Greendale Middle School principal proposes new bell schedule to cut transitions and add tiered supports

Ray Curry, principal of Greendale Middle School, presented a proposed bell schedule redesign intended to reduce hallway transitions, expand built-in academic supports and preserve students' access to music and language classes. He told attendees the plan aims to "reclaim instructional integrity and provide a school day that actually supports the whole child."

Curry said the current schedule creates a "zero-sum game" in which "right now kids are being forced to choose between essential services," including core instruction in math and English language arts and music lessons or interventions. He linked the pace and fragmentation of the day to rising youth anxiety measures cited from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS).

Under the proposal, math and ELA would be structured around 83-minute core periods, with an embedded 53-minute tiered-support block that would be used daily for targeted reteaching, small-group intervention or enrichment. Curry emphasized the 83-minute figure is not a continuous lecture block: "They will not be able to sit for 83 minutes at a time,and that will not be our structure," he said, describing plans to break that time into focused instructional segments and pull-out supports.

Curry described options for Social Studies and Science to run either as 83-minute AB days for extended projects and labs or as daily 40-minute "skinnies," or some combination of both. He said staff remain flexible about exact clock times and that the district's priorities are on allocation of time rather than minute-by-minute scheduling. Curry proposed a 7:50 a.m. start (the current bell is 7:54 a.m.) and modest adjustments to flex and transition minutes to create a steadier dismissal process.

The plan also formalizes "studio time," GMS's name for a block in which students can select music lessons, interventions or enrichment with the teachers they need that day. Curry said music lessons would be scheduled so they do not conflict with Tier 1 instruction; students would receive one lesson a week while retaining four days of tiered support. Encore classes (PE, music, art, languages, information technology, tech ed and health) would continue on a rotational, quarterly basis for sixth- and seventh-grade students; eighth graders would have choices with only PE required.

Curry illustrated the changes with student examples. He said a high-achieving student the presentation called Jonah would be able to meet with an algebra teacher four days a week while keeping both band and orchestra; a typical student called Lauren would receive daily ELA tiered support alongside access to studio time; Riley, who needs Tier 3 reading and math support, would gain more consistent access to interventions; and Taylor, a student with an IEP, could receive specially designed instruction (SDI) during tiered-support blocks while still taking music and language classes.

Curry closed by asking for the opportunity to expand core periods to include project-based application or tiered-support time and invited questions and follow-up from the community. No motion or formal vote was recorded in the presentation itself.