This is the number of other area middle/high schools on the trimester system. Belchertown, Frontier Regional, Granby, Hadley, Hatfield, Northampton, Pioneer Regional, and South Hadley. All on the semester system while Amherst Regional is on the trimester system.
In this week's Bulletin, Cynthia Gensheimer makes an eloquent case for the return of the semester system to Amherst. I agree. The article makes all the points I would make (and more), but I did want to point out some numbers supporting her argument.
As I mentioned above, none of our local middle/high schools are also on the trimester system. Cynthia points out that if any of our students were to transfer, they would be out of sync with semester-based schools. Thus, our students are likely to be out of sync with ALL of our local schools at this point; schools to which they are likely to transfer.
Perhaps Amherst Regional knows something the other districts do not. Perhaps the trimester system is BETTER. To test that theory, I looked at what most would argue are the best school systems in Massachusetts--Brookline, Cambridge, Framingham, Longmeadow, and Newton. Are they on the trimester system? Nope. They, too, use semesters. I did find a few systems in MA that use trimesters--North Andover, Littleton, Quincy, Springfield Renaissance School, the Swift River Academy Therapeutic Boarding School--but not many.
Another point made in the article is that our children are not being prepared for the semester-based college experience by using trimesters. I decided to look into that and see how many colleges and universities did use the trimester system. As you can see, the list is short and comprised mostly of state universities (not in New England) although a few of the top schools--Dartmouth and Stanford among them--do use a trimester system. TIME magazine has a good summary article about the use (or lack thereof) of the trimester system at the post-secondary level. In addition, one of the bonuses of living in a college town is, in theory, the access to college-level courses by our advanced high school students. But since none of the five colleges in our immediate area are on a trimester system, I wonder how our high schools students could fit a college course into their trimester-bound year.
In 2006-2007, Amherst did "study" the trimester system but the results were inconclusive. "So, the upshot of the two years worth of work is this: the committee was not successful in building consensus, which was the decision-making standard stipulated from the beginning of the process, around its recommendation. For now, then, the trimester schedule is the default and will remain in effect." Which, apparently, means that our middle and high schools are operating in default mode. Reassuring.
9 comments:
Hi Alison,
I like your Harper's Index approach to blogging!
I am an ARHS teacher and I would like to offer another point of view, just based on what I know from having been at the school since 1985. This is not an official statement by any means.
I thought I would add some information to what you are presenting about schedules, because there are some important distinctions you might not be aware of. Schedule information is very tricky because there are so many attributes to look at. So, while it is true that the schools that you mention do not have a trimester schedule, what you might not have realized is that several of them have a 4 X 4 block schedule.
Block schedules are very different from traditional semester schedules, and they have their own advantages and disadvantages. Some of the concerns raised in Cynthia's column would actually be more pronounced in a block schedule. In a 4 X 4 block schedule, students take four courses the first semester and complete them. Then they take four different courses the second semester. So, if you are concerned about the time span to complete a course, the block schedule completes a traditional full-year course in half a year. The trimester schedule would complete that course in two-thirds of a year. Similarly, if you are concerned about a gap between one sequential course and another, the block schedule potentially has a longer gap than the trimester. It could be from January to January. And, transfering from a school with a block schedule into a school with a traditional semester schedule can be difficult. A student coming from Northampton in January at the semester break might have already completed a full math class and yet not have started a science class at all.
Schools that adopt a block schedule weigh those disadvantages against the advantages. I think the FAQ page at Cambridge Rindge and Latin examines those issues effectively:
http://www.cpsd.us/crls/academics/block_schedule.html
That school has decided that the advantages of the block schedule will best help the school to accomplish its mission. Each school has to make that kind of decision.
Even for the schools with a traditional semester schedule, there is an enormous variety of configurations. Some of them have a Monday-Friday rotation, so that the schedule on Monday is always the same. Others have a six, seven or eight day rotation, so that Monday this week is not the same as Monday next week. That can be problematic for taking a college course or doing an internship. Some of the semester schedules drop periods and rotate different periods into the afternoon time slots. This, too, can affect students' ability to do something off campus. In fact, one of the reasons that ARHS adopted the trimester schedule in the 1990s was because we wanted to have a consistent Monday-Friday schedule, with the same two periods in the afternoon every day. We now have a large number of students taking advantage of off-campus opportunities.
It's just not possible to make blanket statements about schedules. You have to look at the particular attributes of each schedule. What you'll find is that each has its advantages and disadvantages; there is no perfect schedule.
Nina,
Thanks for reading and for adding your valuable input. You are right...all semesters (or trimesters for that matter) are not created equal! My daughter plays on a regional volleyball team and I spend a lot of time asking other parents what they think of their high schools, their variations on semester scheduling, etc. By and large the most complaints I have heard are about the 4x4 block schedule. So you make an excellent point--if the switch is made back to a semester system, it is very important to examine what FORMAT the proposed semesters will take. I found a good summary of trimester versus semester and a bewildering array of options for each in Iowa.
Actually my point was more that it is very difficult to present data on schedules because there are so many complicating factors. Without consideration of those factors, there is a great danger of the presentation being misleading.
It might work better to ask a different question, because you would get a different numerical answer. If you asked "How many schools in the area have chosen a schedule that reduces the number of courses students take simultaneously?", the answer would not be zero. It would be quite a few.
It is interesting that you looked at college schedules, because the standard college schedule is very close to a 4 X 4 block. At a typical liberal arts college, students take 4 courses at a time and finish them in half a year. Just like the block schedule in high school.
In fact, I doubt you could find a college that asks students to take 7 or 8 courses simultaneously.
To examine the issue of scheduling, you have to think about attributes: how long are the periods? do they meet every day? do they rotate? and so forth. Then you can frame questions based on the attributes and you'll get more useful information.
I enjoyed the Bulletin article by Cynthia Gensheimer. I think scheduling is a very important topic and one the School Committee should consider as a high priority at the same time as making budget decisions. I don’t understand how a committee can be convened, as it was a few years ago, to make a recommendation and then allowed to conclude with no recommendation. I also think the process could be improved by involving more parents/community members, not just teachers. Two areas of focus in the article that I didn’t agree with were (1) Transition of students – Let’s make the right decisions for those that are here and don’t worry too much about those entering or leaving the system. (2) The idea that we would even consider “paying our teachers over the summer to rework curricula” just doesn’t make sense. I thought teachers are on a salary. When does anyone else that is paid a salary in another field get more money to do some additional work? Why was this issue even raised as part of contract negotiations?
I think it is easy to get lost in the naming of different schedules. Personally, I don’t fully understand the naming conventions for the schedule options. Obviously, these short cuts (like “4x4” or “trimester”) are helpful for those that have the full context, but for many others I think it creates more confusion. Many times even the experts assume different things for the same short-cut reference.
I agree with the point in the post above that we should focus on “attributes” or what I think of as objectives. These need to be clearly stated as objectives before any schedule is considered. My objectives would be influenced by my belief that students should spend the vast majority of time on core subjects and only then should electives be considered. I understand others may have an objective to maximize the number of electives or to give more study time during school to do homework. I’m not trying to campaign for any specific objectives here, but instead highlight the importance of a framework to consider different schedules.
The study that was conducted in 2006-07 understood the importance of establishing criteria, but I think they intermingled opinions about certain types of schedules instead of focusing on educational objectives. Additionally, I think the criteria list from this study was too teacher focused and should only be student focused. Ultimately what is best for the kids should determine the schedule.
Nina, I agree with your point. It is very difficult to discuss "trimesters" versus "semesters" when each can mean many different things (hence the link to the article discussing the various forms each take in Iowa high schools). You and Joe are both right that either approach should focus on what attributes are best for our kids and that represent the values of our school system. I am just of the opinion that this is better done in the semester format with a focus on the core academic subjects.
Take my high school. A run-of-the-mill, decided not high-powered midwesestern high school. We were on the semester system and took six classes a day. One had to be PE which we were required to take every day for four years. We did not have a rotating schedule but had the same classes every day for either a semester or a year depending on the course. We had five subjects (I don't count gym) at a time which would meet your goal of reducing the number of courses our students took simultaneously.
During my four years there I took four years of English (including AP), four years of math (including calculus), five years of science (including advanced biology, chemistry, and physics), four years of Spanish (which I stared in seventh grade), three years of Latin, three years of social studies, and the required one semester each of health and "consumer civics." For "electives," I elected to take other core subjects (which seems nearly impossible under the current system at ARHS) but many of my classmates chose instead to take autobody, drafting, cooking, etc.
My high school also offered "early bird" classes which met an hour before the regular school day, for students who needed to/wanted to get more courses in. There weren't many classes offered "early bird" (and I spent many a dark and foggy morning outside in my gym suit kicking a soccer ball for early bird gym), but it did allow students who needed extra credits to graduate or more room in their schedules to take desired courses.
All to say that a rigorous, academic curriculum with a reduced number of concurrent courses (one of your stated priorities) is possible under the semester system. And since MA does not require four years of PE, this would be possible at ARHS even without early bird classes if it adopted a semester schedule similar to the one I experienced. Which is but one example...I am sure there are much more academically-sound examples out there. I offer it only because it is the one I know.
Hi all,
I am both a parent and a ARHS teacher, so I approach this issue from both angles. One thing that needs to be made clear is that the discussion we are having at the high school about the schedule is about changing from 15 blocks to 14 blocks. THE motivating factor for the change is the elimination of the second required study hall. We are not considering this change for educational purposes, or said another way, we are not considering it because the semester approach is educationally sound or advantageous for our students. To me, the only reason to switch to a semester is if we have, after viewing all the information (and only part of one side has been heard in the papers and blogs that I have read) about both options, in OUR school, for OUR students. Thus, what they do in other schools may not have much bearing on our own community's needs. My response to Alison's listing of the other schools' schedules is that perhaps we here at ARHS and in our community are teaching our students better. Perhaps they can learn from us.
So, here are some things to think about. If all students take five academic courses, which at ARHS are demanding courses, the number of student who need to take two study halls might rise, as more students will need two study hall in order to thrive with such a demanding academic workload. Thus, those students who need two study halls in order to thrive will be forced to drop an elective. These students are struggling and marginalized students, but they are also AP and Honors students. With five academics, AP/ Honors students could have up to 5 hours of homework a night. Thus, many of them might choose that second study hall in order to succeed in the AP/ Honors courses. Thus, they would have to drop an elective.
Our electives program has already been cut over the last few years, and it is more threatened than ever this year. A schedule chnage could cut it even further before the budget requires us to do so.
Also, when teachers are over-extended, which most of us already are, students suffer. When I think of teacher having 125-150 students at a time, instead of 75-90, I picture the suffering students, not the suffering teachers. I do not know a single colleague of mine in ARHS who is not student-focused above all else. We teachers, from all sides, have called for student voices in this debate. I want every student to be heard, and I think we need to ensure that that will happen as soon as possible.
Finally, when the community is experiencing genuine pain about the budget cuts and feeling division over which programs to cut, why are we engaging in a discussion that will divide us firther and cause further pain? The trimester evaluation committee DID recommend a modified trimester schedule on Feb. 6, 2008. This schedule allowed for year-long classes (eliminating that gap time). I thought it was a great proposal, and I fully expected to come back this school year to engage in discussions about whether or not to move forward with this proposed schedule. For some reason, unknown to me, this proposed schedule was laid aside. And then just last week, we were give this whammy on top of all the pain we are already experiencing.
Thank you so much for listening,
Malia Hwang-Carlos
Malia,
Thank you for taking the time to stop by and to post. Your insights are appreciated.
I understand your concern for the students who might feel overwhelmed by taking five academic classes simultaenously and need/want to sign up for a second study hall. But as long as that option is there, I am not sure what the problem is. Are you concerned that, under the proposed scenario, those students might have to drop an elective to take a study hall? If having electives is a priority for our district, then I guess that would be a problem. Personally, I think the priority should be on taking core academics, but that is just my opinion.
I am also intrigued with your notion that we are teaching our students better and that other communities could learn from us. In your opinion, as both a teacher and as a parent, how is that best evaluated? I think this is important if we are prepared to evaluate our current system. It may well be that our system teaches students better, but I would like to see comparative assessment data. It might be there...teachers like you probably know where we might find it.
Finally, I am very heartened to hear that the trimester evaluation committee recommended year-long courses in February 2008! That, in my mind, would address a number of the complaints about trimesters that many parents have. Is there a link to that document available on the web you could provide? I wonder why that recommendation was not followed up this year...seems like it had support from the study committee and from teachers. I look forward to learning more.
Hi Alison, it's great to have another informative blog!
I went to the open house at Smith Vocational last weekend and was surprised to find out that they are also on the trimester schedule. Also, my childs ARHS guidance counselor seems to think there may be a switch to semesters as early as next year.
Anon 10:00AM: Interesting news about the potential switch to semesters next year. I will have a ninth grader next year and have not yet heard that. Thanks for the tip and thanks for reading.
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