Comments on the high school’s controversial four-period day will be fielded from the pubic at a South Whidbey School Board meeting Monday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. at the High School Commons.
The school district has hired an educational consulting firm to study the four-period day, which has been used at South Whidbey High School for 10 years.
Monday’s meeting, billed as a “question and answer forum on scheduling,” is part of the information gathering process for that study, which also includes written surveys of students, teachers, parents and community members.
The school district is asking people to “share SWHS experiences” with the four-period day. Among the expected topics are class availability, the registration process, options for flex classes, student use of the 90-minute classes, class sequences, instruction time, and problems related to early release of athletes.
In recent school board meetings the four-period day has been criticized by numerous speakers, and the school board has pledged that any changes will be implemented beginning with the 2002 school year.
The Sept. 24 board meeting was no exception, as more members of the public turned out to voice their concerns.
Yvonne Werttemberger said “variety is lacking,” in the four-period day schedule, and echoed others by saying students are “doing homework in class.”
Jean Goodfellow claimed “students are being shortchanged,” with the four-period day.
High school teachers haven’t publicly weighed in on the subject, and their survey results haven’t been released yet by the consultants, Northwest Region Educational Laboratories.
However, on Sept. 24 future school board member Helen Johnson, who is running unopposed for the seat held by Wendy Alexander, provided some supportive documentation for the schedule.
Johnson passed out an information sheet on research she had conducted. She found 44 high schools in Washington with a non-traditional schedule, and among the benefits cited to the State Board of Education are: More concentrated time for effective learning; more opportunity to integrate subjects; and more time to do projects and research.
Results of the Student Achievement Test (SAT) taken by college-bound students show scores at South Whidbey have improved since the four-period day was established. In 1993, the combined average verbal and math SAT score was 933. By 1997 the average score improved to 1,032, and in 2001 it increased to 1,085.
Johnson provided other numbers that suggested student “seat time” and teacher planning time are higher with the four-period day than the more common six-period day.
Johnson was not saying, however, that the present schedule doesn’t need some changes.
“There are great challenges,” she said.
