Norfolk schools present hybrid 4x4 high‑school scheduling plan to expand course access

Norfolk Public Schools staff and the system’s five high‑school principals presented a hybrid 4x4 block‑scheduling proposal to the board on Jan. 8, 2025, saying the model could expand students’ access to electives, dual‑enrollment and recovery options while preserving year‑long coursework where needed (AP, IB, dual‑enrollment and select CTE courses).

Amber Brown, chief schools officer, described three common high‑school schedules and recommended a hybrid strategy that combines semester‑based 4x4 blocks for many courses with year‑long scheduling for AP, dual‑enrollment, IB and key arts or CTE classes. Brown said the model can give students more opportunities to complete a world‑language sequence before junior year — a barrier identified elsewhere in the meeting’s advanced‑studies diploma discussion — and can allow students to recover credits more quickly.

Principals from Booker T. Washington, Granby, Lake Taylor, Maury and Norview high schools endorsed the plan and described scheduling and equity issues they have tracked. They told the board the model can reduce teacher caseloads in a term (fewer students per teacher at a time), strengthen teacher–student relationships, and reduce workload for teachers who would see fewer preps per term. Principals and central staff said the hybrid model also helps with offering internships, work‑based learning and industry certification sequences that can be completed more quickly.

Staff and principals acknowledged potential weaknesses and required mitigations: concerns about pacing gaps for sequential courses (math, world languages), the need for professional development for teachers and counselors, adjustments to athletic eligibility calculations, and careful attention to student attendance and transfer students. Brown said the district will hold additional school‑level and virtual information sessions (the next in‑person session was scheduled for Jan. 15 at Granby High School) and is preparing a FAQs document and further professional development for counselors, schedulers and teachers.

Board members asked questions about counselor workload, handling transfers from year‑long schedules, implications for SOL (Standards of Learning) testing timelines and how the model would affect students in military families who move mid‑year. Staff said SOLs tied to semester courses would be administered at the end of the semester and that virtual/online options (for example, Edmentum or Virtual Virginia) could be used to help transfer students catch up. No board vote or formal adoption was requested or taken at the Jan. 8 session; staff framed the presentation as information and stakeholder outreach preceding a possible future implementation decision.