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SCHOOL DAY SQUEEZE
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Published: October 18, 2007
Which Schedule Do You Prefer? | Education Report
TAMPA - Brandon High School sophomore Robert Coulon says his teachers can't get around to help every student in class anymore, so it's 'hard to figure out what you're doing.'
Bloomingdale High School advanced placement English teacher Saundra Carlisle acknowledges she's returning graded papers later than in the past.
Kathy Malizia, a teacher of English as a second language at Alonso High School, says teachers are exhausted.
All are talking about the impact of scheduling changes made this school year, designed to save nearly $28 million by cutting 583 teaching positions.
The changes affect more than half the Hillsborough County School District's high schools that switched students from four longer classes each day to seven shorter ones. Their teachers now have nearly twice the number of classes and twice as many students as they did before.
As a result:
• Students sometimes wait weeks for graded essays or projects.
• Some teachers assign fewer essays, math homework problems or less homework.
• Some teachers spot check work instead of reviewing it in depth.
• Students sometimes get a less dynamic lesson in the last class of the day as teachers run out of steam.
'Teaching for me is a performance - and it's one more performance,' said Carlisle, who teaches four advanced placement literature and composition classes plus two introduction to film classes.
Carlisle knows her students don't get the same level of energy or enthusiasm during the last literature class of the day. None have complained, she said. 'They may just think I'm boring.'
Some parents are concerned.
'My daughter has absolutely no life,' said Becky Helmink , a teacher whose daughter, Tessa, is in orchestra; two creative writing classes; honors geometry, biology and English classes; and advanced placement human geography at Blake High School. 'From the time she comes home to the time she goes to bed, there's a book in her hand.'
Dozens of Hillsborough high school teachers started protesting the impending changes in February after Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia determined that schedules would change. Teachers said they most resented never being asked what the consequences might be.
Teachers predicted less time to prepare and grade lessons and less time for individual student concerns.
Teachers 'Dying Out Here'
With the first nine-week grading period of school under the new schedules ending, teachers said much of what they predicted has come true.
'We're dying out here,' said Malizia, the Alonso English as a second language teacher. 'We're visibly fatigued.'
Hardest hit, district administrators agree, are both students and teachers in the 14 high schools formerly on block schedules. Under block schedules, students completed a yearlong course in half a year, much like college. Students took four 90-minute classes a day. Each year, they could earn eight credits toward the 24 needed for graduation.
The district's other 11 high schools were on the traditional schedules that the district has adopted countywide. Students attend seven, 50-minute classes a day for the entire year and can earn seven credits a year toward graduation.
Blake High School, also a magnet school for the visual and performing arts, switched from the four-class schedule to a seven-period day this year.
'We are having to find a different way of doing things,' said Principal Jackie Haynes. That includes fitting in teacher training time.
'We're still working it out,' Haynes said.
Seven class periods allow students in the magnet program to take more advanced placement classes in academic subjects, Haynes said.
It also allows low-performing students to take more electives, since they are also required to take extra English or math classes or both for remediation.
At the same time, the fatigue and time crunch is taking its toll, she said.
'Everybody's feeling it,' Haynes said. 'They're overwhelmed; they're tired. They can't get everything done they used to do in a day.'
Some teachers didn't even try.
'I lost an excellent teacher,' Haynes said. 'She had the years in and said, 'I can't do it.' That really hurt.'
For students like Ashley Sanders, a Blake senior struggling to make up credits, seven classes plus an after-school class is tough. 'Four periods was better,' Sanders said. 'Now, we don't have that much time to do our work.'
Some Longer Classes Essential
Longer classes may be critical for students pursing careers in the arts, said Tom Ziegeohofer, assistant principal for the magnet program. 'In dance, the actual time it takes you to warm up is 40 minutes. Students are telling us they're not going to come to Blake if they can't get what they need for their major.'
The school is continuing longer classes for some junior and senior courses in the arts by putting two class periods together. Some other schools are doing the same for a few specific classes.
John Parris, Blake's fine arts department head, teaches five classes in classical guitar and advanced placement music. One of the advanced guitar classes takes up two class periods because, he said, 'You can't do this in 50 minutes.'
Parris is an example of many teachers who voluntarily take on more. He also teaches college one night a week, tutors students at home two nights a week, plays professionally on weekends and in his church band. Three days a week he works one-on-one with students after school. That's getting tougher to do with the change.
'This is the student's major, so you try to prepare them at a high level,' he said.
Planning Time Cut
Most high school teachers have one 50-minute planning period this year instead of two. They plan and prepare lessons, grade papers, meet with students and parents, e-mail parents and complete paperwork. Sometimes they substitute for absent teachers during their planning time.
The lunch period was expanded by about 20 minutes to give teachers a little extra planning time.
Grading eats up time, said Bloomingdale's Carlisle. If she spends five minutes on each paper, it takes more than two hours to grade one assignment for a single class - and she has six classes. She acknowledges she returns graded papers later than in the past.
Some teachers choose to teach an extra class for extra pay, making it a seven-period day for them and students.
'I'm much more exhausted,' said Mark Hardin, who gave up coaching football this year because of the increased demands. He teaches seven world and American history classes at Sickles High School, including four honors classes.
Hillsborough studied its block versus traditional schedules and saw a slight advantage in academic performance for traditional schedules on state tests, said Sam Whitten, district assessment supervisor.
Brandon High School fought hardest to hold onto its block schedule and offers more block classes than any other high school this year in combination with traditional classes.
'I like less time in class; it makes the day go by faster and we don't fool around as much,' said Amanda Peterson, a senior taking double-period classes in algebra II and Latin, which, she says, need the extra time because of their difficulty.
Brandon math teacher Amanda Melanson said long classes allow her to grade papers or help students during class. Also, math is particularly suited to more, shorter classes, she and other teachers said, because one concept can be presented, repeated and practiced every day.
Latin teacher Bill Seaman, with 42 years of experience, has one double Latin class and doesn't even give students the six-minute break in between the two 50 minute classes that other teachers allow.
'My classes are always too short,' Seaman said. 'With longer classes you're able to monitor the comprehension.'
The maturity of students, academic level and particular courses determine the value of fewer, longer classes versus more, shorter classes, both teachers and principals said.
Brandon Principal Leslie Granich said working out the hybrid schedules this year was very difficult, but worth it so far. 'Everybody's different,' Granich said. 'We're trying a very individualized approach to scheduling.'
High school teachers districtwide are in charge of classes the full 300 minutes in their union contract, the same as elementary and middle school teachers. As part of cost cutting, middle school teachers have five of six longer classes, most adding an extra 60 minutes a day to their schedules.
The teachers union plans to survey teachers on the impact of the scheduling change. District officials say they will look at impact on student performance and teacher retention.
'What we're seeing is what we expected,' said David Steele, the district's general director for secondary education. With budget constraints and a teacher shortage, changes seem unlikely, he and others said.
Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069 or mbrown@tampatrib.com.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( runtolive ) on October 18, 2007 at 11:14 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Is it not enough that teachers are dealing with a new system that is clearly exhausting, causing them to work well beyond the bounds of "Only 300 minutes"? No. Instead, deficient workers from "The Real World" render no respect to people who spend 13 to 14 hours a day teaching kids, grading papers, and answering emails...and putting up with attitudes like yours, hopefully you AREN'T parents. Let's not forget that teachers are trying to maintain their sanity and manage a family too!
Elia messed up big time with the mandated traditional scheduling, and it's up to constituents to put her in her place [out of office!] All you delusional people that think teachers are just whining are completely incognizant of how their day REALLY goes. As the child of two teachers I am fully aware of how utterly exhausted they are. It's not right and it's not fair NOT to stand behind the cultivators of the future.
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