HUNTINGTON – Gateway Regional Junior-Senior High School students will experience a class schedule shift, as the minimum number of required classes for students will jump from five to seven per day.
School administrators approved the measure in the spring and said the decision was made to help students maximize their school days.
According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, classes will be trimmed down to 50 minute periods to accomodate the additional classes.
“The primary issue was that, with only five periods in the day, there wasn’t enough options for students who wanted to take a full academic load, as well as the extras like music, band, physical education and art,” said Gateway Regional Superintendent Dr. David Hopson. “We needed to look at a way to provide more opportunities for students.”
Hopson said that the district had experimented with creative schedules in the past, but that this change gave students the opportunity to take seven or more classes depending on how they arrange their schedules.
He stated that many of the school’s vocational and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses will get boosts from this scheduling change.
“I think welding will benefit to some degree because they’ll be able to offer one more period of welding per day, and the same would go for some of our core classes and woodworking courses,” said Hopson.
Many schools statewide already use seven period scheduling, according to Hopson and Gateway operated under a seven period schedule prior to the adoption of the old four block schedule, which the Hopson estimated took place over a decade ago.
While some regional districts throughout the Commonwealth have proposed and explored the possibility of implementing a four-day school week to save on transportation costs – something Hopson has advocated – he doesn’t believe that this scheduling shift would be impacted, or have an affect on, a potential move to a four day week.
“I don’t see where it would impact that at all,” he said. “Whether you have five periods or four periods or seven periods a day, it doesn’t impact whether you go to school four of five days a week, 165 or 180 days a year.”
Third year Gateway Principal Jason Finnie agrees with Hopson that some of the district’s elective programs and activities will benefit most.
“When you’ve got a modified block schedule of five classes, you’ll take four core subjects and get only one period for an elective,” said Finnie, adding that students on independent education plans receiving academic support were unable to take an elective in the past.
Finnie stated that the old schedule presented significant challenges in maintaining strong numbers in the school’s performing arts programs, which he said have already seen bumps in enrollment, as well as additional college prep courses.
“It opens up flexibility for students to take more AP classes or to build (their schedule) so that there is less conflict with band or choir,” he said. “It’s helping students who now won’t have to choose between doing something they really enjoy and something that they’re hoping will get them college credits.”
“There’s been different schedules that’ve been tried out and when you factor in declining enrollments and changes in faculty numbers, different needs develop,” he said. “It isn’t a data issue that we have to change around and press. It was just a matter of working together and having lots of conversations to identify the needs and do it in a way that will benefit students.”
