School officials say move will help improve test results
By:Emily Craighead
Manville High School students will spend more time in the classroom starting in the 2005-06 school year if the school board approves curriculum changes on Tuesday.
Curriculum changes aimed at keeping Manville students competitive and raising state test scores include adding 20 minutes of instruction time by moving to a nine-period schedule with 44-minute instructional periods and a 30-minute lunch.
The schedule currently consists of a five-minute homeroom and eight 48-minute periods, including lunch.
The change will require all five English teachers and two technology teachers to teach six periods each, one more than the usual load.
"These are what we anticipate now we won’t know until we draw up the master schedule exactly what we need," Principal Rodney Logan said at Monday’s Board of Education meeting.
The teachers, who volunteered to take an extra class, according to Dr. Logan, will receive a stipend.
By adding a class period to the school day, the board is paving the way to increase graduation requirements over the next four years.
The members of the Class of 2005 need 120 credits to graduate, and that number will increase by five credits for each subsequent class until 2009. The Class of 2009 will need 140 credits to graduate.
Each yearlong course is worth five credits, and each student has the opportunity to earn 40 credits per year. Students will be limited to one study hall each year.
Requirements for technology, career education, family skills and electives will increase.
"We found in the past, with a nine-period day, we’ll have more opportunities to offer more elective courses," Dr. Logan said. "The best way to prepare (students) for (work) is to have a greater technology requirement."
The high school was on a nine-period schedule for the 2001-02 school year, but budget cuts forced the school to return to an eight-period schedule the following year.
In addition to schoolwide curriculum changes, the students in honors and advanced placement classes will face more stringent requirements.
"Right now we have kids in honors classes that should not be there," Dr. Logan said.
According to the new standards, students must score at least 225 on the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment or the High School Proficiency Assessment to join an honors English, math, science or social studies class. They must have a final average of 93 in their regular class and submit a teacher recommendation checklist to move into the honors course.
To remain in the honors program, the student must have a final average of 87 or higher.
"This will raise the bar for these courses and raise our numbers for highly proficient (on state assessments)," Dr. Logan said.
Students and parents will have the option to appeal a decision regarding a student entering or remaining in an honors course.