Block Scheduling Appoquinimink School Board Workshop Tuesday, September 25, 2012 Presented by: Ray Gravuer

Background Information 2 General Types of Block Schedule 4 x 4 Block – Class meets 90-minutes/day on consecutive days for ½ of a school year. Also referred to as a Semester Block. 4 x 2 Block – Class meets 90-minutes/day on alternating days across the entire school year. Also referred to as an A/B Block.

Benefits/Challenges Analysis BenefitsChallenges Students focus on fewer subjects at one time. Requires diverse teaching strategies. Increased opportunities for earning additional credits. Pacing to ensure all requisite content is covered. Increased opportunities to embed remediation into the school day. Student attendance becomes more important. Increased potential for more deeply studying a content area. AP Scores have been known to decrease. Decreases non-instructional time and student behavior referrals. Lag time between courses may increase. Prepares students for different schedules when they enter college and/or a career. Teachers focus on less students at a given time.

Traditional vs. Block Time Comparison Traditional ScheduleBlock ScheduleDifference 7 classes x 50-minutes per day = 350-minutes of daily instruction 4 classes x 90-minutes per day = 360-minutes of daily instruction + 10-minutes of daily instructional time. 5 minute/transition x 6 transitions = 30 minutes transition time per day 5 minute/transition x 3 transitions = 15 minutes transition time per day - 15 minutes of non- instructional time. 30-minute lunch per day 0 difference 6 hour and 50-minutes per day 6 hour and 45-minutes per day Yearly Statistics Instructional time+ 15 hours per semester+ 30 hours per year Classroom Transition Time hours per semester- 45 hours per year

Increased Graduation Requirements Graduation Year Credit Requirement Opportunities for Earning Credit in a traditional schedule Difference/ (Opportunity for Additional Support) Traditional Traditional Traditional Block Block6

Original Reasons for Implementing Middletown High School was under School Improvement. Decrease distractions and increase orderliness. Personalization of the learning environment. Promotes a deeper understanding of content area. Provides additional opportunities for academically accelerated students. Implemented Curriculum Assistance classes for struggling students. Implemented year-long block classes for 9 th grade math classes.

History of Block in ASD Freshman Academy did a split with Core classes and elective classes. 2008/2009 – Implemented school-wide hybrid schedule. 2009/2010 – Implemented 4 x 4 Block with A/B for specific classes.

Note that all juniors took the SAT this year

ESEA Four-Year Adjusted Graduation Rate This rate is the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class.

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