Committee reviews Dodd Middle School schedule options that would expand academic time and add advisory
Loading...
Summary
District presenters outlined two schedule models for Dodd Middle School — a six-period day (54-minute academic blocks eliminating most iBlocks) and a seven-period staggered/trimestrial model — both would create a daily advisory block to support SEL and require at least two additional teachers for implementation.
District staff presented two alternative schedules for Dodd Middle School and described expected trade-offs for instructional time, unified arts and staffing.
The six-period model would create longer core periods (about 54 minutes), eliminate most iBlocks for general students and yield an extra roughly 1,620 minutes of instructional time per academic subject over the course of a year (about 10 minutes per day per core subject). The seven-period staggered model would keep shorter but more frequent core periods (roughly 50 minutes) and shift unified arts to a trimester rotation so students would still access the same content across fewer rotations.
Both models include a daily advisory or “spark” block aimed at social-emotional learning and executive-function skills; presenters emphasized this advisory would foster a trusted-adult relationship in small groups. Staff said both scenarios would reduce large iBlocks, decrease average class sizes by creating more sections, and could lower Spanish class sizes that are currently as large as about 29 students in eighth grade.
Staff stressed that neither option can be implemented without additional hires. “We cannot do either of these without hiring teachers,” a presenter said; the district has requested two additional teacher positions in the budget and said teacher hiring outcomes will influence which model is feasible.
Committee members asked about impacts on unified arts and world-language instruction; staff answered that some unified-arts sessions would be shorter per meeting but would move to trimester scheduling that preserves total instructional minutes across the year for most offerings. The committee discussed pros and cons — including concerns that longer blocks might be challenging for some students — and suggested continued teacher and union engagement as the district refines options.
Next steps: staff will take committee feedback into ongoing scheduling work, coordinate with union and division leaders, and present refined recommendations to the board based on hiring outcomes and budget approvals.
