And Educational Moment: The Eleven Period Day

Todd Fallis is my studio teacher at Utah State University, where I am majoring in music education. This is a scheduling idea he published in "Teaching Music" in 2003 that I think would be a wonderful alternative to current scheduling practices,

The Eleven Period Day

Scheduling time for the arts is a problem in many schools. Todd Fallis offers some thought-provoking ideas and a personal solution to the challenge of tight schedules at the high school level.

IN the 1970s, many high schools operated on the forty-five-minute, eight-period day. What a great schedule it was for students: a reasonable amount of class time with more than enough periods to take any course that interested them. But it meant that most teachers had seven class preparations (preps). At all levels, teachers generally prefer fewer, smaller classes, so school administrations, unable to pay teachers what they were worth, compromised by changing schedules so that teachers would have fewer preps each day Couple this with overcrowding (ever seen portable classrooms erected next to a brand new school?), which brought on year-round schools and trimester schedules, and school systems began whittling away the choices students could make because there were fewer class periods.

The eight-period day became the seven-period day, which then became the six-period day, which in some places evolved into the trimester: a five-period day with periods of seventy minutes each (down to 4 preps). Make the school year-round and now only a couple of portable classrooms are needed.

What's left? Well, we know that the arts are often among the first subjects to go when cuts are made.

Almost all teachers would love more preparation time, but the best interests of the community and the students might be better served by creative scheduling. I'd like to see local schools (encouraged by the real student union—parents) be more responsive to current realities, such as two-career families, the need for students to have jobs (as is the case in many immigrant families), and greater need for sleep by adolescents. The eleven-period day offers creative solutions to help face some of these challenges.

Greater choice might lead to enhanced student involvement in learning, and thus, to better performance. Classes offered later in the day might give over-stressed and overtired working students a better chance for higher academic achievement. Although I don't advocate students working during high school, it's a reality for many young people.

THE ELEVEN-PERIOD DAY STARTS AT 7:30 A.M. and ends some time between 5:00 and 5:30 P.M. (see figure 1). Classes run daily, roughly 50 minutes in length. Students and teachers are tracked by thirds. One-third of the students starts early, at the beginning of the day, and depending on their schedules, finishes somewhere around the sixth period. A second group of students begins the day near the third period and ends the day by, say period eight. The last group or third of students begins the day in or around the sixth period and ends the day at period eleven. Teachers divide the day similarly having teacher's schedules mimic those of the students. Teachers would be given five preps covering six consecutive periods each day. As long as tenth-grade English, for example, was taught by various teachers in each section or track of the day students could easily enroll within their own scheduled school day.

Early risers with afternoon jobs could enroll in the earliest part of the day. Folks who can't function before noon could enroll in the latter part of the day. Although many adolescents can't be easily pried out of bed, some are motivated and responsible enough to get up on their own. Perhaps, to make scheduling simpler, all high school seniors could start the day on the early track, while juniors could be enrolled in Track 2, and sophomores in Track 3. In any case, scheduling for both teachers and students would need to be creative.

The benefits of such a plan would far outweigh the negatives. First, overcrowding in schools would be alleviated, since all students would be on campus simultaneously only during the middle two or three periods of the day, say, five, six, and seven. These three periods could serve as the lunch periods for each of the three tracks of students and teachers. Second, most schools have late buses, which certainly could be used to a greater extent. The early bus would deliver Track 1 students. A later bus would deliver Track 2 students. Track 1 students would go home when Track 3 students were picked up. An afternoon bus would deliver home Track 2 students, and a late bus would deliver home Track 3 students. The two afternoon buses would be abridged routes depending on need. Many high schoolers drive, car-pool, or are driven by parents as well. Some take public transportation. Either way, this would be the one large cost associated with an expanded day.

Third, schools would stay open for business all day long, which would result in fewer unsupervised students. A longer business day for schools focuses more attention on the school being a center of the community, as events happen throughout the day with students and faculty coming and going based on their own schedule and not necessarily based on the schedule of the school. Fourth, many more course offerings would be available to students with an extended day. Fifth, traditionally after-school or before-school programs such as athletics, marching band, swing choir, vocational training, clubs, and so forth are scheduled into the eleven-period day instead of relegated to extracurricular status, often thought of as secondary to the core curriculum. Finally, students could enroll in eleven classes per day, if they so desired, never having to choose AP math over orchestra, debate club, cross country, or track and field. At the same time, teachers would still be at school for their allotted six periods each day.

If the school is open for business all day, the staff would be on two or more shifts. Assistant principals could open and close the school, whereas the principal would work during the middle part of the day. Security, in this post-9/11 era, would be a special concern, but with careful management and clear rules, safe schools, even with multiple tracks, are a realistic goal. Perhaps the extended day would, in fact, work toward greater security, since the building would be occupied by staff for a longer period each day.

SO WHERE DOES MUSIC FIT IN? Right in the middle of the day when all the students are on campus at the same time. In addition, music students could certainly take advantage of the longer school day They would likely be at school early to take care of required subjects, there in the middle for the ensembles, and there late to take advantage of marching band or AP theory Music teachers have always given their schools a great deal of unpaid time, and their preparation is constant. Adding a madrigal choir has never meant taking away the concert chorale. The more music courses, the bigger the program, and the bigger the program, the more successful the overall music program becomes. Music teachers are interested in making sure that all students have the opportunity to enroll in every class, music or not, for which they have an interest. In any event, music teachers would probably contract for Track 2, and they might be hired to stay later, into Track 3 if necessary, for special small ensembles, lessons, and events.

Many teachers argue that, for example, five seventy-minute periods give much more time for instruction. In reality, some teachers devote the additional twenty minutes to homework head start. (When I taught both music and math in the public schools, in math classes, I devoted twenty minutes to math homework review, twenty minutes to new material, and ten minutes to homework head-start.) Ironically, the teachers who benefit most by sixty- and seventy-minute periods are the ensemble directors; ironic because the five- and six-period days that are necessary for such class time allotment may limit the number of students who can enroll in such classes.

HAS THIS ELONGATED SCHEDULE ever worked before? Yes—it's called college. It can certainly work for secondary schools. Sixth graders are often taught how to “change classes” by moving from classroom to classroom for each subject, preparing them for secondary-level course work. High schoolers can certainly handle taking a bit more responsibility for their school day.

In the 1970s, split shifts were used as a scheduling answer for school overcrowding brought on by the late stage of the baby boom. (For example, Arlington High School in Poughkeepsie, New York, went to split shifts to alleviate overcrowding in 1977.) Split shifts used two tracks instead of three. In high schools, ten periods were common, with juniors and seniors starting the day and finishing after period seven. Sophomores entered school fourth period and finished at the end of tenth period. Music students, regardless of level, often started early and ended late.

Expanding the day and the schedule would take work finessing teacher contracts and student schedules, much in the same way that it is done for colleges and universities. Administrators might need to split up the day as well. Why have we ever needed a principal and two or three assistant principals in the school building at the same time? Added expenses for busing and for physical plant would need to be lobbied for. But with sitebased management on the forefront of the minds of teachers, administrators, many parents, and the government, why not pilot a program in, say, a metropolitan area with decent mass transit? Those responsible for scheduling the high school day need to keep their minds open to new possibilities.Think of the eleven-period day as college prep for the next level of education—a level more and more essential to the future successful careers of our children.

FIGURE 1
Eleven-Period Day: Sample Schedule
Period       Time         Subjects                     Track
  1     7:30–8:20   All Required Classes*          1**
  2     8:25–9:15   All Required                   1
  3     9:20–10:10  All Required                   1
  4    10:15–11:05  All Required, Electives        1,2
  5    11:10–12:00  All Required, Electives,       1,2
                          Lunch 1, Fine Arts Core
  6    12:05–12:55  All Required, Electives,       1,2,3
                          Fine Arts Core, Lunch 2
  7     1:00–1:50   All Required, Electives,       2,3
                          Fine Arts Core, Lunch 3
  8     1:55–2:45   All Required, Electives        2,3
  9     2:50–3:40   All Required, Electives        2,3
  10    3:45–4:35   All Required, Electives,       3
                          Extracurricular
  11    4:40–5:30   Same as period 10              3
* All required classes denotes state core required course work.
It does not mean that all core classes must be taught each hour.
** Students may elect a six-period track, but are not limited to
taking courses in only a single track.

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By Todd Fallis, Todd Fallis is director of music education at Utah State University in Logon.

Teaching Music; Feb2003, Vol. 10 Issue 4, p48,