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District staff present elementary scheduling pilot and proposed bell schedules for broader roll-out
Summary
Central-office staff described an elementary scheduling pilot (two schools) that proposes 40-minute single blocks, 85-minute double blocks, 5-minute passing, a 40-minute intervention block, and moving breakfast before school; secondary changes include Penwood Middle adjustments and a 30-minute "Rise Block" at Ninth Grade Academy.
Mr. Dunn, a staff member, presented the elementary scheduling pilot and the recommended district-wide elements: "The purpose of the elementary scheduling pilot project was to work with, schools to develop a equitable schedule for all of our elementary schools." He said the pilot ran at East Lansdowne Elementary (led by Jennifer Cifune) and Bell Avenue Elementary (principal Dr. Evans) and aimed to meet state-mandated instructional hours while standardizing instructional minutes across subjects.
Key components Mr. Dunn outlined include 40-minute instructional blocks and 85-minute double blocks, five-minute passing times between periods, a 30-minute lunch immediately followed by 15 minutes of recess, and a 40-minute intervention block intended to provide equitable access to academic interventionists. "There are 8 instructional periods… when you add all this up, it adds up to 330 minutes of instructional time per day, which translates to 946 hours," he said, noting that figure exceeds the 900-hour state minimum.
Mr. Dunn also described operational items that must be resolved before a district-wide roll-out: representing schedules accurately in the student information system (SIS), coordinating transportation and food services, and collaborating with schools that have specialized programming to accommodate unique needs. He said the district expanded academic interventionists from 8 to 16 this year and plans to stagger interventions to ensure equitable access.
On a possible schedule change for next year, Mr. Dunn proposed a 15-minute AM homeroom for SEL and moving breakfast before the school day to reduce instructional time lost at the start of the day. He cautioned some technical work remains to ensure schedules and class lists map into SIS correctly.
During Q&A, Ms. Hoff, a board member, asked whether kindergarten students might need more recess than the 15 minutes allotted. Mr. Dunn replied that teacher contractual lunch periods (30 minutes) constrain coverage and that recess is typically supported by instructional assistants and teachers; he suggested flexible approaches for self-contained kindergarten classes such as adding a short snack or brain break in lieu of passing time.
Mr. Dunn then reviewed secondary scheduling changes: Penwood Middle School will keep its 7:50 a.m.–2:50 p.m. day but removed an enrichment period in favor of adding time to core classes while keeping a 30-minute intervention tied to lunch; Ninth Grade Academy will retain a 7:30 a.m.–2:24 p.m. day and add a 30-minute "Rise Block" for targeted Tier 2 tutoring or mentoring; high school schedules remain largely unchanged but continue to split a non-academic period into a 30-minute lunch and 15-minute advisory.
Mr. Dunn said materials (slides and credits charts) are available in the course catalog or will be reshared, and the district will continue to collaborate with school teams before finalizing schedules. The committee closed the item after praising the work and announcing a press conference to share results more broadly.
