Academic
How is this schedule better for learning?
Is this schedule appropriate for high school students?
Will students have less instructional time?
How is this schedule different from a block schedule?
How will the tutorial program work?
If students come early and have an open class, what
will they do?
Can a student go to two different tutorials in the
same morning?
Is it a good idea to take an 8th class
to get ahead academically?
Can students only choose from a small list of available
8th classes?
What classes may a student take as an 8th
class at no additional charge?
Why are some classes free as an 8th
class?
If a student is having trouble concentrating in
a 54-minute class, how could an 85-minute class be better?
Will students have more homework? Less homework?
Can every senior have two open periods?
Logistics
How is this schedule different from a block schedule?
Do some students have A Day schedules and some
have B Day schedules?
Are there any other schedules besides the Standard
A/B and Chapel Days?
What impact do 3-day weekends have on this schedule?
Can students adjust which day they have the open
morning period to coordinate carpooling?
What impact will this have on students who take
the bus in the morning?
Can students have the open period at the end of
the day?
Can every senior have two open periods?
If students come early and have an open class,
what will they do?
What impact will this have on the junior high schedule?
Will HS and JH students be out of class at the
same time during the middle of the school day?
With longer classroom periods, will students have
time to use restrooms or go to lockers between classes?
When will food be served during the day?
Financial
Are there any additional costs associated with
this schedule?
What does an 8th class cost?
How was the cost for an 8th class determined?
Why are some classes free as an 8th
class?
Teachers
How will teachers be trained to effectively use
the extended periods?
If a student is having trouble concentrating in
a 54-minute class, how could an 85-minute class be better?
What will teachers' schedules look like?
Misc.
Why are chapel periods shorter on the new schedule?
Why are there two Town Hall Meetings for the High
School?
How can I ask additional questions or get more
information?
Academic
Q. How is this schedule better for learning?
A. The longer class periods allow for more effective, efficient
and creative instruction. Lessons that previously were split over
multiple class periods can now be completed in one class session.
Teachers can incorporate more variety into their lessons, as the
longer periods give them more flexibility in managing their class
time.
Q. Is this schedule appropriate for high
school students?
A. Extended periods are not new to high schools. Many other
high schools use similar schedules, and their students are quite
successful with them.
Q. Will students have less instructional
time?
A. On our current rotating schedule, a class will meet
432 minutes in a two-week period. On our new schedule, the same
class will meet 415 minutes in a two-week period, a reduction
of 17 minutes every two weeks. However, for planning purposes,
approximately five minutes of each class period is invested into
housekeeping duties (roll, returning papers, setting up, cleaning
up, etc.). By reducing the number of class sessions from eight
to five in a two-week period, the net amount of effective instructional
time is the same.
Q. How is this schedule different from
a block schedule?
A. A block schedule specifically refers to a schedule in
which students only take three or four classes at a time, with
each class meeting for approximately 80 - 90 minutes each day,
every day. At the end of a traditional high school semester, students
will have completed the equivalent of a year's instruction in
those classes, and will then take a new set of three or four classes
during the next semester. Block schedules have proven to be a
poor idea for many high school classes, due to the loss of continuity
from one year to the next. While our schedule does involve periods
of similar length to a block schedule, the fact that our classes
meet all year long makes it much more similar to our rotating
schedule than a block schedule.
Q. How will the tutorial program work?
A. Since approximately half our students will not be taking
the first class of each day, approximately half our faculty will
not be teaching a class at the same time. As a result, each major
academic department will establish a tutorial center that will
be open every morning, staffed by our teachers.
Q. If students come early and have an
open class, what will they do?
A. Students who come early on days that they do not have
7:40 am class have a few options. They may go to a tutorial center,
they may go to the library (if it is not in use by a class), or
they may stay in the mall area. The food windows will be open
throughout the period.
Q. Can a student go to two different
tutorials in the same morning?
A. Yes. Students are free to come and go from the tutorials.
Q. Is it a good idea to take an 8th
class to get ahead academically?
A. As a general rule, we do not recommend a student take
an 8th academic class. A 7-period schedule is already
a full load for students, and we do not advise students to take
more. An 8th class may be appropriate to help a student
who is repeating a class or who would like to take additional
performing arts classes. Any student who wants to take an 8th
academic class should only do so after consultation with a counselor.
Q. Can students only choose from a small
list of available 8th classes?
A. Students may take any class we offer as an 8th
class. We have no classes that are only available as an 8th
class.
Q. What classes may a student take as
an 8th class at no additional charge?
A. Students may take a second performing arts class at
no additional charge (band, choir, strings, dance and drama).
Additionally, students may take String Ensemble and Essence Dance
Team as an 8th class for no additional tuition, even
without another performing arts class.
Q. Why are some classes free as an 8th
class?
A. We do not incur any additional expenses if we have a
bigger band or a bigger choir. As a result, we do not need to
charge any additional tuition if students take multiple performing
arts classes. Additionally, some of our performing arts classes
have only been available in an after school format, so we will
continue to offer those classes as an 8th class at
no additional charge.
Q. If a student is having trouble concentrating
in a 54-minute class, how could an 85-minute class be better?
A. All our faculty will receive specific instruction on
using a variety of teaching approaches during an 85-minute lesson
period. Our expectation is that students will experience multiple
instructional techniques each class.
Q. Will students have more homework?
Less homework?
A. Students should have a comparable amount of homework
as they have now. They may have more homework due for a class
on a given day than before, but that is balanced by the smaller
number of class periods. Our current school policy is that students
should have an average of approximately 2.5 hours of homework
per class per week. On our new schedule, we will expect students
to have an average of approximately 5 hours of homework per class
per every two weeks, resulting in the same average amount of homework
time. Please be aware the some AP classes may involve higher homework
loads than the school average.
Q. Can every senior have two open periods?
A. We recommend that seniors take a full 7-period schedule.
However, we do allow seniors to take a 6-period schedule, if it
will not interfere with their ability to graduate. Seniors who
choose to take a 6-period schedule will have two open periods,
and they may schedule those periods to be at the beginning of
each day or to be at the end of each day. Please note that seniors
involved in after school activities (sports, spring musical, etc.)
may not take an open period at the end of the day for the duration
of their activity.
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Logistics
Q. How is this schedule different from
a block schedule?
A. A block schedule specifically refers to a schedule in
which students only take three or four classes at a time, with
each class meeting for approximately 80 - 90 minutes each day,
every day. At the end of a traditional high school semester, students
will have completed the equivalent of a year's instruction in
those classes, and will then take a new set of three or four classes
during the next semester. Block schedules have proven to be a
poor idea for many high school classes, due to the loss of continuity
from one year to the next. While our schedule does involve periods
of similar length to a block schedule, the fact that our classes
meet all year long makes it much more similar to our rotating
schedule than a block schedule
Q. Do some students have A Day schedules
and some have B Day schedules?
A. No. Students will each have seven classes. The only
difference between students' schedules will be if they have an
open period 1 or an open period 2. On A Days at school, all students
attend periods 1, 3, 5, and 7. Students with an open period 1
do not have class until period 3. Similarly, on B Days at school,
all students attend periods 2, 4, 6, and 8. Students with an open
period 2 do not have class until period 4.
Q. Are there any other schedules besides
the Standard A/B and Chapel Days?
A. We will also have a rally schedule and a long assembly
schedule, as well as a minimum day. To see all our schedules,
please refer to the detailed schedule page.
Q. What impact do 3-day weekends have
on this schedule?
A. Short-week schedules have less an impact on this schedule
than our current rotating schedule. For example, on a four-day
week, we would simply have two A Days and two B Days, allowing
all classes to have equal instruction time.
Q. Can students adjust which day they
have the open morning period to coordinate carpooling?
A. Yes.
Q. What impact will this have on students
who take the bus in the morning?
A. The bus schedule will shift 10 minutes earlier to accommodate
the earlier start time, but will otherwise remain unchanged.
Q. Can students have the open period
at the end of the day?
A. Generally no. Only seniors who are taking a 6-period
day may choose to put their open periods at the end of the day.
Q. Can every senior have two open periods?
A. We recommend that seniors take a full 7-period schedule.
However, we do allow seniors to take a 6-period schedule, if it
will not interfere with their ability to graduate. Seniors who
choose to take a 6-period schedule will have two open periods,
and they may schedule those periods to be at the beginning of
each day or to be at the end of each day. Please note that seniors
involved in after school activities (sports, spring musical, etc.)
may not take an open period at the end of the day for the duration
of their activity.
Q. If students come early and have an
open class, what will they do?
A. Students who come early on days that they do not have
7:40 am class have a few options. They may go to a tutorial center,
they may go to the library (if it is not in use by a class), or
they may stay in the mall area. The food windows will be open
throughout the period.
Q. What impact will this have on the
junior high schedule?
A. Negligible. The junior high is continuing with its rotating
schedule. The only significant difference to the junior high schedule
is that it is starting 10 minutes earlier, and its periods are
being lengthened to 55 minutes from 54 minutes.
Q. Will HS and JH students be out of
class at the same time during the middle of the school day?
A. Generally no. During standard HS A and B Days, the JH
and HS students will never both be out of class at the same time.
On HS Chapel Days and other special schedule days, the JH will
have a 5-minute passing period during the HS lunch. Otherwise,
there will be no overlap during the day of HS and JH schedules.
Q. With longer classroom periods, will
students have time to use restrooms or go to lockers between classes?
A. Under our new schedule, students will never have less
than 10 minutes between classes. The only exception is that on
chapel days, students will have five minutes to travel from class
to chapel. We will then have a 10-minute passing period after
chapel.
Q. When will food be served during the
day?
A. Food will be served in the morning, at break and at
lunch.
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Financial
Q. Are there any additional costs associated
with this schedule?
A. This schedule does not include any additional fees or
tuition expenses for students taking a 7-period day.
Q. What does an 8th class
cost?
A. For students who choose to take an 8th class,
the additional tuition cost will be $1,100. Students will be able
to take a second performing arts class (band, choir, strings,
dance, drama) or String Ensemble or Essence Dance Team as an 8th
class at no additional tuition charge.
Q. How was the cost for an 8th
class determined?
A. The base tuition (no fees included) was divided by seven,
and then approximately 20% was subtracted due to fixed costs that
are already covered in the base tuition. This charge is necessary
to cover our costs associated with offering additional academic
classes.
Q. Why are some classes free as an 8th
class?
A. We do not incur any additional expenses if we have a
bigger band or a bigger choir. As a result, we do not need to
charge any additional tuition if students take multiple performing
arts classes. Additionally, some of our performing arts classes
have only been available in an after school format, so we will
continue to offer those classes as an 8th class at
no additional charge.
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Teachers
Q. How will teachers be trained to effectively
use the extended periods?
A. We will bring in successful teachers who use extended
periods in each discipline to meet with our faculty and train
them on how to maximize their use of this schedule.
Q. If a student is having trouble concentrating
in a 54-minute class, how could an 85-minute class be better?
A. All our faculty will receive specific instruction on
using a variety of teaching approaches during an 85-minute lesson
period. Our expectation is that students will experience multiple
instructional techniques each class.
Q. What will teachers' schedules look
like?
A. Our teachers will continue to teach six classes, as
they do now. Teachers will now have two open periods in their
schedules, with one of those periods typically occurring as the
first class of the A Day or the first class of the B Day.
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Misc.
Q. Why are chapel periods shorter on
the new schedule?
A. We will be restructuring our chapels for next year,
in an ongoing effort to make our chapel times more meaningful
and relevant to our students. Chapels will be more focused in
their content, and they will be planned more carefully. As a result,
we anticipate needing less time for the chapels. However, we do
have a longer chapel schedule available (55 minutes - see detailed
schedule page), which we may use on occasion, and if our planned
chapel time proves to not allow enough time for our chapels to
have the desired effect in our students' lives, we can switch
to the longer time on a permanent basis.
Q. Why are there two Town Hall Meetings
for the High School?
A. The Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, March 16, is a special
meeting specifically to allow interested people to ask questions
and discuss the A/B Schedule. The meeting scheduled for March
24 is our annual high school Town Hall Meeting and will discuss
a variety of topics.
Q. How can I ask additional questions
or get more information?
A. Please contact the school office at 513-2400, or you
may e-mail Jonathan Burton, Head Counselor, at jburton@valleychristian.net. We
also encourage you to attend the Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday
evening, March 16, at 7:00 - 8:00 pm in the small gym, or the
Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday evening, March 24.
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Last revised: 3/7/2004
