High school eliminates advisory period
Starting this spring San Benito High School will change its
schedule yet again. The school is dropping the course schedule put
in place last fall and beginning the school day at 8:50 a.m.
High school eliminates advisory period
Starting this spring San Benito High School will change its schedule yet again. The school is dropping the course schedule put in place last fall and beginning the school day at 8:50 a.m.
Under the new schedule students will have the option of starting their day with a zero period or taking the standard six course periods.
This year the high school added an additional 40-minute study period within the school day to their regular schedule, according to superintendent Stan Rose. Despite reports that the tutorial session had helped some students, the advisory period has been eliminated as part of a negotiated settlement with the teachers’ union. The district agreed to revert to a different schedule that would eliminate the study period, which was uncompensated.
Changes in the schedule beginning in 2004 were designed to provide teachers with more opportunities to connect with students and to improve communication between students, parents and the school. Some administrators thought the period could help with Academic Performance Index scores since the high school has been struggling to increase their scores.
“This not only helps the students academically, but it also creates another healthy relationship with a caring adult,” said Cindy Cordova, director of educational services at the high school, in a previous interview with the Pinnacle.
Principal Debbie Padilla researched schools similar to San Benito that were achieving at a higher rate on the API. One of the things those schools had that San Benito didn’t was an additional study period, Cordova said.
Some students haven’t taken advantage of the tutorial sessions.
“The advising was alright. I guess I could get help with my homework if I really wanted it, but mostly I just read,” said Joey Washington, a freshman.
The costs were outweighing the benefits, so it made sense to drop the advisory period, according to administrators. Administrators cited a potential loss of revenue and increased teacher workload as placing student success at risk.
The district has suggested that the change to the schedule will produce little, if any effect in school schedules. It could have an impact on families if their students are not taking zero period, in which case students are not due at the high school until 8:50 a.m.
“I have to be at work in Morgan Hill by 9 a.m., so my son is either going to be walking or getting to school a lot earlier,” said Suzie Gonzalez, the mother of a sophomore.
Students who take zero period and the required six periods will be released from school at 12:40 p.m. every other day. Students also have the option of taking seven periods and attending school from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day.
Patrick O’Donnell can be reached at po*******@pi**********.com.
