ERIC Number: EJ741160
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Nov
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-127X
EISSN: N/A
Mixing Block and Traditional Scheduling
Childers, Gary L.; Ireland, Rebecca Weeks
Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, v71 n3 p43-49 Nov 2005
In Boone, North Carolina, Watauga High School has developed an alternative schedule that blends traditional and block schedules. This composite schedule originated in the late 1990s when their faculty members and administrators were struggling to determine if the school should change to a full block schedule. The board of education encouraged Watauga to try scheduling block classes for certain courses and for faculty who wanted to try block scheduling in their content areas. The board suggested the remaining courses be scheduled as traditional year-long classes. In this article, the authors discuss how Watauga's composite schedule concept was born. The authors began by identifying problems that existed, working to fix them, and improving their knowledge of the high school scheduling process. They also tapped into the talent and experience of other key professionals. They talk about the difficulties they have encountered with the scheduling process. They also talk about some advantages that students get with the scheduling process. After all the study, schedule reviews, individual and small-group discussions, and many restless nights, they decided to stick with the composite schedule. Although a good deal of progress has been made toward making their composite schedule work, they continue to research, review, experiment, and debate.
Descriptors: Scheduling, Block Scheduling, High Schools, Student Diversity, School Administration, Boards of Education, School Registration
Prakken Publications, 832 Phoenix Dr., P.O. Box 8623, Ann Arbor, MI 48108. Tel: 734-975-2800; Fax: 734-975-2787; Web site: http://www.eddigest.com/.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A