Continued: Blockbluster of a plan has Chaska riled up

Students at Chaska High School are finding that when it comes to opening a new school, breaking up can be hard to do.

About a dozen students arrived early for a Chaska school board meeting last week, armed with note cards, reports and a petition signed by 236 students to oppose plans to drop the four-block schedule now in use at the high school.

Despite the students' concerns, district officials said they intend to proceed with plans to switch from the popular four-period day to a seven-period modified block schedule next school year.

The district is in the midst of revamping its curriculum in preparation for the opening next fall of Chanhassen High, the district's second high school. Administrators said the new schedule should help improve student achievement.

At a meeting Thursday, students praised block scheduling, criticized a lack of student involvement in the decision and lamented the controversy it has created at Chaska High.

Superintendent David Jennings said he also was called to the high school Thursday afternoon to hear concerns of about two dozen staff members who oppose the plan. But he said about a dozen staff members also were on hand to support it. Some school board members said they, too, have received phone calls and e-mails from concerned parents and teachers.

Emily Nygren, a junior at the high school, said many of her classmates thought the schedule change was just a rumor and "were shocked to find out that it would happen so soon" when teachers informed them early last week.

The junior class will be most affected. Because some students put off taking core subjects until their senior year, the change could keep some students from meeting all their course requirements and graduating on time, students said.

Heather White, a junior, said she's concerned that the new schedule also will interfere with her plans to participate next year in the Post Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO), which allows students to take college courses before graduating from high school.

"You're springing this on us at a very inconvenient time," White said.

Junior Allison Peterson said she planned to take calculus A and B during her senior year, which would have counted toward college math credits. "With block scheduling you're able to double up on classes," Peterson said. But with the new schedule, Peterson said, she won't be able to take the classes.

Other students said the seven-period day will mean taking more core classes and fewer electives, and they are afraid of losing out on classes such as astronomy that can help them learn more about careers they might want to pursue. Students also wondered how art classes and science labs, which require setup and cleanup time, might be affected by shorter periods.

David Peterson, Allison's father, said the biggest problem for him is that the school district has gone forward with the plans without warning. Peterson challenged school board members to hold off on changing the schedules of students who have already designed their graduation plans around the existing block schedule.

How modified block works

The new schedule for grades 6-12 will be modeled after the modified block schedule now used at Chaska's Pioneer Ridge Freshman Center. Judy Martinez-Sones, a health and physical education teacher at the center, said she prefers modified block because it allows for a more flexible schedule.

Three days a week, students have seven classes of about 45 minutes each. The other two days, students have a block schedule of four classes that last 84 minutes each.

With that setup, Martinez-Sones said labs and field trips can be planned for the days with longer classes, and the schedule can be altered to accommodate testing days. The schedule can take some getting used to, she said, but "by January, everyone's got the hang of it."

Board members said they were impressed with the presentations from the students and discussed several of their questions during a work session that followed.

Members of the design team laying the groundwork for opening the new school, including Chaska High Principal David Brecht, said many of the students' concerns are valid. Brecht said the district will work with students, particularly those who made graduation plans based on a block schedule, to make necessary accommodations. But there also have been some misunderstandings about the change, Brecht said. For example, students will still be able to participate in PSEO "as long as they meet the admissions criteria for the college they wish to attend."

The school board unanimously supported moving forward with a modified block schedule, but some questioned the lack of communication to staff, parents and students.

"We have to be able to answer [students'] questions," Superintendent Jennings said. "We're not there yet."

In his district newsletter released Friday afternoon, Jennings said a summary of all redesign plans in the works for the new two-high-school setup will be posted on the district website by next week. The website already has updates on the redesign., including plans to move toward a "hybrid daily schedule" like Pioneer Ridge's.

Aimée Blanchette • 612-673-1715