Brookline High to move to six‑day rotating schedule with longer blocks, staff says

Brookline Public Schools staff presented a detailed proposal to move Brookline High School to a six‑day rotating schedule with five periods per day and longer class blocks, intended to meet the state requirement of 990 instructional hours while reducing daily transitions and increasing passing time.

Hal Mason, who led the schedule presentation, told the committee the district tested multiple alternatives — including five‑day, four‑out‑of‑five and longer‑cycle models — before recommending a six‑day cycle. "The committee settled on a 6 day schedule, that was the one that you'll see in just a second," Mason said, describing a model in which students meet fewer times per class across the year but receive the same or slightly more total minutes. Mason said the change allows the district to restore seven minutes of passing time across the campus and that "one additional minute of instruction over the course of the year essentially equals 16 hours," explaining why fewer transitions matter for annual minutes.

Under the plan staff described, day 3 would combine advisory and X block at the end of the day and day 6 would combine advisory with contractually required teacher collaboration time and be an early dismissal roughly 50 minutes earlier than a standard day. Mason said the district will print a year‑long calendar that assigns a cycle day to each calendar date so families and bus companies can plan; the printed cycle would not be modified except for snow days, which would be skipped rather than shifting the cycle.

Committee members asked about athletics scheduling, special education service delivery (IEP minutes) and the effect on students who rely on consistent weekly routines. Staff responded that written service‑delivery grids will be rewritten to preserve minutes though frequency may change, and that they will work with athletics directors and coaches to align long‑travel days with day 6 early dismissals. Mason said start and end times remain under discussion but are expected to be between 08:10–08:20 and 15:00–15:10, with final times to be settled and shared before the start of school.

Staff said the schedule committee has approved a staff‑facing block schedule and that they will share the final staff schedule with employees first and then with families and students. The committee did not take a vote to adopt the schedule at the meeting; staff said they will finalize details with union representatives and publish the year calendar once times are set.

The proposed change drew praise from some committee members for clarity and for addressing executive function and consistency for students, and questions about its effect on attendance for students with aversion to school and on athletics travel; staff committed to monitoring those impacts.