By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Hays Middle School plans to alter its schedule for the next school year to include math and English daily.
Tom Albers, Hays Middle School principal, told the Hays school board Monday night the school has seen a decline in math and English state assessment scores.
After reviewing several factors, staff members decided spending more time with students in these classes could help them improve their skills.
The current block scheduling, which has been in place for four years, has students taking math and English in 75-minute blocks every other day.
English and reading instruction are split into two separate classes.
The new schedule combines English and reading. Students will have 70-minute English and math classes every day.
The students will keep their Falcon squad time, but seminar will be every other day and scheduled into one of their rotating blocks. Students can receive extra help from teachers during seminar or finish homework.
Students will continue having alternating block scheduling for all of their other classes.
Classes will also start at 7:55 a.m. to match the schedule at Hays High School.
Board vice president Jayme Goetz, a former district teacher, said she loves the new plan. She said she was excited to see students have more than 700 minutes of contact time with their math and English teachers over two weeks.
Teachers can introduce a concept on one day and work with the students as they put the concept into practice on the second day, Goetz said.
She said she sees the same trend in the math classes she teaches at the collegiate level. Her courses are now five credit-hour classes that meet five days per week.
Albers said the increase in the contact time is the benefit.
"Under block scheduling, if you see a kid on Thursday, and they have an activity or are sick, you might not see them again until the following Wednesday," Albers said.
Jerry Braun, teacher, said the schedule will allow teachers to get more material taught before the state assessments in March and allow for enrichment opportunities in April and May.
Board member Meagan Zampieri-Lillpopp expressed concerns about the lack of daily contact for band and orchestra.
Albers said those teachers could use their seminar time to work with smaller groups of students.
The new schedule will also allow for more electives. Under the new schedule, the seventh- and eighth-grade choir will be split.
Creative writing will also be added along with a couple of other electives, Albers said.
The school will need to add two math teachers and another special education teacher to accommodate the new schedule. One teacher within the school will move to teach math full-time, but two other new teachers will still be needed, Albers said.
Teachers will still have planning periods every day. They will alternate individual and team planning time.