Eastchester board reviews proposed rotating 7‑period schedule with advisory, longer class periods

The Eastchester Board of Education at a work session reviewed a proposed schedule for the district’s secondary schools that would move to a rotating seven‑period day with 49‑minute classes, built‑in advisory and weekly office hours, and an embedded multi‑wave lunch. Superintendent Dr. Valente and administrators said the plan is intended to expand electives, increase time for deeper learning and social‑emotional learning, and better align the high school day with college‑style class lengths. No formal action was taken; administrators said a community forum will be scheduled and implementation is being planned for September.

The proposal, presented by Chris Welch, who led the scheduling work, lays out a seven‑period rotation in which most classes meet four times per week, science courses meet six times per week with two double‑block lab periods, and physical education meets twice weekly. "The schedule consists of a 7 period day with classes of 49 in length," Welch said. The plan would allow students to take up to 8.5 classes (an extra half rotation), move some half‑year electives to full‑year, and free space for an additional elective or required courses such as a possible state financial literacy requirement for 2026‑27.

Administrators said the schedule embeds lunch within period five using three lunch waves so every student has daily lunch time attached to that class. Welch described period five as longer than other periods and divided into early, middle and late lunch waves; each student would have 35 minutes of lunch during that period and the middle group would have two extra minutes of instruction to account for transition time. The district also proposes optional “AM Extra Help” from 7:30 to 7:50 a.m., and a mandatory‑by‑appointment office‑hours block on the Wednesday seventh period in alternating weeks for scheduled targeted help.

Superintendent Dr. Valente addressed implementation constraints the administration said they studied, including staffing, instructional space and transportation. He said the district currently has five teachers shared between middle and high school and described plans to reassign three to full‑time at one level and to reallocate orchestra staffing so the middle school retains a full‑time orchestra teacher while the high school would receive additional assignment time for lessons, all within the current budget. "If we did nothing to the schedule next year, we still would have inadequate space for music," Dr. Valente said, and reported that facilities staff and engineers walked the building to identify internal spaces that could be adapted to reduce the current space shortfall.

Transportation was flagged as a district‑wide issue. Administrators proposed maintaining the current two‑tier system and all 19 buses, but said the later end time at the high school (2:26 p.m. under the proposed schedule) would likely push some bus departures about 10–14 minutes later; transportation staff expect they may be able to reduce that by about five minutes. Officials said the schedule change would not alter Waverly’s end time (3:05 p.m., buses depart 3:15 p.m.) but could affect Ann Hutch and Greenvale pickup windows; the district said it would work with families and use supervised holding areas or select drop‑offs where needed.

Administrators described several student supports the schedule aims to provide: a weekly advisory period focused on social‑emotional learning (SEL) and grade‑level transition topics (e.g., ninth‑grade transition, tenth‑grade career exploration, eleventh‑grade college preparation), and office hours to allow teachers and students to schedule targeted help. Bill Meyer, who presented on advisory content, said the district plans a grade‑level advisory curriculum and partner support (including RULER) and noted the advisory period would formalize work counselors currently do ad hoc. The district also plans to roll out the College Kickstart platform for juniors to support college list building and planning; administrators said College Kickstart supplements, but does not replace, Naviance.

The proposed schedule also addresses students who attend BOCES programs. Administrators said most BOCES programs are offered both morning and afternoon; the district intends to move to a PM‑only BOCES model for scheduling simplicity and reported about 25 juniors currently in BOCES programs, with only one student requesting a morning‑only nursing assistant program; that student’s case would be handled individually.

Trustees asked detailed questions about lunch length, special‑education supports, teacher professional development, and the music department’s space needs. On professional development, administrators said training is already underway and that the change is intended to support dynamic, inquiry‑based instruction rather than longer traditional lecture blocks. The superintendent noted the district has been exploring schedule changes since 2021 and that the committee used regional examples (Scarsdale, Bronxville, Byram Hills, Blind Brook, Croton‑Harmon, North Salem) to inform a design tailored to Eastchester.

No vote on adopting the schedule occurred during the work session. Administrators said they will schedule a community forum for families to ask questions and that they expect to provide additional details — including engineering proposals for music spaces — later this semester. The board’s next regular meeting, where the budget will be considered, is scheduled for April 22; the presenters said implementation planning is focused on readiness for a September start date if the board proceeds.

Ending: The work session was informational; trustees expressed support for further community engagement and additional detail on facilities and transportation. A community forum date will be announced and administrators will return with follow‑up proposals and clarifications before any formal board action on the schedule.