A committee appointed by the Lake Orion School board to examine schedules at the high school level will present new findings to the board on April 25.
The committee last presented to the board in mid-February and has since been out in the community getting feedback on three different schedule types.
In question is the current block format, along with two new options, a modified block format and a seven-period day.
The committee met with staff and student focus groups and held a public forum in the past few weeks to share their initial presentation and hear what others thought of it.
‘We had a long three-page list of questions and concerns,? said Superintendent of Curriculum David Beiter.
That list will be incorporated into the presentation in two weeks.
The committee first met with a focus group of teachers on March 28. Beiter said their biggest concern was how any change would impact their students.
The impact on the teaching day if one of the newer plans were implemented would likely result in more students and a shorter planning period.
‘There’s contract language that would have to be changed if we went to the modified block,? Beiter noted, saying the teachers were generally split on the two new options, if a change were needed.
The public forum was held at the high school on March 29.
‘A majority of parents were interested in how it would effect their child’s college opportunities,? Beiter said of the discussion that evening.
Beiter said the parents present expressed the strongest desire of all of the groups to remain in the block format if at all possible.
‘That’s all they’ve known,? he said. ‘It’s been in place since 1997.?
Beiter noted that the district will do everything they can to uphold the strong foundations they’ve established.
‘We’re looking for the best opportunities for our students in curriculum based on the funding we have,? he said. ‘We’re going to maintain the quality.?
Last week, Beiter said the committee met with some high school students.
‘We met with the leadership class, which has about 60 students,? he said, noting the group represented a wide variety of interests at the high school.
Beiter said the students brought up a good point that the committee had not realized: early graduation, which is currently offered, would no longer be an option if the seven-period day were implemented.
The students, like the teachers, saw some value in the modified-block format, which would allow some classes to take place every day for the entire year, like math.
In keeping with the district’s intention of cutting costs while keeping opportunities, Beiter noted that, ‘The modified block looks like the best way to do that.?
Whatever the board decides, Beiter said they will likely have to act fast after the April 25 presentation.
‘Because the process for scheduling takes so long, the study would have to be done immediately in the fall,? he said, allowing possible implementation for the 2008/09 school year.