The participants of this phenomenological study were employed at a school that previously was not performing on assessments at a level equal to schools in the state comparison group. Due to low student achievement, school leaders explored pathways to improve instruction and changed the school schedule from a semester schedule to a trimester…

The greatest capital expenditure a school system can make is a high school. What can be done to accommodate students and programs when funding is scarce, high schools are crowded, and more students are expected? The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in Raleigh, North Carolina, first addressed this issue when enrollment growth more than…

Why do a trimester schedule? With the advent of block scheduling, many high schools conducted research on utilizing that plan in a trimester format. There appeared to be three issues that most schools faced: (1) How to provide substantive instructional time that was not fragmented?; (2) How does the school climate contribute positively to…

Although many high schools are switching from a semester to a trimester schedule as a response to increased high-school graduation requirements, there is very little empirical research on trimesters. In this ethnographic case study (2006-2009), we observed 22 math and science classrooms, interviewed seven administrators, two counselors and 22…