blocked up

The necessity of instituting precautions against the novel coronavirus during school reopenings forced the school district to make some tough decisions about protocol- including the decision to institute block scheduling. The block scheduling system enrolls students in four ninety-minute classes per semester, allowing them to take one additional class per year. The block schedule also allows for extended class time for curriculums that require the institution of more social distancing protocols, such as CTE, Music, Science Labs and other hands-on classes.

The block schedule was put in place to help minimize exposure for both students and teachers, as it halves the quantity of students in each class, allowing for social distancing measures to be practiced. Teachers, too, benefit from the decreased exposure, with only three classes worth of teaching per day along with one planning period. However, teachers also have to cover more material in each class, making sure along the way that the whole class remains on track.

"The workload is extra this year. We had to change everything from 47 minutes to 90-minute classes, so basically we're doing two days in one day," said Mrs. Laura Robbins.

Advanced Placement (AP) classes, in particular, represent a major challenge in terms of block scheduling. As the block schedule includes only four classes a semester, any AP classes in the first semester are a half a year away from AP exam season, which is always at the end of the school year in May. Students who take AP classes in the fall have to find a way either to retain the course information from a semester ago or to fit in AP studying time during the second half of the year. Many students worry that, come May, the classes taken in the fall will have slipped their minds, which could have an impact on their test scores.

“Having the AP test separated from the class will be a bit harder than when it isn't but I feel like here at Edgewood we will be able to do good on the test no matter when they are,” Cody L’Esperance, 11, said.

Block scheduling isn't entirely new. In Brevard, Titusville High School has utilized this style of scheduling since pre-COVID. Titusville has been using block scheduling for several years, and it's become a part of their normal school life. Both the teachers and students are very happy with the block schedule in their school.

“ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT, and would probably retire if we went off of it,” Ms. Aimee Benson, the CTE teacher at Titusville High School, said.

Titusville High School's solution to the AP exam problem is innovative- it starts before school even begins. The master schedule is always created with plenty of time before the school begins in order to ensure better placement of classes. The master schedule ensures that the majority if not all of the AP classes end up in the second semester of the year, which puts less exam-based classes in the first half.

The entire world has had to make changes in protocol to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. Block scheduling is only one of the many ways in which school districts across the country are taking precautions to return everyone to school safely. Overall, block scheduling isn't going away anytime soon, but while it presents some obstacles, it also has many advantages even beyond social distancing: more class time means less homework, less stress, and better grades.