NAMPA, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
The Nampa School District is changing its high school class schedule format for the first time in more than two decades.
The district announced Friday evening via a news release that it will convert high school class schedules from two semesters containing eight classes each, to three trimesters with six classes apiece. The change will take effect to begin the 2024-25 school year.
The district’s release did not stipulate who made the decision or when it was made.
Kathleen Tuck, a spokesperson with the Nampa School District, said in an email that Superintendent Gregg Russell “and team” made the decision Friday on the new class schedule. She did not return an email by deadline asking if the school board needed to vote on the issue.
The move comes amid a flurry of proposed changes as the district pines for cost-saving opportunities — the most-notable being the district’s December decision to close four schools at the conclusion of the current school year.
“We’re excited for the additional course opportunities this new schedule offers our students, while also allowing us to maintain our promise to the community to remain fiscally responsible,” Deputy Superintendent Waylon Yarbrough said in the district-issued release.
The district’s A/B block schedule, which had been in place for almost 25 years, according to the release, consisted of rotating four-class days, with new classes on students’ schedules in each semester — for a total of 16 courses per year. The new schedules will be six classes long — students will take the same six classes each day — and be switched three times over the course of a school year, for a total of 18 classes per year.
“This (block) schedule has served the district well, in particular by helping provide longer blocks of time for some programs; however, it has become abundantly clear that the block schedule presents financial challenges,” the district’s news release stated. “This change reflects a carefully considered strategic move to manage our budget effectively. It will also provide our students with a wider range of courses and the flexibility to pursue a more diverse and comprehensive education.”
The proposed schedule changes have been met with opposition from some students.
At a recent Nampa School Board meeting, Nampa High junior Jasmin Bly wrote to the board, “All this will do is hurt your high school students.”
Mariana Cortes, a senior in the Nampa School District, recently wrote a letter to the editor to the Idaho Press stating that moving to a more-traditional six- or seven-class day would create inefficiencies for students. She said there are many career and technical education and advanced placement classes hosted at only specific high schools that some students need to take a 15-minute bus ride to attend, which could have an adverse effect with with shorter class times.
“Many kids specifically take these classes to prepare for any future career or education they plan to pursue,” she wrote. “Without a block schedule, many students will find it difficult to keep up with the classwork given in class.”
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
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