October 21, 2003

Hello AP/IB Boosters!

Content

• The BERC Research Group Study (your input is requested)
• Guest Authors

The BERC Research Group Study

AP/IB Boosters, as well as other parent groups, were recently asked to participate in an on-going study and review of Jackson High School. At the meeting held last week, we were asked to describe what we thought were the strengths and weaknesses of JHS. Some of the strengths included the music program, athletics, the new AP courses, and the friendly atmosphere. On the downside were the 4x4 block schedule, the limited number of courses, and the general lack of academic rigor.

The BERC Group has asked us to provide our suggestion on improving the schedule. The 4x4 block schedule implemented at Jackson High School has obvious problems.

• Only 77% of the instruction time as a traditional 6 period schedule for each 1 credit course (127 hours instead of 165 hours). And these 1 credit courses are crammed into a calendar semester.
• A year's worth of material is claimed to be covered in a calendar semester but this is rarely the case.
• Long breaks (8-13 months) between important sequential courses such as Mathematics and World Languages. Students forget during these breaks and teachers must spend considerable time reviewing.
• More scheduling conflicts. With only 4 periods many students cannot obtain their desired schedule.
• Band students often have to drop out of band to take other courses since band takes at least 25% of a student's education.
• Students on the 4x4 perform poorly on exams that test a year's worth of material such as the National AP Exams.
• None of the top schools in the Greater Seattle Area are on this schedule.

The founders of the AP/IB Boosters have researched this scheduling problem for several years now. Parents with children who have been through 4 years of this system at JHS dislike it.

As is our usual methodology, we have reviewed best practices at top rated public schools. The two schedules we think should be considered are the 2 variations of the modified 6 period block schedule.

The Modified 6 Period Block Schedule Type 1

This schedule is implemented at Bainbridge High School, Shorecrest High School, and Shorewood High School. All three are among the top rated schools in the Greater Seattle Area. On Mondays, all 6 periods are taught using 55 minutes each. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the 3 odd periods (1,3,5) are taught using 105 minutes each. On Wednesdays and Fridays, the even periods (2,4,6) are taught using 105 minutes each.

The Modified 6 Period Block Schedule Type 2

This schedule is implemented at Garfield High School and Kamiak High School among others. Garfield is consistently rated one of the best public high schools in our state. This school year, Kamiak, that had previously been on a traditional 6 period day schedule, went to this schedule. This schedule is similar to type 1 above but instead of 1 day with 6 periods and 4 days with 3 periods; this schedule has 3 days with 6 periods and 2 days with 3 periods.

Details of these Modified 6 Period Block schedules, as well as the 4x4, the traditional 6 period, and the traditional 7 period schedules are described on the following link.

Instruction times, example schools, advantages, and disadvantages are listed.

Please review this material and give it some thought and tell us, via email, which schedule you think JHS should adopt. We will compile this survey and send it off to the BERC Group by this Friday.

Guest Authors

We always encourage everyone, to submit guest author articles, discussing the merits/burdens of any issue, including opposite viewpoints regarding our current proposed 12 point plan: http://www.apibboosters.org/GoalsAndObjectives.html  We sincerely would love to publish it.  It is never our intent to provide "one sided" viewpoints.  Fred Dahlem, principal of JHS, has been a guest author in past newsletter editions.  We do ask, that when your article references your evidence, that you provide a "link" to the research report that you are speaking to and not copy the report into the body of your article. 

Thank you,

Todd Aagard

Chairperson