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A later start time? An “access” period? Adding brunch to the day?
These are among the ideas the Foothill High community is weighing as school officials explore whether to formally propose changes to the bell schedule next school year.
The concept of a new bell schedule was first approached in the spring, around the same time the Pleasanton school board approved Amador Valley High’s proposal to pilot an access period underway this school year.
The 40-minute class period every Wednesday and Thursday serves as advisory time for Amador students to connect with teachers, work on assignments, seek help from counselors or pursue other wellness-related activities. The addition to the schedule was meant to target student stress and address other needs, school staff said upon bringing their proposal to the board last winter.
To implement the access period, Wednesdays and Thursdays were shifted from traditional school days with all six regular periods to a modified block schedule where students have the access period and one half of their classes. Most students now also have a “late start” on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with classes beginning at 8:50 a.m. and ending at 3:01 p.m.
Seeing the changes being made across town at Amador, Foothill officials began exploring the possibility of their own bell schedule change with an initial meeting last April, according to principal Sebastian Bull.
But further research was put on hold when Foothill’s principal at the time, Jason Krolikowski, was appointed the new head of San Ramon Valley High School in Danville. Bull and other school officials reapproached the matter in the fall.
“We picked it back up again this fall just to explore and see the possibility and what the interest level may be and the need for it at the school,” Bull said. “From our ‘Healthy Kids’ survey done every two years, there’s an indication that there is a lot of student stress it comes up quite a bit.”
In October, the school set up a committee comprised of Foothill teachers, staff and parents to help with the exploration. In November and December, the committee visited high schools that have adopted new bell schedules in recent years Amador, San Ramon Valley and Dougherty Valley to learn more about changes that were implemented and how things have worked out.
Following those visits, the committee’s research to date was presented to staff and parents for initial feedback.
At this juncture, Foothill does not have a formal proposal for the 2018-19 bell schedule, Bull said. The school is planning to survey parents, students and staff about a possible modification after classes resume from winter break on Tuesday.
The surveys will ask for participants’ thoughts on concepts like a modified block schedule, access period, a late start and brunch all of which are apart of Amador’s current bell schedule.
Administrators and the schedule committee plan to examine the survey results at the end of the month and go from there, Bull said.
“There’s some definite interest and also some valid questions or concerns about what the structure would be,” Bull said when asked about initial feedback regarding a potential change. “Most people are intrigued at this idea of an access period or support period, but the logistics of it is the part we’d have to work through.”
At Amador, school officials report that response to the new bell schedule this year has been largely positive, though some concerns remain.
Asked in a survey whether the access period has reduced the level of academic stress for their child, 86.7% of Amador parents responded yes, according to results provided by PUSD spokesman Patrick Gannon. In the same survey, 88.8% of parents said they would currently support continuing the access period beyond this school year.
The survey was taken by 241 parents.
A fall survey of 74 Amador teachers found that 47 fully support continuing the access bell schedule, 11 still had questions regarding the schedule and 16 did not support continuing it as is. Concerns included implementing better structure for students during the access period and a preference to end the school day earlier than 3:11 p.m. on traditional days.
Amador is still compiling the results of a student survey on the subject, Gannon said.
Asked for his thoughts on how the access bell schedule is going so far, Amador principal Mike Williams said he is “very encouraged by the positive response our Amador community has had.”
“Students and parents have been able to connect further with teachers and use the adjusted schedule to seek out additional support and catch up on academics,” Williams said in a statement. “We look forward to reflecting on our pilot semester with staff in January to determine the best next steps for Amador Valley.”
Should Foothill change its bell schedule next school year, the move will need to get the approval of the school board. Bull said the school has been told it would need to bring a proposal to the board by March for possible implementation in 2018-19.
If the school hasn’t settled on a proposal by that point, “we’d wait and make sure it’s done properly,” Bull said.
“The biggest thing I’ve told people is I don’t want to do it just to do it; we want to make sure we have a schedule that’s best for everybody,” he said.
The “access period” pilot is an interesting concept. The main problem here is lack of real data/metrics to measure its benefit. Surveying students about how they feel about the program is fine, but how about some hard metrics like how many students are actually using it? Nothing fancy: Teachers keep a simple tally. Collect data via Google Sheets and slice and dice it to see where and how access is being used. Perfect bonus points project for the AP Stats students. Everyone wins.
“Student stress”??? Wait till they get out in the real world, if they can’t handle high school now it only gets tougher later, these kids better toughen up a little. High school is just a warm up for college and the world of finding a job and making a living away from the parents purse strings. Bring back the draft, now that’s stress!
Well, I have a child at Amador, who of course loves Access period. While in theory it is supposed to be used as a time for kids to seek tutoring or do homework, all too often it gets used as a time for kids to catch up on social media and play videogames. Basically it is a forty-five minute break for most teachers and kids.
My son loves the new schedule at Amador. I wonder, though, how much of it is the fact that it has two late start days. Hopefully, the state will make late start a reality for all students. Too bad Glazer and Baker are not on board. Both voted against medical research on how beginning the day at a later time is better for teens.
Whoever compares high school scheduling to real world might take a second look. I would quit my job if I had six bosses, a 30 minute lunch, and no breaks during the day.
I love the access period. My daughter absolutely uses it for questions she had on homework or to meet other kids who she is working on a project with. If kids are playing video games then that’s their bad choice and the teacher isn’t doing a great job, but I don’t find that our experience. At some point they need to learn to spend their time wisely without us hovering over them. Access is a great opportunity for kids to catch up, get ahead, collaborate or study for a test. It’s up to them to use it.
I understand the desire for data/metrics, but keep in mind that the access period if structured like Amador’s, will count as instructional minutes and all students are supervised by teachers. Do we really have to micromanage beyond that? So what if a student takes a nap on a rare occasion – maybe that’s what they need to learn better the rest of the day. TIME MANAGEMENT is an important skill they will need in college and beyond and this is a great opportunity for students to start learning how to manage their time wisely. Yes, they will make mistakes – I hope they do, because it is part of LEARNING. It would be great to have data/metric but to do nothing knowing that our students are alarming rates of “bad’ stress (anxiety, depression) we need to try this and with FIDELITY from the heel-diggers, the non-drinking horses, because THEY are what would make efforts like this fail. This is actually not anything new. Neighboring schools and schools across the country have tried it, and they have not gone back. Imagine going to job every day, having to report to 6 different bosses (who assign homework), without a morning break and a 35 minute lunch- is that the “real world”? I really do wish some of the naysayers to what I consider is a very common-sense approach would shadow a student for a day and literally see just how well the current system prepares them for the ‘real world’.
BTW, the bill to mandate later start times was not defeated because Glazer and Baker were against the research around sleep deprivation among teems. The bill failed because many felt the decision should not be mandated by the state, but rather by the people most affected (ie the school/district level).
While a change may pose some understandable issues for parents and staff, let’s try and keep our focus on the students. Students NEED time to get extra help when the need it, time to do makeup work because of absences or athletes leaving school early for games, meet with a counselor for emotional reasons or explore college options, stave off hunger with a snack or socialize with their peers – is that so bad?
My student uses the ACCESS time to finish homework, take makeup quizzes, or get extra help from teachers. There will be some students who use the time wisely, and some students who don’t. At this age, it’s time for them to make choices and live with the consequences. As the time is meant to be a way to relieve stress (high school is a lot tougher than it was 30 years ago), maybe chatting with friends, playing video games, or checking social media is what some students need.
So glad my last kid will graduate FHS this year and we won’t have to deal with this nonsense. The AVHS block schedule is so strange. I wonder how the kids know where to go every day.
@HSParent That is a very fair point. In most cases, decisions such as these are/should be made locally. I called both offices twice, though, and neither one gave this as an argument. They took my input but declined to tell me how/why each one was going to vote. So I do not know if this is truly their rationale.
I think there are cases for the state to help make decisions regarding how schools are run. If districts are afraid to make changes based on the best science at hand because of a vocal plurality of parents, then there is a case to be made for the state to show some leadership, especially if it is what the science is indicating. (Also, It is less disruptive to after school activities if all schools make the change rather than one district at a time.)
What a crock. Start late, sleep in, take full periods off to play games and socialize. And that’s just the teachers!
Six bosses? Try the real world where every day I answer to lots of different people in every meeting starting on the hour, every hour, for eight hours a day. These kids and teachers all have three months off, start late and get off at 3:00. How are we preparing these kids for college and success if we just keep making it easier and easier to slack off?
I would like to see more data on this. PUSD needs to be upfront about how many instruction hours are lost because of this. Do they expect that the students are to make up for the reduced instruction with more OUTSIDE tutoring?
After all, colleges expect that their prospective students are prepared to handle college level classes. Is the reduced instruction hours enough to prepare Pleasanton kids for college?
@Kathleen… I didn’t say block schedule is strange. I said “AVHS block schedule is strange”. A true block schedule would be great and very beneficial for the high school students. But, in true PUSD fashion a true block schedule will not happen here. The AVHS block schedule is another example of bad PUSD decisions.
@Ridiculous – What exactly is this job of yours where you supposedly answer to “lots of different people every hour on the hour eight hour a day”? Do you not take breaks or take time to plan, to analyze problems and collaborate with others to come up with creative solutions? Don’t you think school is where our kids are supposed to learn those skills? And seeing how every student has different needs, that they are more likely to be met iif offered the time during access period? Give kids and teachers more credit – maybe your kids a are, but the vast majority are not the slackers you make them out to be. If you want to toughen up your kids, by all means go ahead but it isn’t why I send my kids to school- they are there to learn, not be ‘toughened up’ by someone else’s cockamamie standards.
Having 6 periods in a day is ridiculous. By the time they get seated and roll taken, they have about 40 minutes to go over homework, and actually learn something from the teacher. When I grew up we had periods 1,3 and 5 on Mondays and Wednesdays and 2, 4, 6 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Fridays were a waste with all 6 periods. At least that way we could have productive learning time M-Th. It’s a MUCH better way to learn and focus on the subjects. My 4 kids have all said the teachers at FHS don’t have time to go over the questions they ask about the homework.
@Anony – If they’re playing video games, maybe they’re waiting in line to consult with a teacher, can stand to learn better time management skills (you as a parent can help with that!), or maybe that’s what they need to decompress at that moment. If a student had C’s for example, there are systems in place to alert teachers to instruct students to go to, say, their math teacher for remediation during (ta-dah!) access period! Some kids won’t make the best decisions all the time, but isn’t high school about the right time to start learning time mgmt? Cuz they’ll surely need it in college/work!
I too wish there were more block days so teachers could actually have meaningful conversations (what a concept) with each student (teaching 30+ students in basically 40 minutes is ridiculous). and give them personalized coaching and feedback throughout the year. I would favor
– more block period days,
– 8:30 or later start times every day,
– 1 access period/week (if I had to give SOMETHING up) + morning break the other 4 days,
– less cramming of information and more practicing of skills,
– less HOMEwork, and more learning/practice/feedback IN class
– more enrichment offerings during access period (TED talks, SAT practice, adulting classes, driver safety, financial basics, time mgmt, dealing with bullying/social media/drugs/your dysfunctional family, social skills, emotional regulation, music lessons, interviewing skills, exploring careers/colleges/Naviance, art/crafts projects, working on a passion project… lots of possibilities!)
– more approved online course offerings
– and dismissal no later than 3pm 🙂 (hey school isn’t everything!)
Very excited that PUSD is looking at these ways to help all our students succeed. Definitely on the right track (though you wouldn’t tell based on these boards who seem to be regularly infiltrated with negative nellies bent on discrediting PUSD/teachers/anyone-in-charge any chance they get) Keep the discussions going AVHS and FHS – good stuff!!!
@AVHS Parent, Amador Parent,
Why assume my child is the only one on their phone/computer during Access? When I said “kids and teachers” use it to take a 45 minute break, it was her observation of class behavior, not mine. She also uses Access to do homework, study for tests, and make up assignments, but she is honest with me in saying she doesn’t *always* use it to study. BTW, she is an honor student and is with other honor students during Access so if you think your honor student does nothing but study during break, you need to have an honest conversation with your child.
The fact is the modified block schedule takes away almost 30 minutes of instructional time per class per week. That adds up to almost 3 hours per week! PUSD counts Access period as instructional time, but given that they already were doing only the minimum required state-mandated hours of instruction, 3 hours per week is a lot to lose! Studies show that students who are taking AP classes are negatively affected by reduced instruction not preparing them for an AP exam. While I am all for reducing stress, it shouldn’t be done at the expense of teaching. If anything, teachers should reduce homework so they can devote more time to teaching.
And why call anyone who questions what they are told as “negative Nellies?” If anything, questioning and critiquing what one is told is a sign of intellect. You wouldn’t believe everything a politician tells you, would you?
Anony,
Please don’t confuse bashing,which is rampant on these boards with “high intellect”. When people says things like…
“these kids need to toughen up”
“all too often it gets used as a time for kids to catch up on social media and play videogames. Basically it is a forty-five minute break for most teachers and kids.”
“So glad my last kid will graduate FHS this year and we won’t have to deal with this nonsense”
“What a crock. Start late, sleep in, take full periods off to play games and socialize. And that’s just the teachers! ”
“Seems like a union ploy for an effective pay raise and pension padding for less educational instruction.”
… unbalanced and disparaging remarks – they weren’t just “questions” – are not a sign of high intellect. It just means they are opinionated. And yes, it is common knowledge that what you see on anonymous boards like these can be brutally opinionated and so readers must take that into consideration. I’m sorry if you were offended by the term “Negative Nellies” but imagine how PUSD staff the City of Pleasanton must feel after all the pot shots that have been taken at them after all they do for all kids.
While block scheduling may result in less minutes inside an AP classroom overall, studies show it won’t necessarily raise standardized test scores, but is does help students well-being, which is the problem we are trying to solve here. Pleasanton is a high achieving district – we are already top notch “achievement” wise. It’s time to focus on kids mental health. My understanding is that Pleasanton has the highest 5150 rate in Alameda County (5150 is code for involuntary psychiatric hold due to mental health issue that could be dangerous to themselves or the people around them). Let that sink in. Kids around us are being harmed and you want more from AP classes?
I think you’d be surprised at the possibilities a longer class allows. No rushing through labs, time to go over what kids got wrong on a test, work on projects. Teachers are no longer required to be the gatekeepers of information, feeding it to students. Information is now EVERYWHERE so they are no longer the only subject matter expert in the room. With more time, they can still lecture, but now kids can triangulate what they are learning with online resources, their classmates, actual activities they will now have time to do in class. Teachers also have a longer prep period. My point is the quality of LEARNING is more important than the quantity of instruction.
Good to know your high achieving kid is also getting some benefit from the access period.
Avhs parent,
You’re just as guilty as flinging anonymous insults as those you’ve called out – I assume you’re intellect is higher because you’re coming from a position of self identified moral superiority? Can we see your antifa card now?
I’m all for solving problems, and if student stress is a problem we should help solve it. But removing stress causing situations, content they need, isnt solving the problem its avoiding it. Avoiding problems doesnt teach kids how to deal with these situations later in life – which is when they’ll face them again. They need to learn how to effectively address these situations, not have someone remove them from them.
Additionally, why are the solutions to these problems always union biased vs open solutions. You could achieve the same effect by extending the school day and putting access periods in between. Is this a reasonable solution of course (If you think this,approach works) but that doesn’t sit well with a union terrorist organization that only supports union biased solutions.
We should go to a cash system – you get the same tax dollars back to give directly to the school each day your child goes. At the end of each day you get an itemized receipt of the instruction hours they received. People would have a very different perspective of what they are actually getting for each dollar they have to hand over.
I’m still scratching my head at the “high school is a lot tougher than it was 30 years ago” – I find that not at all true (multiple kids through the schools) – but then I went to school in a higher achieving district than PUSD….
Really?
I don’t think high school is easier than it was 30yrs ago either. Competition for college is definitely greater. We have more foreign and out of state applicants to compete against than 30yrs ago. Not to mention the added financial incentives schools have by taking out of state tuition applicants.
While I dont think the content is more difficult, the environment definitely is. And this is further compounded with a stronger union that is stripping our students of educational access to direct instruction.
Pleasanton Parent,
Please explain ….”antifa card”… seriously?!
@AVHS Parent,
Teaching and politics are public service careers. They should be serving the public, not the other way around.
What my child does in Access can be done at home. However, she cannot make up for lost instructional time. What I am asking for is PUSD to be clear to the public that kids WILL be losing valuable teaching time, and Access should not be counted as instructional hours.
Basically, kids have lost instructional time over the years so that what was taught 30 years ago is no longer taught. For instance, one of y children had a teacher at HPMS in math that only taught for 10 minutes per class period, then surfed the internet the rest of the time. Then the same teacher would give a chapter test, and if you did not get 100% you had to take another chapter test the next day. Then you had to take a “cumulative” test for each chapter. In other words, rather than teaching, 3 full days was spent on test taking per chapter. Ridiculous. No wonder there are 50 tutoring centers in town.
Basically, in PUSD what is taught in Algebra 1 is really Pre-Algebra 30 years ago.
In PUSD what is taught in Algebra 2 is really Algebra 1 30 years ago.
In PUSD what is taught in Precalculus is really Algebra 2 30 years ago.
Don’t get me started on science. What was taught in Chemistry and Physics 30 years ago is no longer taught at the high school level because the math skills required for both of those courses required at least a completion of Algebra 2 of yesteryear (which is now called Precalculus).
No wonder the scientists and engineers that US firms hire come from overseas.
AVHS,
PP is referring I think to Yvette Felarca who is head of BAMN (by all means necessary) and on the council of Antifa. She has been arrested at least a dozen time for assaults, rioting, destroying public property etc. She is also a middle school teacher in Berkeley. Over half of the antifa rioters arrested in Berkeley were teachers including the guy who cracked another guys skull with a bicycle lock.
I don’t see much reason to compare anyone on this board to Antifa. I think some people need the additional instruction time more than the kids:)
If these kids are under so much pressure due to social media, why are they proposing to give kids yet another 45 minutes to just sit idly in a classroom on their phones?!
Wouldn’t the answer to that be to spend that time…I know this will be a shocker… actually teaching?!?!
Block schedule isn’t strange, although only doing it two days was not the best idea for a pilot. Let’s hope students are able to handle it (and personal experience says they are), otherwise they won’t be able to handle much more difficult challenges. I hope this is adopted for all five days.
Seems like a union ploy for an effective pay raise and pension padding for less educational instruction.
We are paying more and more in tax dollars for less and less in return.
I’m sure the answer is no instruction hours are lost from this change even though the reality is the absolutely are.
Almost, sorry; but I think we are in agreement this wasn’t the best way to pilot the program. Our kids briefly (Texas) had a similar system to what Val Vista mentions, but 5 days a week. The weeks flipped back and forth. Never saw a student have a problem and our kids thrived. Sad thing is our youngest is 35–so PUSD is waaaaay behind. Glad AVHS is finally making some attempt.
@Really?,
Yep, the college competition is real and MUCH more intense than 30 years ago. Content may not be more difficult, just too much of what students no longer need and not enough of what they do IMHO because of, well Google and technology. Throw in social media where teens (and adults) constantly compare themselves to others ‘highlight reel’ and anxieties go through the roof. The world, jobs have been changing for quite some time and our schools need to catch up – a schedule change with fewer, longer periods (block for more effective learning) and access period (flexible time to address stressors based on students needs) is a small start.
Can’t comment on the union other than 80%+ of Foothill teachers have to agree in order to move forward with any schedule change. The results will be based on each individual teacher’s vote, not the union. The union’s allegiance is to the profession, while teachers are supposed to care about their students and their future readiness. Big distinction. Or at least I hope so.