High school staff propose rotate-and-drop schedule, unit lunch and delayed openings for staff development

Township of Ocean School District high school leaders presented a proposed redesign of the Ocean Township High School schedule at the board's Dec. 10 workshop. The staff recommended a rotate-and-drop model with eight total courses, a unit lunch system, and a pilot of two-hour delayed openings for staff professional development in the spring.

Miss Kazuva, the lead presenter for the high school team, said the district researched multiple models and consulted with staff, students and parents. She described the proposed rotate-and-drop plan as an eight-course structure in which students attend six classes each day with morning and afternoon sessions; each day one class “drops” so a student is responsible for eight classes across a four-day A–D cycle. The district’s tweak to the model runs blocks 1–4 each day in sequence to simplify daily navigation.

The proposed class length is about 56 minutes — “about 60 minutes was the sweet spot,” Miss Kazuva said — which the team said balances depth of instruction with manageable daily responsibilities. Administrators said the new schedule aims to improve continuity for sequential subjects such as mathematics and world languages, reduce semester/AB conflicts that affect Advanced Placement course matching, and address testing-equity concerns by standardizing when districtwide state tests are administered.

Unit lunch would have most students eating at the same time using multiple locations (cafeteria, gym, library, outdoor areas and quiet classrooms) so lunch can double as a time for counseling, small-group sessions and student collaboration. Miss Kazuva said the team estimated serving about 926 students during a unit lunch and reported visiting larger schools that use unit lunch successfully. She added that Sodexo, the district food services contractor, completed a walk-through with district staff to assess operations.

The proposal includes accommodation for vocational students by structuring morning and afternoon sessions so students can leave for AM vocational programs and return from PM vocational programs while still meeting course requirements. Administrators noted trade-offs: teachers will have more course sections across the full year while students will move from four-course responsibility to eight; homework pacing, assessment timing and time-management supports are areas the district plans to study.

To ease the transition, the administration asked the board for permission to use four delayed-opening days (two-hour delays for students, staff on site) in February through May for targeted professional development, curriculum mapping and staff planning. The administration said those delayed openings would be staff-focused and used to plan pacing, homework expectations and student supports; the board recorded no vote in the workshop and administrators said the delayed openings would come back for a formal vote.

Board member Killeman praised the proposal, saying it should improve continuity of instruction and equity for students taking advanced courses. Questions from the board touched on unit-lunch logistics, student location choice during the first 20 minutes of lunch, and how the district would support students and teachers with time-management tools. Administrators said they plan to survey staff, conduct pilot planning sessions and use faculty meetings and professional-development days to prepare.

No formal vote was recorded at the workshop; administrators asked for board permission to pilot delayed openings and will return the item for formal action.