Schedule change moves ahead at CHS

Although running about two weeks behind in the process, Carson High School Principal Ron Beck said that he and his staff are still on track to implement the schedule change for next year.

"It's change," he told Carson City School Board members at the Tuesday meeting. "There's going to be hiccups. We'll adjust to them."

He said that high school officials are waiting on the registration packets of about 150 students before finalizing next year's lineup of classes.

As it works now, students enroll in six classes per semester. They attend three, 105-minute periods each day, alternating subjects every other day. To fit in extra electives, several classes are offered as a "zero period," which begins at 7 a.m.

Under the new schedule, which Beck presented to the board Feb. 29, students will enroll in seven courses and attend three of them for 90 minutes each day. Those classes will alternate every other day, as they do now. The seventh period will be a 45-minute class that meets each day.

Zero period, with the exception of jazz band, will be eliminated.

After Beck introduced the plan at the Feb. 29 meeting, a group of teachers attended the March 17 meeting to express opposition.

Government teacher Angila Golik presented to the board the results of an informal survey taken at the school where 90 of the 104 teachers responded.

Of those, 48 said they did not support the change, 11 said they supported it and 31 said they supported the change but had reservations.

Beck returned to the board Tuesday to update trustees on the progress.

Board Vice President Lynette Conrad suggested that the adjustments had been rushed.

"There are definitely some good parts to what you're proposing," she said. "I'm wondering what the hurry is. Couldn't we use this year to collect data? It sounds like you're going to have staff scramble to get this all in place."

Beck said that it wasn't as rushed as it may seem.

"We've been working on this since October," he said. "If we can do it now, why do we want to wait a year? If we can help those kids be successful, why should we wait to give those kids that extra help."

He said that half of the 45-minute classes will be used for remediation, focusing on reading and writing for the underclassmen and offering extra help for upperclassmen who are struggling to pass proficiency exams.

For students enrolled in advanced-placement classes, he said, that time will be used as a study period to extend those classes.

As part of the change, the campus will be closed during lunch and other breaks to all students except seniors who have earned at least 16 credits.

Conrad asked that Beck work more closely with teachers and staff as the process goes forward.

"I hope you really keep your staff up to date with what's going on and keep them motivated," she said. "It seems to me morale is a little down."

Beck said he spoke with each department and answered any questions presented.

"I don't have a great staff," he said. "I have the best staff. That's why I know we can do this."