Return to odd-even classes at Carbon High discussed at board of education meeting

By Sun Advocate

A return to odd-even attendance of classes at Carbon High could take place as early as Oct. 22.
“After trying this eight period schedule where students go to every class every day this quarter, we have decided it would be best for us to return to the odd-even class schedule that was used last year,” pointed out Carbon High principal Greg Stanfield at the board of education meeting on Oct. 10. “This schedule is just more fair to students.”
According to studentbody representatives in attendance at the meeting, the high school students need to interface with teachers outside of regular class time.
“The problem with the schedule we have now is that, when you are involved in extracurricular activities on a regular basis, you miss the same classes every time,” explained Carbon High School student Pete Yoklavich.
Student Scott Potter also had problems with the schedule as well.
“I recently wrote a letter to you about this problem,” stated Potter. “When we miss school for activities, it is our responsibility to make up the work and meet with the teachers. But we have no consultation time to do that with the eight period schedule. That is if the consultation time was used properly.”
The odd-even schedule rotates classes on a weekly basis. Students first attend even class periods one day and odd classes the next. The class attendance days are opposite the following week.
There was also a consultation schedule during the week when students could meet with teachers if they were behind or having problems in classes.
However, there were questions about whether the consultation times were being used properly. There were also concerns that some students left school for the day instead of going to consultation periods.
Board member Barry Deeter said he was aware of the problems. With a son in athletics at the school, he recognized the concerns, particularly in getting time to meet with teachers.
“I know that most teachers are willing to work with students. But making up tests that are missed is a real problem before and after school,” said Deeter.
However, the minuses of a consultation time period also weighed on the decision to try to return to a similar schedule, according to Stanfield.
“The term consultation period has a bad connotation to it,” said Stanfield. “We have decided to rename it academic plus and to change how it is used. I think it can be used to help us with our yearly adequate progress (AYP) situation as well as to help good students, to reward them. This will be a work in progress.”
Carbon High was recently reported as one of the schools in the state that had not met AYP according to federal standards.
The standards are tied to the No Student Left Behind initiative set forth for education several years ago by federal lawmakers.
Carbon High adequately met most of the criteria, except in math. Math scores at the high school dropped considerably from the year before.
Attendance at school was also a problem identified in the report.
Unfortunately, Carbon High also failed to meet AYP the previous year.
“When we got the scores back, we were stunned,” said Judy Mainord, the district’s secondary curriculum director. “We are trying to analyze what happened considering the growth we had made in years before.”
“The school did well in language and science, but the math scores were well below where they should have been,” added Mainord.
Stanfield said he and assistant principal Bruce Bean had been planning along with representatives at the high school to set up programs to help students who need assistance during the periods. Options included using peer tutors for students who are falling behind.
Under the proposed plan it appears the academic plus period would take place on Monday afternoons from 1:50-3:03 p.m.
“With what we are planning if students miss going to their academic plus period they will get an absence,’ said Stanfield. “We want to try and get all the students up to the levels where they need to be.”
Stanfield said that the administration of the school would be presenting the proposals to the school community council this week and hoped to implement the schedule the beginning of next week.