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Grand Canyon board reviews proposal to move high school from 4x4 to five-period day
Summary
District staff presented a proposal to change Grand Canyon High School’s master schedule to a five-period day for 2025–26, a change administrators say would increase students’ options but raises questions about credit accounting, graduation requirements and schedule rollout.
Grand Canyon School District staff presented a proposal at the board’s April 9 work session to switch Grand Canyon High School from a four-by-four block schedule to a five-period day beginning in 2025–26. District presenter Kari explained the change would add elective options and allow year-round offerings for courses like math, science and English while preserving the board’s 28-credit graduation requirement under current review.
Kari (presenter/district staff) said the five-period model yields more instructional flexibility. She summarized the draft schedule by noting the district would ‘‘gain 21 instructional minutes’’ overall under the five-period model and that classes would still be scheduled as 75-minute periods with a 32-minute lunch. Kari told the board the district is still reviewing how year-long, trimester and quarter classes translate into credits but that the plan assumes every class will count for 0.5 credit under the proposed conversion rules.
Why it matters: The schedule change would affect how students earn credits, who can accelerate into Advanced Placement and concurrent-enrollment classes, and how remediation is scheduled for students who need extra support. Board members repeatedly pressed staff for clarity on credit translation, diploma pathways and how the change would be communicated to families.
Details of the proposal and board discussion - Structure: Under the presented draft, core classes could be offered year-round (two semesters), allowing students to pursue sequential courses (for example, math year-round) without losing elective options. The district shared illustrative student schedules showing how accelerated students could continue into AP and concurrent-enrollment courses earlier in high school. - Instructional minutes: Kari showed the comparative math: under the draft, the district would net an increase in overall instructional minutes across the week but a small per-class reduction in some periods compared with the 4x4 block (the presentation cited an overall gain of 21 instructional minutes in a day and described some periods effectively losing 13 minutes depending on the comparison method used). - Credits: The district’s working assumption is still 28 credits required to graduate; staff said that remains "under review" and that the board will decide any change. Kari explained that yearlong classes and varied term lengths (quarters/semesters/trimesters) will be standardized on a common credit translation so like-length offerings count equally in transcripts. She told the board the district is researching best practice and vendor guidance (PowerSchool) and consulting other Utah schools. - Utah State 24-credit diploma: Staff raised the question of whether the district is required to offer the state’s 24-credit diploma option and how students who meet only that pathway would participate in the district graduation ceremony. The district said it is investigating legal and policy details and will report back.
Board concerns and timeline Board members asked for detail on several fronts: what number of credits would be required after conversion, how credit minutes would be defined and translated for transfer students, how the change could affect acceleration and remediation, and how the district will communicate course offerings to families. Kari said her goal is to have a draft master schedule developed before teachers leave for summer (teachers’ contract time), ideally before May 23, and that a final recommendation on graduation credits would come to the board by June.
Next steps District staff will continue to refine credit conversion rules with counselors and teachers and to develop a master schedule draft for board review. Staff told the board they will return with additional analysis on graduation-pathway options (including whether to offer the Utah 24-credit diploma) and with plans for communicating course-selection information to students and parents.
Ending: The board did not take a formal vote on graduation-credit requirements or final schedule adoption at the April 9 work session; staff said they expect to bring final recommendations back to the board in the May–June timeframe for formal action.
