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Schools

300 minutes a day in classes

The superintendent wants high school teachers to return to a seven-period work day.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published December 15, 2006

TAMPA - Schools superintendent MaryEllen Elia wants the county's 3,940 high school teachers to spend more time with students.

About half teach 250 minutes a day, and the other half about 270 minutes. Elia says they all should teach 300 minutes daily, like their contract requires and like all elementary teachers do.

"We're looking for ways to maximize teacher instructional time and to make sure we have a minimum of noncertified, out-of-field teachers," Elia said.

Already, one of every 10 district teachers teaches at least one class outside the area they're certified to teach. That problem is expected to grow due to state-mandated class size reductions.

Increasing the teacher workload also could save the district as much as $28-million in new employee salaries and benefits, money that Elia and others say could go into raises next year.

Elia's "move to the max" initiative is not without its critics.

Some are teachers, who don't want to add another class to their schedules.

"What teachers want is to be able to do their job very well," said Jean Clements, president of the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association. "There's a concern that if their planning time is shortened and their instructional time is lengthened, then they won't be able to do as good a job in the classroom."

Many already teach large numbers of students, and often take work home with them. Putting more on their plate sounds "overwhelming," Clements said.

Alonso High band teacher Ken Norton, who has taught in the county since 1979, doesn't look forward to teaching six rather than five periods each day.

"But it is something I will do, to help my program and my students," Norton said.

Alonso is on a seven-period day, with each lasting 50 minutes, so the changes will affect only teachers. But half the high schools run on a block schedule, where students take four 90-minute classes each semester.

To get teachers to 300 minutes there, principals will have to modify the block schedule or do away with it in favor of the seven-period day. That idea isn't winning favor with everyone.

Students at Newsome and Riverview high schools have started petitions to keep the block schedule. They worry about things such as losing the ability to pack two years of language instruction into one year.

"Not only is block scheduling more flexible, able to meet the needs of all types of students, include more classes per year than traditional, provide ample time for AP classes and allow for early graduation in the senior year, it also provides more class time per year than traditional scheduling," Riverview junior Victoria Clime wrote in an e-mail to a School Board member.

Some parents also have challenged the idea.

Laura Cooper, who sends two daughters to Durant High, which started block scheduling 10 years ago, is very unhappy with the potential move.

She worries because her daughter Brittany loses interest in a class after a semester and her grades tend to dip. With block scheduling, classes change mid year, and everything is new again.

"I have gotten some e-mails with options. But the options don't look so hot," Cooper said. "They have not convinced me."

Riverview principal Robert Heilman is convinced. He looks forward to switching his school to the seven-period day for the first time in its nine-year life.

He contended the traditional schedule allows students to take more electives, even if they have to take remedial courses because of poor FCAT performance. It also provides for more continuity of instruction, because courses run all year, he said.

"I absolutely loved block," said Heilman. "I think block right now has more negatives than pluses ... There will be some kids who this will hurt, but not many."

School Board members say they support Elia's plan, even if they're not being asked to vote on it. The changes are fair to teachers and make sense academically and financially, vice chairwoman Jennifer Faliero said.

Still, board member Candy Olson said the issue needs a more public airing than it has gotten so far. She has called for a board workshop on the subject.

"We're talking about something that changes the way half of our high schools work," Olson said. "Just to say, 'This is something we're going to do next year' is awfully abrupt."

Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at solochek@sptimes.com or 813 269-5304.

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[Last modified December 15, 2006, 05:38:39]