Dodge County High School (DCHS) students will experience a schedule change in the upcoming 2012-2013 school year. At their December 8, 2011 regularly scheduled school board meeting, the Dodge County Board of Education governing board voted unanimously to accept the schedule change recommended by high school principal Dr. Susan Long.
In a letter dated November 15, 2011, Dr. Long outlined the present school schedule and presented information to recommend changing the schedule and informed the board of the necessary reasons for the change. Currently, the DCHS school day consists of six periods with each period lasting 53 minutes. Students can gain a total of six units per year for a total of 24 units in four years. The new change will have the school day consisting of six periods each day with periods one, two, three, five and six remaining 53 minutes per period. Period four will consist of a two-hour block with 30 minutes for lunch and an hour-and-a-half for class time. This amount of class time during the fourth period block will allow students to complete one credit first semester and one credit second semester for a total of two units. Students will have the opportunity to gain a total of seven units per year for a total of 28 units at the end of four years.
Dr. Long stressed the change to be necessary due to the current schedule no longer meeting students’ needs and seniors who graduate in 2012 and beyond are under a new graduation rule that requires them to take more classes at higher levels in Math and Science and to complete 23 units to graduate. Within these 23 units needed to graduate, students must complete the following units of study: four English credits, four Math credits, four Science credits, three-and-one-half Social Studies credits, a half unit in Physical Education, a half unit in Health, two units in Foreign language, three units in a Pathway, a half unit in Speech and a half unit in Computer Applications.
The required classes total 22.5 units and leave little time for students to take classes that they enjoy/need to take to meet other requirements.
The new schedule will allow students more flexibility in the classes that they take. Math I and Math II and support classes can be scheduled during the fourth period block for the full year. This will provide students more hands-on time for Math. Students will be able to take electives such as Drama, Chorus, Band, Transportation, Agriculture, Food Science, Child Care, etc. Students will have time in their schedules to complete CTAE Pathways that are emphasized by the new state curriculum and which will help determine future AYP status for high schools.
The new schedule will allow the high school to offer new electives such as an ACT/SAT prep class and a study skills class to better prepare students to be successful on the ACT/SAT tests and other standardized tests.
The new schedule will help students who fall behind because of failures to complete needed credits. With the present schedule of six credits per day, students who fail more than one class are unable to graduate on time without taking additional courses outside of the normal school year. With the new schedule, students can catch up during the regular school day. This will impact the graduation rate.
The new schedule will not change the beginning or ending times for the school day and will not affect any other school or bus schedules.
Discussion was held and a motion was made by board member Kim Sheffield to accept Dr. Long’s recommendation and second was made by board member Dee Yearty. The motion carried 7-0.
In other business, the board accepted the resignation of Fran Douglas. Douglas is retiring after 34-years of service to the central administrative office. Debbie Skipper will transfer into Douglas’ position.
Additions to the substitute list include Mallory Guyton, Emily Hall, Milana Harper, Pamela King, Jessica Roland, Frances Thompson, Jessica Tukes and Evelyn Wallace.
Elizabeth Batchelor was hired for the Dodge County Middle School creative writing teacher position; Sheryl Parks as hospital/homebound teacher and Catherine Harrington was voted to return as 49% at North Dodge Elementary School.
Actually, Ken, the students of this county and the schools in this county are not "so behind" as you stated.
This is not block scheduling. This is only one period of the day that is being extended and it will give students an opportunity to earn one extra credit each year: six class periods in a day, but seven credits in a year. Bleckley County and West Laurens have been doing this for a few years, now. It will also give students the opportunity to take electives or test preparation classes that they may not have had an opportunity to take otherwise.
And by the way...many schools are moving away from block scheduling because they found that while individual student classroom grades improved, standardized test scores did not. Dodge County had the foresight to know that the pendulum would swing back to a more traditional schedule, as it has begun to do, and waited out the block scheduling trend.