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Board tables academic scheduling policy to allow staff to define minimum block contact minutes
Summary
After an extended discussion about block schedules and the district’s "skinny" or fifth-period remediation time, the board agreed to table proposed scheduling language and asked staff to return with precise minimum contact-minute calculations by the March 7 work session.
The Madison County Board of Education on Feb. 20 tabled consideration of the academic guide scheduling component (line item G) so staff can provide precise contact-minute figures and ensure the district meets Carnegie-unit and state-hour requirements.
Board members and high school administrators engaged in an extended discussion about the district’s block schedule and the so-called “skinny block” (also called red zone, spark time or flex time in different schools), which the district uses for remediation, intervention and, in some schools, year-long core classes. The superintendent and several principals described a multi-year effort to refine remediation time and to balance instructional minutes across varying school schedules.
Board member Kivick and others said they supported the principle of setting a uniform minimum for block contact minutes but pressed for exact numbers before adopting language that could restrict principals’ local scheduling decisions. One board member said the district needs the numbers “before I vote,” and the superintendent asked principals to provide detailed minutes, with the expectation staff would return with a recommendation by the March 7 work session.
Administrators explained why schools vary: some run the remediation block two days per week during parts of the year (for PLCs, ACT prep, or intervention) and return to full block schedules at other times; others run year-long offerings in the fifth period to award Carnegie units. District staff stressed that a Carnegie unit requires minimum contact hours and that the district’s shorter semester length (two half-days and 178 effective full days in some calculations) meant officials must ensure semester contact minutes meet state requirements.
To prevent unintended consequences, trustees asked staff to develop a uniform minimum contact-minute figure for the short semester (first semester) so principals could still use local schedules while guaranteeing courses meet state contact-hour and Carnegie-unit standards. The board voted to table the scheduling item; staff will return with calculations and recommended minimums and language that allows principal flexibility where courses meet the minimums and are approved by curriculum staff.
Board members also suggested adding a supervisory sign-off (for example, the director of high school curriculum) when a principal requests to award Carnegie-unit credit for a year-long skinny block so errors do not create credit shortfalls for students.
The item was tabled to the March 7 work session to allow staff to gather school-by-school contact-minute data and propose exact minimums.
