At the start of this 2025-2026 school year, the administration for Konawaena High School implemented a new “4x4” block schedule in order to open opportunities to the student body. The change consists of a switch from seven classes a year to eight, but students take only four classes each semester instead of seven. 

This means that instead of earning the typical seven credits per school year, students can now earn eight, and formerly yearlong courses meet daily for only a semester.

Another change this year is the addition of a twice weekly intervention block to help students finish work and receive added teacher support.

Reactions to the new schedule have been mixed, but school leaders say the 4x4 block  provides an extra class to meet credit requirements for graduation in case an individual fails one, the ability to leave school at a consistent time, and the opportunity to graduate a year earlier than expected with the extra credit.

Daniel Giese, a teacher at Konawaena who helped draft the new block schedule, said, “One of the main reasons was trying to get students the opportunity to get internships, and also work jobs… during the school day.”

Under the previous schedule, each class met three times a week and the more inconsistent schedule was a challenge to integrate with off campus workplaces.

Student opinions of the new block schedule have been somewhat mixed. One of the main complaints is that they are required to meet the same classes every day. Another is that it forces classes to increase learning speeds, because the same content is covered in a semester instead of a school year. 

America Domogma, a sophomore at Konawaena High School, said the new semester-long format makes the content “get squished down.” In turn, she believes it adds a large amount of stress to keep up with the continuous inflow of work per day.

Not everyone believes the new bell schedule is all that bad though. Some students say they have benefitted from an increase in their academic performance.

Yumi Wongesanit, another sophomore at Konawaena High School, said, “It gave me less to focus on this year. In twenty weeks I can focus on four specific classes (per semester) rather than spreading myself thin with seven periods.”