WATERBORO — In an effort to increase student success, Massabesic High School will be switching its schedule to trimesters beginning next year.
The change was approved by the School Administrative District 57 school board at their meeting on March 10.
“There has been a lot of conversation, and I think it’s a good proposal,” said Christian Elkington, principal of MHS, at the meeting. “The majority of the staff does, too.”
Elkington told the board that he sees “many more benefits than negatives.”
Massabesic High School currently operates on semesters with alternating block scheduling: Two sets of four 73-minute courses each day.
A trimester schedule would reduce students’ courseload to five classes instead of eight, which would be 55 minutes each. Classes would meet daily instead of every other day, for 12 weeks, resulting in 119 classes per course instead of 88.
Switching to trimesters will increase the amount of concentration students give to their core classes, said Elkington, by reducing the overall number of credits a student could earn over four years from 32 to 30.
“We need them to concentrate on quality over quantity,” he stated.
As a result of the change, students will not be able to take as many elective courses because class time for core subjects will increase.
“A key piece for us is the reduction of study halls, as too many of our students are wasting their time in them,” Elkington wrote in an e-mail to the Journal Tuesday. “Students will only be able to have one instead of one and a half to two.”
The schedule will also allow more time for credit recovery opportunities so that those students who are falling behind will be able to make up credits during the school day. Since courses will only need two out of three trimesters, a student can be placed in a credit-recovery course immediately after they fail a half credit core class, said Elkington, with a trimester still available to get back on track with other students.
As well, the school is proposing a more fluid school day that would allow teachers to come in later and leave later or vice versa. An advisory period planned for every Friday will also give teachers a chance to meet with students to discuss progress, course selection information and to review guidance programming needs, future planning, school-wide communication and decision making, said Elkington.
Cathy Geren, president of the Massabesic Education Association teacher’s union, said after the meeting last week that the teachers are “excited” about trimesters.
“It offers a lot of opportunities,” she said, “and will help with the drop-out rate.”
The schedule flexibility will help students who need to fit high school around their work scheduled and will offer them a “big cushion needed for them to find success.”
“It feels like the next logical step,” said Geren. “We’re on a really good path.”
— City Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 322 or kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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