Block scheduling

[DualvansMommy]

Looks like my kids HS they’ll go is changing into block scheduling for 2023-2024 school year and will feed that into the middle school which DS1 is currently at now.

I know there are some posters with kids who have that. Can you share your pros and cons of block scheduling in your kids school?

So far, I think I would like it based on my understanding of expectations with block scheduling, and think ds1 would be thrilled with the change cuz right now he doesn’t like how he has same classes every day. Only change is whether it’s a single or double periods and electives. But very little control over his core classes though.


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[lizzywednesday]

I think block scheduling is ideal for high schoolers, especially kids looking to do some kind of post-secondary schooling, whether trade school, community college, or a 4-year uni.

My high school went to block scheduling while my younger siblings were there - I graduated in 1996; they were classes of 2000, 2002, and 2004 - with the biggest impact on the two youngest.

It seems to be the norm through most NJ school districts, but taking a look at the growing pains of other similar districts to yours might paint a clearer picture on how it plays out in the first year or two.

As for block scheduling in middle school ... I think the transition from elementary or intermediate schools to middle school is a big enough jump already. DD's middle school follows a 7-period day while the high school uses blocks; electives and PE are alternated by letter days (A-F) and the system works.

[m4nash]

What will your block schedule look like?

During the 2020-2021 school year (which was virtual) our middle and high schools did a block schedule where they each took 4 classes in the fall and a different set of 4 classes in the spring. I think this was particularly bad for things like math and foreign language, where so much learning was lost over the summer/fall or spring/summer.

Normally, our middle and high schools have 6 periods a day, but 4th period operates on an alternating schedule, so each student takes up to 7 credits a year. My child with ADHD really struggles to keep up with assignments in their 4th period classes. They do much better keeping up with classes that meet every day. It's not an issue for my other two kids though.

I have also heard of block schedules where each day has 4 class periods that operate on an alternating schedule, so each student takes up to 8 credits a year, but they would take the classes all year (or all semester for a 1/2 credit class). It think this would be better than the block schedule our schools used in 2020-2021.

[AnnieW625]

This is Dd1’s schedule and I had something similar my junior and senior year in high school (California, graduated in 1995).

She has the same classes all year and they are taught in 75 minute blocks Tuesday through Friday. They have all of their classes on Monday and are taught in 45 minute periods. They get out at 12:20 every Friday. On block days they have two 20 minute breaks and a lunch; on Mondays they have a 15 minute break. The breaks are honestly kind of surprised they have such long breaks but the diocese approves their schedule.

(FWIW: morning mass is totally optional and not required….school starts at 7:45)



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[georgiegirl]

What kind of block schedule? I’m pretty much an expert now since DD (16) did a research project for AP Lang on block scheduling and high school performance.

4x4 block: students take 4 classes at a time, 90 minute classes, same classes every single day, you complete and entire semester in a quarter and an entire year in a semester. Not a good option since kids only have math/language for half the year. Also bad for AP classes since you either finish in mid-January and have to study for the AP in May or you don’t start until mid-January and you have to crunch everything in. Plus it’s bad if you are taking the ACT/SAT/PSAT and aren’t taking math then. (We do have an option for a “skinny” for kids who do band/chorus, so they can take music all year. It’s often paired with a basic class like English/biology or other required courses, like PE and health. That is only second block and only available to kids in band and chorus.)

Alternating block: there are many versions of this. Some schools a block schedule every day, and only have 4 classes a day, but 8 classes total. Other schools combine block and traditional scheduling, so that they have 2 or 4 blocked days with 3 or 1 traditional days. This combination seems to have the best outcomes. You have the class all year, but there’s a combo of shorter days then longer days for in depth study (science labs, group projects). There is pretty much one school with every type on my metro area: 4x4 block, traditional, alternating block (with all types of different alternating versions.)

Some kids like longer classes, some don’t. Some teachers are not very good at teaching with the block. Some will just lecture the whole time, and that’s obviously super boring for kids. Hopefully your school will offer professional development about how to teach on the block schedule…breaking activities up, giving kids breaks.

DD interviewed a bunch of teachers and students from several different districts in our area in addition to comparing things like AP test scores and number of national merit semifinalists at the various schools.

Annie, I can’t see the schedule well enough to determine what kind of block it is.

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[Kindra178]

Our middle school has a block and it’s a disaster. Four 80 minute classes a day and everything is equal. So one day you may have math, gym, world language and writing and the next day stem, reading, science and social studies on an a day/b day rotating scheduling. Some kids and teachers truly hate it. The world language teachers and math teachers hate it the most. Teachers generally don’t know how to fill the time, there’s way too much group work and not enough breaks or teaching. You miss two days and it’s like being out a week. Some kids hate the 80 minute gym while mine hate the 80 minute exploratory.


ETA: the social workers hate it too.

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[georgiegirl]

Our middle school has a block and it’s a disaster. Four 80 minute classes a day and everything is equal. So one day you may have math, gym, world language and writing and the next day stem, reading, science and social studies on an a day/b day rotating scheduling. Some kids and teachers truly hate it. The world language teachers and math teachers hate it the most. Teachers generally don’t know how to fill the time, there’s way too much group work and not enough breaks or teaching. You miss two days and it’s like being out a week. Some kids hate the 80 minute gym while mine hate the 80 minute exploratory.


ETA: the social workers hate it too.

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The teachers my daughter interviewed preferred an alternating block schedule where two of the days were blocked and the rest were traditional. So each week, you would have one long period of each class and three regular periods. That way teachers have flexibility to plan different types of lessons/activities in each type of day. And you weren’t disadvantaging kids with learning differences.

I’m sure DS1 will have trouble focusing for 90 minutes when he’s in high school. Our middle schools have traditional scheduling.


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[smilequeen]

My kids have a rotating block schedule. 4 blocks per day, 8 blocks total. They love it, but their school (private, all boys) has been at this for a while and they have a good process for breaking up the longer classes and changing gears every 20 minutes or so. It breaks up the homework really well for my ADHD kid too, just focusing on 4 classes per day…plus he does better with those minor in class transitions than the big transitions from class to class, so fewer big transitions per day are great for him. It is also better for him that the times of day rotate…he’s not a morning person, so it’s great that he doesn’t have the same class first thing every day. My oldest could probably thrive with any schedule. They also have a 20 minute mentor group as 2nd period (like homeroom, but more fun and mixed ages…they do all sorts of different things…guided discussions, shinny hockey games, mario kart competitions, etc.) and a 30 minute academic lab (sort of like a study hall) every day to do work, study, get help from teachers, meet with counselors. Great for PE too, especially if they are getting in the pool (DS2 is in lifesaving for gym this semester) or last semester my senior took a sports class and they had a bowling unit and they had time to drive to and from a bowling alley for it. They have full year PE in MS and one semester per year in HS. Seniors can also sign up for an academic lab as one of their 8 classes…so DS gets to come home for lunch if that’s around lunch time, or have a late start or early dismissal if it’s first or last…he loves that.

[bisous]

This is interesting to me. Until this year, my kids had a block schedule in high school but it was only 3 classes per semester. Not sure why everyone else has an entire extra class! It had its advantages. I actually thought in some ways it was easier for my ADHD kid because he had only 3 classes to focus on per semester instead of 6. Just three balls to juggle. My niece and nephew both also loved it because it meant that they could graduate a semester early. They needed 4 years of English and could get that taken care of in the first semester of Senior year which meant they could graduate early. Both of them took music classes in zero period, and sports after school which gave them the extra credit hours they needed.

That said there were significant downsides! The first is of course the disadvantage for foreign language and math. You could have first semester Freshman Spanish and then have to wait one entire year before getting it second semester Sophmore year to reprise it and that's a gap of over a year! Same scenario with Math.

The second problem had to do with AP classes but the school my kids attended got around that obstacle by creating A/B rotator schedules for those classes. Most of the classes offered were for a semester only but AP/IB classes would meet every OTHER day and rotate with another class on the opposite days. It worked ok but it was a little confusing. We didn't see a real downside to the problem of instruction, but I think that might be because teachers have always worked with that kind of schedule and they were used to it.

The biggest problem that confronted my kids directly was how miserable life could be if you had a class you hated. DS2 is my happiest, easiest kid. He had a HORRIBLE strings teacher and had her for 100 minutes every single day for his first semester of Freshman year. He hated school for the first (and thankfully) last time ever! There could also be really big imbalances in difficulty in the semesters. We usually worked that out but ostensibly my kids could have had English, Chem, Geometry one semester and PE, French and Orchestra in another. Not knocking those classes but the first semester is clearly more academically challenging!

This year for the first time, the school voted to change its schedule from 3 classes per semester to 6 classes but rotating days. It was interesting because when it was presented to us as parents the administrators remarked that in the entire teaching body (not sure how many teachers but nearly 2000 students!) only one teacher wanted the schedule to remain the same--ALL the rest approved the change. That's kind of striking to me! I think it has made my kids happier. Also, while the AP/IB kids were already rotating, I think this just made it easier for all the kids to keep track of things.

Now, all that said, I know myself and I think I'd 100% be a 6 class periods a day, switching out rather quickly kind of girl, but that's just because it is more my style, lol!

[o_mom]

We have had a alternating block schedule for MS and HS. Middle school had electives every day the first year, but after that they were in the block. They take 7 classes and have 3 on one day, 4 on the next. The 8th block is like a study hall period where they are assigned to a homeroom, but can work on homework or projects, or meet with teachers, etc. Occasionally they have all-grade programming for a portion of that period. Most special-ed kids have access to their resource teacher during some or all of this time so they don't have to miss class time to receive services.

The teachers here are used to it and have no problem filling the time. First year language and band are the only ones that prefer shorter periods, but that is why 6th grade has split block for those where they have those two classes every day, but the rest are every other day (it works). Fewer transitions can be very good for some kids and less time is wasted on administrative tasks like attendance or changing for gym. We found it very helpful for our ADHD one that homework was never due the very next day, so if he had questions or an off day, we had some breathing room to reach out to the teacher. I also liked that we could reliably schedule appointments during either the study hall or a class that was not a big deal to miss because we had a 90 minute window.