Richardson ISD will end block scheduling at its secondary schools and transition back to a traditional schedule next school year as part of district-wide budget cuts.
Jennie Bates, assistant superintendent for school leadership and superintendent support, said at the April 23 school board meeting that the district will save roughly $11.1 million by returning to a traditional seven- or eight-period daily schedule at junior highs, middle schools and high schools. Under the block schedule, students took eight classes on an alternating schedule of four periods a day.
“There’s no perfect schedule,” Superintendent Tabitha Branum said. “But our team would not bring this forward if we did not feel like we still absolutely could realize the north star goal and ensure strong outcomes for extracurricular and academic programs on our traditional schedule.”
The specifics
RISD middle schools and junior highs will transition from four 90-minute blocks on alternating days to eight 45-minute periods every day. The new schedule will also add 10 minutes to the school day to accommodate for middle school construction and instructional minute needs.
Athletics periods will no longer be double blocked, as all classes will now be able to meet every day, but most programs will now require more practice time before or after school. With this shift, Bates said most middle school and junior high students will now have room for an additional elective period and more opportunity to gain high school credits or enroll in Career and Technical Education courses.
Bates said middle school and junior high students will also have the opportunity to take an additional period for reading/language arts or math if they are identified as needing additional intervention or enrichment.
High school schedules will shift from eight classes in the block schedule to a daily schedule of seven 50-minute periods. To make up for the reduction in classes, Bates said the district will add an optional “zero hour” before school that high schoolers could use for fine arts, CTE courses, endorsement pathways, dual credit and other opportunities.
“For some of our grade levels, there’s no impact, because it’s like a net-neutral transition,” Branum said. “For other students, it might be that they need to pick up an elective or maybe that they need to prioritize what elective they want to have.”
Diving in deeper
Branum said the traditional schedule is less “resource-intensive”—the block schedule required additional sections for classes and therefore additional staffing. The district’s $11.1 million in savings will come from reduced staffing needs under the traditional schedule.
However, Branum emphasized that staffing reductions will happen through attrition, not layoffs, with secondary schools using resignations and retirements to naturally reduce their staff allocations.
Branum said RISD data has not indicated a significant change in student achievement or program success based on schedule design.
RISD operated under the traditional seven- and eight-period schedules until the 2020-21 school year, when the district shifted to the block schedule to reduce transitions between classes as part of its COVID-19 response.
Branum said there are benefits associated with both schedule designs, and benefits of the traditional schedule include consistency of classes, daily skill mastery and reduced absenteeism impact. Branum also highlighted particular benefits for fine arts programs, with daily practice allowing for increased reinforcement and retention of skills.
“In the end, it comes down to the teachers in the classroom, and our phenomenal teachers are going to do great things and help grow our students regardless of if they’re in a seven- or eight-period day or if they’re in a block schedule,” Branum said.
How we got here
RISD is facing declining enrollment and rising costs, along with limited state funding to address those challenges, Branum said at a past meeting.
The district announced budget cuts April 2 that will save RISD an estimated $25.7 million. In addition to the transition back to a traditional class schedule, the district will cut 95 full-time central office and campus support positions.
Moving forward
Branum said there will be no changes to the courses offered under the new schedules. RISD will offer virtual and in-person summer courses for rising juniors and seniors whose graduation plans may be impacted by the reduction from eight to seven periods in high school.
“We know it’s a change, and some of our staff and some of our parents and some of our students will feel like they won the jackpot, and others are going to feel like they’re losing something that they love,” Branum said.
The district is also set to provide targeted professional development, curriculum realignment and leadership support for staff during the transition to the new schedules, as well as advisory support and resources for students who may need to adjust their course selections.
“We have strong transition programs that are in place and we will be ready to help our entire system as we move,” Branum said.
