New Town School Board approves six period day
New Town School Board approves six period day
By Jerry W. Kram
Students at the New Town Middle and High Schools will be on a new calendar for the 2012-13 school year as the school board approved moving to a six period school day instead of the traditional seven period day.
The New Town School board held two meetings Tuesday night. The first was to get public input into its three and five year plans. That meeting was followed by the school board’s regular monthly meeting.
The plan for moving to the six hour day has been in the works for some time and has been refined through meetings with students, teachers and the public. Classes will be 66 minutes long instead of 50 minutes, which Superintendent Marc Bluestone said will give teachers more time for instruction, intervention and work in class. Study halls will be eliminated under the plan to make time to lengthen the other classes.
In August, classes will start with regular classes running five days a week. However, the six period plan will allow students to get the required instructional time in just four days. So starting in October, Bluestone said, Fridays will be devoted to giving additional instruction to students who are failing one or more classes. Students who are passing all their classes and have a clean disciplinary record will be able to choose from a variety of additional classes that will be offered on Fridays.
