Bell schedule proposal met with parent skepticism
October 20, 2016
The Wenatchee High School bell schedule committee presented a new hybrid schedule option for next year, which was met with skepticism by parents. This hybrid was chosen as an alternative for the 4×4 or the 4×8 schedule previously introduced.
Principal Eric Anderson walked out of the meeting after receiving heated questions from the parents who were present. He said that parents could meet with him in small groups.
Anderson said that under this new schedule, students would be able to choose four to six classes to take at a time depending on what type of curriculum their classes would need. Students would take a mix of semester-long classes and A/B rotating classes in order to complete eight classes per year. Year-long classes such as music, journalism, sports medicine, and some language classes as well as higher-level classes such as AP would rotate on A/B schedule.
“What would we add to the list [of rotating A/B classes]? Some students will need a B to their A,” Anderson said about the rotation of A/B classes.
As for semester-long classes, the advantages presented were to allow students to accelerate faster in areas that did not need to be year-long. Running Start would run as it runs now and added support, such as AP tutorials and a possible ACT/SAT prep course, would be implemented.
“We want [students] to push themselves, and challenge themselves, and we want to give them the support they need to get through [their classes],” Anderson said.
Other potential ideas shared at the meeting were those of staff development to train the teachers for this schedule and the creation of extendable classes, such as higher math or language.
Parents at the meeting were skeptical of this schedule, voicing their concerns about the problems with trying to fit year-long classes into 90 days and the large gaps between important classes that would arise. They pressed the the committee with questions about if the schedule would provide the skills needed for college. Parents also said that there was potential for attendance making students, specifically the high migrant population, fall behind in the condensed hybrid schedule.
The parents’ wish was to backtrack the process and start anew with a seven-period block schedule. They believe this would allow for better timing of the classes. Anderson responded to the parents’ thoughts with acknowledging that the anxiety was expected to build up. He also said he knows that some teachers did not support the change, though many teachers do. Anderson invited those with concerns to contact him with their questions. However, Anderson and the committee shut down the meeting with the statement that they are not ready to look away from the hybrid schedule at this time.
“The committee believes strongly that we are moving in the right direction,” Anderson said.