The Monroe County Community School Corporation this afternoon sent an email to families and staff announcing a new high school schedule change for the 2024-25 school year.
A hybrid block schedule will be implemented with 60-minute class periods. Each day, different classes will be held. The corporation said that Bloomington High School South noted that 60-minute periods “provide[s] an adequate amount of class time for labs” and support.
Students will be permitted to take eight credits per semester, and complete 16 credits for the full year. With this change, the corporation said they were addressing concerns from faculty about credit loss and fewer elective opportunities.
The email also states the new schedule will provide a time for intervention and time for students to get additional support and help.
Read more:MCCSC to create common high school schedule
“MCCSC’s new strategic staffing design…will allow for increased preparatory time for new teachers and teachers who need additional support, while guaranteeing the district established average minimum amount of preparatory time of 200 minutes per week for all teachers,” the email said.
The teacher and community focus groups are still scheduled to meet to provide feedback on the schedule and collect suggestions for the upcoming school year.
Before making this decision, MCCSC looked at a high school experience survey from May that 61.5 percent of students completed. The results showed some students were concerned about the length of classes – 38 percent of North students said their 80-minute class periods were too long.
“Supporting this student concern, significant research have concluded that teenager engagement is reduced when classes are too long,” the email stated. “The current practice of attending classes at BHSN an average of 2.5 days a week disproportionately impacts our priority populations due to infrequent opportunities for regular instruction and interaction with teachers.”
Read more:MCCSC community expresses frustration over potential schedule change
The email also pointed out that South having longer classes for English and math does not promote equity. The corporation was also concerned about student transfers between schools with different schedules.
“This practice creates greater inequities in courses access and opportunities,” the email said. “Status quo is not acceptable when the beneficiaries of the current schedule design are less complex, less diverse, and have fewer exceptions than our overall student body.”
This announcement comes after North and South sent letters to the corporation outlining their concerns about a potential schedule change. Staff and faculty members from both schools were worried about the consequences of abandoning their schedules, which they say have been successful for each school.