schedules from teachers, parents and students and urges them to call her at the school, 637-5831.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
br******@fr***********.com
.
