Bedford North Lawrence Parents and Families,

I am pleased to announce an exciting change to our schedule starting with the 2020-2021 school year. Beginning this August, Bedford North Lawrence High School will be operating on a trimester schedule.

You may be wondering how this decision came to be. At the beginning of this school year, a group of BNL teachers, counselors and administrators began working together to find ways to address three goals: increasing opportunities for students, increasing instructional time, and finally, providing daily flex time that would allow us to provide career exploration, social-emotional learning for all students, as well as build community and relationships. With these goals in mind, we explored and researched other schools, had many productive discussions, and determined that a trimester schedule would be the best fit for BNL.

A trimester schedule will allow us to reduce the number of periods in the day without reducing the number of credits students can earn in a year. We see this as a true value for students. We know many of our students have commitments outside of the school day from jobs, to athletics, to family commitments. During a trimester, students will take five classes during a term instead of seven to eight, which provides the obvious advantage of less homework and/or preparation time overall. Yet, because there are three terms, students will still be able to earn 15 credits in a school year versus the traditional 14 credits on a semester schedule.

For more information on how this change will affect specific classes, the bell schedule, and four year plans for students, please see our website or reach out to our counseling department. Our goal is always to do what’s best for students, and all of us at Bedford North Lawrence High School are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible.

Sincerely,

Todd Tanksley, Principal