BY RACHEL SHARPE
CCHS will switch to a seven period schedule next year as part of a recent mandate by the district to eliminate overcrowded classes and save money.
Broward County Superintendent Robert Runcie announced the news on Thursday April 19th, and said that the change will allow the district to hire more teachers and make it easier to lower class sizes by creating more flexible student schedules.
This year the school district was fined $8.5 million dollars because they were not in compliance with the mandated class size reductions.
“The school district simply cannot afford to pay these types of penalties,” Runcie said in recent a letter to students and parents. “These are dollars that we would prefer to redirect towards our classrooms and improving student achievement.”
CCHS, along with eleven other high schools in the district, will have to switch over from the current block schedule, which allows students to take four 90-minute classes the first semester and another four classes the second semester.
Each school in the district was allowed to choose either the uniform (straight seven) schedule, or one of two variations of the uniform straight seven. On Monday, April 30th, the SAC committee voted on which two options were on the ballot. On Friday, May 2nd, the teachers voted for which option they wanted. The straight seven schedule received a faculty consensus and will be implemented next year.
Under the new schedule, each class will be 50 minutes long. Teachers will have to teach six classes each day, with one planning period.
Career technical courses such as childcare and auto tech will be double-blocked because they are more hands on courses that require additional time for projects.
Though there has been talk about switching to a seven period schedule in the past, it was met by strong opposition from many parents, students, and teachers. Last year, the district received one-time funding that allowed it to meet class size. However, these funds are no longer available, making it necessary to look for a long-term solution.
Foreign language teacher and CCHS’s Broward Teacher’s Union representative Cynthia Turni believes that such changes could have been easily avoided if the government had been more careful in budgeting and spending.
“Governor Rick Scott has been defunding education, yet demanding we carry on with new initiatives, which are unfunded,” Turni said.
Many students are also unhappy about the change. They are worried about taking seven classes at once, instead of four, which could result in additional homework and tests. One of the major concerns about switching to the seven period schedule is that those who take rigorous courses such as AP Biology and AP US History, who currently have them for an hour and a half all year long, will have a half hour less to cover the same curriculum.
“The state has made bad choices, by trying to cut corners to save money and over inflating class sizes,” sophomore Mina Entessari said. “Switching to a seven period schedule will only increase the students’ workload and amount of stress.”
However, the change does have benefits. With seven periods all year long, there will no longer be honors level AP companion courses, which for many students means that they have additional room in their schedule.
“Because so many of the classes I wanted to take were going to take up two spots on block, switching to the seven period schedule will actually allow room for me to take more classes,” junior Sharon Kay said. “It may be a bit more stressful, but we will all figure it out somehow or another.”
European history teacher Christopher Tully says that half-year AP courses such as AP European history will be preparing for the AP course the entire year, instead of only half a year.
“Taking a class for a full year is much better for test preparation,” Tully said. “If class sizes are smaller, it can only benefit the students.”
Guidance is doing everything they can do to accommodate the students. They have already started preparing for the new schedule by eliminating one course from every student’s schedule. If students are unhappy with their eliminated course, they can meet with a guidance counselor to resolve any conflicts.
Additionally, new courses are being offered for the upcoming school year, which include a creative writing course and theater appreciation as a dual enrollment course on campus. Childcare will also be offered to ninth graders for the first time.
“Many students are seeing this change as a negative, when in essence it creates more opportunities for them,” guidance counselor Sharon Friedlander said.
Under the new seven period schedule, students will also still have the option to dual enroll or graduate early.
“Change is difficult and it’s the unknown that really creates most of the students anxiety,” Principal Wendy Doll said. “We are hoping that with good communication, we can create a rigorous instructional program and still give students the options that they’re looking for.”
