Demopolis High to employ modified block scheduling in 18-19

The school day will look a little different for Demopolis High School students twice a week during the 2018-2019 academic year. The school system’s four highest grade levels will switch to a modified block schedule beginning in August.

The new calendar will see students on a standard schedule each Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Those days will feature seven class periods with 53 minutes of instructional time as the norm in each one. The schedule changes to a block concept on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

During the block scheduling portion of the week, specific classes will be granted 96 minutes of instructional time.

“On those two days, it’s going to allow us to do some things relative to science experiments and labs or if a teacher wanted to give an extended test,” Demopolis High School Principal Blaine Hathcock said of the move, which came after administrators saw the success other school systems have enjoyed from employing a similar calendar. “We want our teachers to move more toward allowing our students discussion questions or more open-ended type questions. Having an extended period of time allows teachers to do all of that in one period. You certainly don’t want to start a test and then have to carry that test on to the next day.”

In the fall, students will report to first period at 7:55 a.m. on Wednesdays for a class that will last until 9:31 a.m. There will be no second, fourth or sixth period classes on Wednesdays during the fall semester. Instead, students will spend 96 minutes in third period beginning at 9:43 a.m. Fifth period will include the lunch cycle and will begin at 11:23 a.m. Students will move to seventh period at 1:27 p.m. for a 96-minute class period.

In turn, students will not attend first, third, fifth and seventh period classes on Thursdays in the fall. Rather, they will attend second period from 7:55 a.m. until 9:31 a.m., fourth period from 9:43 a.m. until 11:19 a.m., and sixth period from 11:23 a.m. until 1:23 p.m.

“I think it allows teachers to be able to do more of a variety of things within that classroom. Fifty-two minutes is pretty tight when you’ve got teachers that are trying to do a physics experiment, a biology experiment, a chemistry lab. All of those things are very difficult to do in a fifty-two minute period when you get all of your students in there and get them pointed in the right direction,” Hathcock said. “We just thought it would allow us to have some extra time to be able to do those things.”

The extra time at the end of the day on fall Thursdays is designed to allow for more specialized work regarding standardized tests among other bonuses.

“It also is going to give us one period a week where we have one hour we call an academic enrichment period. We’re going to focus school wide on ACT readiness,” Hathcock said. “As our seniors get closer to second semester, we will transition them over to focus on work keys, which is really getting big now in the work force and industry. Getting a certification with work keys is something employees are asking for, so having those seniors be able to get some time to prepare will hopefully allow more of our kids to certificate in work keys. That’s how we’re going to utilize that hour. Being able to use modified block allows us to build in that hour.”

The academic enrichment period ends at 2:27 p.m., allowing for faculty or department meetings, makeup work, tutoring and the like.

“Also, one day a week, we are going to get out at 2:27 p.m. That one hour per week will allow us several different opportunities,” Hathcock said. “Those teachers will be available for that hour that we still are here working. We’re going to designate that time as makeup work time for students. Teachers are going to make themselves available for tutoring.”

In the spring semester, the schedule flips with second, fourth and sixth period classes meeting on Wednesday while first, third, fifth and seventh periods meet on Thursday. That will also move the academic enrichment period to Wednesdays in the spring. Students will get out of school at 2:27 p.m. on fall Thursdays and spring Wednesdays.

“It also, obviously, will allow us to help with travel in the spring with some of our spring sports to, hopefully, utilize that time on Thursday to be able to do that,” Hathcock explained.