MONROE - High school students in Monroe may be following a trimester schedule next year, with five-period days and classes that last for one hour, seven minutes.
That was the proposal Monroe High School Principal Chris Medenwaldt made to the school board Monday. High school administrators and teachers have been reviewing scheduling options for two years.
Instead of having two 18-week semesters, high school administrators are looking to implement a plan that would have three 12-week trimesters. Students would still need 25 credits to graduate. There would be no study halls. The school day would include a 30-minute flexible time where students could work with teachers on skills they are struggling with or work on extension activities in areas they excel, complete missing work or retake tests.
Medenwaldt provided a rationale behind the push to switch to a trimester schedule.
"The big one is for students to be able to focus on fewer classes," he said. "We want students to lower their stress and increase their focus."
There are 54 of 55 teachers at the high school who support the switch. The last time the high school had a scheduling change was in 1993 when the school switched from seven to eight periods.
After the presentation, some board members were reluctant for high school administration to make a scheduling change for next year. It's a decision on which the school board isn't required to vote.
"I'm sitting here hearing all of this for the first time, and my head is spinning," board member Dan Bartholf said. "I'm thinking if we are doing a scheduling change that affects 700 students, why don't we have a say? I want this to be done right. I'm not saying I'm against it. I anticipate issues."
Monroe school board president Bob Erb noted the importance of getting more feedback from students and parents. But while the board can advise on the decision, he said, it should not have the final authority.
"This really isn't our decision," Erb said. "It's up to the high school administration. I would feel better if we had a more cross section of students. I think it would be wise to expand your reach."
Medenwaldt has planned two listening sessions for parents on the trimester scheduling, and he plans on discussing the proposal with the Monroe High School Student Senate. The first listening session for parents is set for 6 p.m. Jan. 15 in the high school LMC. The second is set for 11:30 a.m. Jan. 17 in the LMC.
The trimester schedule proposal will come back to the school board for more input Jan. 22.
Monroe District Administrator Rick Waski said it's an aggressive timeline but he has been in districts that have made high school scheduling changes before.
"I feel like we need more information," Waski said. "There is a lot of policy and curriculum work that would have to be done before then."
Waski said in his experience of scheduling changes at other districts, high school changes always garner debate.
"There are not many that pay attention to scheduling changes at other schools," he said. "When it's the high school, it hits them because it's more about credits and graduating. There is a lot of apprehension when you talk about high school schedule changes."
Medenwaldt said other benefits of switching to a trimester schedule is having a common time where all students and staff are available to help meet learning needs, give teachers more opportunity to delve deeper into the curriculum with a longer time period and to collaborate more with students and build connections. High school students follow an eight-period day now, and classes last 47 minutes Tuesdays through Fridays. On Mondays during early release, classes are just 39 minutes.
Medenwaldt said science teachers and technical education teachers would like to have more time for hands-on learning.
High school teachers from Monroe have visited West De Pere High School and will visit Sauk Prairie High School Friday to see how they have implemented trimester scheduling.
"If you could tell me before that trimester and five-period scheduling would have made a difference, I would have laughed at you," said Sherri Hendrickson, who visited West De Pere. She teaches business education at MHS. "I could sense it and feel it right away. You always want to make a connection with a kid. It's something small, but it's important. It's really something we would like to do and move forward with."
Medenwaldt said some challenges to implementing trimesters would be having to revise and update the handbook and course offerings and monitoring the gaps for students if they fail a class before they can take it again the next trimester.
"It's something we would have to pay attention to with the data," he said.
Medenwaldt said if a student fails a core class, administrators would have to ensure the student could take the course the next trimester without having to wait until the following school year.
Another challenge is courses offered through Blackhawk Technical College and other outlets would not always follow the trimester schedule, Medenwaldt said.
Board member Rich Deprez supports the high school administration in whatever scheduling path they select.
"Ultimately, it's a decision for the school administration and the district administration," Deprez said. "We are not experts in the field. I trust you guys are more than capable of making those decisions."
That was the proposal Monroe High School Principal Chris Medenwaldt made to the school board Monday. High school administrators and teachers have been reviewing scheduling options for two years.
Instead of having two 18-week semesters, high school administrators are looking to implement a plan that would have three 12-week trimesters. Students would still need 25 credits to graduate. There would be no study halls. The school day would include a 30-minute flexible time where students could work with teachers on skills they are struggling with or work on extension activities in areas they excel, complete missing work or retake tests.
Medenwaldt provided a rationale behind the push to switch to a trimester schedule.
"The big one is for students to be able to focus on fewer classes," he said. "We want students to lower their stress and increase their focus."
There are 54 of 55 teachers at the high school who support the switch. The last time the high school had a scheduling change was in 1993 when the school switched from seven to eight periods.
After the presentation, some board members were reluctant for high school administration to make a scheduling change for next year. It's a decision on which the school board isn't required to vote.
"I'm sitting here hearing all of this for the first time, and my head is spinning," board member Dan Bartholf said. "I'm thinking if we are doing a scheduling change that affects 700 students, why don't we have a say? I want this to be done right. I'm not saying I'm against it. I anticipate issues."
Monroe school board president Bob Erb noted the importance of getting more feedback from students and parents. But while the board can advise on the decision, he said, it should not have the final authority.
"This really isn't our decision," Erb said. "It's up to the high school administration. I would feel better if we had a more cross section of students. I think it would be wise to expand your reach."
Medenwaldt has planned two listening sessions for parents on the trimester scheduling, and he plans on discussing the proposal with the Monroe High School Student Senate. The first listening session for parents is set for 6 p.m. Jan. 15 in the high school LMC. The second is set for 11:30 a.m. Jan. 17 in the LMC.
The trimester schedule proposal will come back to the school board for more input Jan. 22.
Monroe District Administrator Rick Waski said it's an aggressive timeline but he has been in districts that have made high school scheduling changes before.
"I feel like we need more information," Waski said. "There is a lot of policy and curriculum work that would have to be done before then."
Waski said in his experience of scheduling changes at other districts, high school changes always garner debate.
"There are not many that pay attention to scheduling changes at other schools," he said. "When it's the high school, it hits them because it's more about credits and graduating. There is a lot of apprehension when you talk about high school schedule changes."
Medenwaldt said other benefits of switching to a trimester schedule is having a common time where all students and staff are available to help meet learning needs, give teachers more opportunity to delve deeper into the curriculum with a longer time period and to collaborate more with students and build connections. High school students follow an eight-period day now, and classes last 47 minutes Tuesdays through Fridays. On Mondays during early release, classes are just 39 minutes.
Medenwaldt said science teachers and technical education teachers would like to have more time for hands-on learning.
High school teachers from Monroe have visited West De Pere High School and will visit Sauk Prairie High School Friday to see how they have implemented trimester scheduling.
"If you could tell me before that trimester and five-period scheduling would have made a difference, I would have laughed at you," said Sherri Hendrickson, who visited West De Pere. She teaches business education at MHS. "I could sense it and feel it right away. You always want to make a connection with a kid. It's something small, but it's important. It's really something we would like to do and move forward with."
Medenwaldt said some challenges to implementing trimesters would be having to revise and update the handbook and course offerings and monitoring the gaps for students if they fail a class before they can take it again the next trimester.
"It's something we would have to pay attention to with the data," he said.
Medenwaldt said if a student fails a core class, administrators would have to ensure the student could take the course the next trimester without having to wait until the following school year.
Another challenge is courses offered through Blackhawk Technical College and other outlets would not always follow the trimester schedule, Medenwaldt said.
Board member Rich Deprez supports the high school administration in whatever scheduling path they select.
"Ultimately, it's a decision for the school administration and the district administration," Deprez said. "We are not experts in the field. I trust you guys are more than capable of making those decisions."