Pinellas superintendent announces move from 8-period block to 7-period day at four high schools; students, teachers and parents push back

Superintendent Hendrick told the Pinellas County School Board on Feb. 25 that four Pinellas County high schools will move from an eight-period block schedule to a traditional seven-period day for the 2025–26 school year, citing declining enrollment and financial pressure.

Hendrick said the shift means “students will go from 8 classes to 7 and that teachers who currently teach 6 out of 8 classes will teach 6 out of 7, which is consistent with our other high schools,” and that the change is intended to give students “access to classes 5 days a week instead of just 2 or 3 in the current model.” He told the board the district has already informed the affected schools and is continuing meetings with parents and staff.

The proposal drew sustained criticism during the public-comment portion of the meeting from students, parents and teachers who said the reduction in class time threatens hands-on coursework, magnet and career-technical offerings and student well-being.

"Having longer class periods allows me to spend more time with my teachers, dive deeper into the material, and ask meaningful questions that enhance my learning experience," said Lane Miller, a sophomore at Hollins High School. Miller said the block schedule was a primary reason she chose the school and that cutting block time would force students to take online classes to meet graduation and program requirements.

Keegan Brilliant, an early graduate who trained in Hollins’s culinary and arts programs, illustrated the time pressures students fear: “Have you ever tried to cook a meal in 45 minutes? … That is not happening in 45 minutes,” he said, arguing that labs and large-group performance work cannot be compressed into shorter periods.

Teachers echoed those concerns. Caroline Carter, an arts teacher at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts, said the district should explore alternatives to cutting instructional time before changing schedules: “Why not trim from this Administration Building? Put people, administrators, back into the schools where they have a more hands on experience and save money from this building alone instead of taking away student opportunities,” Carter said, also noting parents had seen an FAQ that cited $3,600,000 in projected savings.

Hendrick described operational reasons for the change: some courses will remain blocked where appropriate (for example, performance-based classes), magnet program offerings will not be eliminated and master schedules are rebuilt annually based on student enrollment and choice. He told the board the four schools' enrollment had dropped from “over 6,500 students when the block was implemented to now 4,800 students,” and said a financial component made the current model unsustainable as enrollments fell.

Board members at the meeting asked staff to continue school-level meetings and to incorporate forthcoming state enrollment projections into the scheduling process. Hendrick said those projections were expected “as soon as this week” and that the district would proceed through its usual unit-allocation and scheduling timeline.

There was no formal board vote on the schedule change at the Feb. 25 meeting; the superintendent presented the change as an operational direction and the district continues outreach with affected schools, families and staff. Speakers at the meeting said they planned to continue asking the board and district staff to reconsider or to provide alternatives that preserve block-time instruction for hands-on courses.

What’s next: the district will complete enrollment projections and the unit-allocation process, continue school meetings for parents and staff, and present any formal proposals to the board for approval as required by district policy and scheduling timelines.