SOUTHWICK – With the construction of a new 7-12 school comes the possibility of new start times and bus routes.
Superintendent John Barry discussed options with the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School Committee this week and said a 7-12 schedule can certainly be done for the 2014-2015 school year, but it may not be perfect.
“One consideration here is that there are some very difficult time lines,” said Barry. “So much needs to go through the school committee.”
He said in order to have a schedule change for next year, it would need to be approved shortly after Thanksgiving and given the number of factors to consider, he did not think there was enough time to hammer them all out.
“Another issue is the intermediate school,” he said. “We need to make sure it works reasonably well with the middle/high school.”
Busing needs to be examined carefully, Barry said. He said they need to look at the option of a three-tiered bus schedule as well as a two-tiered schedule, including buses to the Granville Village School.
“It needs to be an organized transition,” Barry said. “We need to think about adjusting the schedule for the 20014-2015 year closer to the current 9-12 schedule and a middle school model = since they have their own wing, it could be closer to what they have now.”
Barry offered the committee a handout on planning the 7-12 configuration. The basic premise is that the 7-12 school would include a separate learning community for grades seven and eight. Powder Mill Middle School would then become an intermediate school for grades three through six.
Some of the programmatic problems Barry outlined include whether major academic subjects are best organized so they are taught all year or whether some variation of a block schedule or trimester schedule is preferred.
Non-academic subjects need to be considered, as well, he said, such as physical education, so they carry the same schedule time as core academics like math and history.
He wondered if other enrichment subjects, such as health and graphics, should be organized to carry the same core schedule, as well. Barry told the committee it would need to decide if some subjects, such as music, should be treated as exceptions. He also listed a possible change in credit counts and graduation requirements could be considered.
The committee agreed there were too many items to consider in the timetable for next school year and more time for discussion and research was needed.
