Class scheduling to possibly change

Published 12:49 pm Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Lunenburg County school officials are looking at changing the class scheduling for Central High School.

As part of the process, school administrators are seeking input from parents, students and the community through an online survey at SurveyMonkey.

“This is a very basic survey to get a general idea of your feelings on this topic and just one tool that will be used to research this topic,” the announcement about the survey said.

“There are many components to look at with regard to making a change in the scheduling process or to stay with what we currently have.”

Currently, the high school uses regular block scheduling, consisting of four class periods each day for half of a year, with four new classes for the last half of the year.

Also being considered is having seven periods of the same classes for a full year; and a modified A/B schedule that is one or two periods that are a year long with certain classes held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and certain other classes on Tuesday and Thursday.

“We’re just going to look and see which is best,” Superintendent Charles M. Berkley Jr. recently told the school board. He noted a number of schools in the area have gone back to the seven-period day.

Each scheduling method has its drawbacks and advantages.

Berkley said block scheduling in the fall is no problem because students seldom miss time because of weather. But last year during the second semester inclement weather caused students to miss 12 days, he said. “That brings a concern to me.”

A page at the beginning of the survey describes the scheduling types being considered. People interested in participating in the survey can do so online by either going through the system’s website or directly to the SurveyMonkey site, or can pick up a paper copy from the school office.

Responses will be anonymous, and should be returned by Friday, Dec. 11.