Dist. 300 presents schedule of 45-minute periods

Leaders in Community Unit District 300 say a proposed change to high school schedules would provide the best educational experience for all students, but not all teachers, parents or students are convinced the changes are for better.

At a special meeting Monday night, district leaders presented the plan to move to an eight-period, two-semester schedule and opened the floor to community members to ask questions and share their concerns. About 60 people attended the forum.

Under the plan, the district’s three high schools would adopt a schedule of eight, 45-minute periods per day. The school year would be composed of two semesters. Currently, the district uses a four-block schedule made up of four, 90-minute blocks per day over a four-term year.

“We have been charged with putting together a schedule that would be of best service for all kids,” District 300 Superintendent Michael Bregy said.

Assistant Superintendent of Learning for High Schools, Ben Churchill, said the new schedule would not limit student choices.

“At the end of the day, we decided that having class every day makes the most sense,” Churchill said.

While district leaders contend the schedule change promotes continuity in learning and allows students to develop relationships with their teachers, some teachers and students argue 45-minute periods are too short and question how the district will pay for the additional teachers that are expected.

“I am a little confused because they tried to push this through last year, but they seemed ill-prepared,” said Caron Schmidt, a parent of an eighth-grade student and of a recent graduate of Jacobs High School in Algonquin. “Now as I am listening, I am hearing them say this will fix the issues with gaps in learning, but I think they could have taken some simple steps and offered courses consecutively instead of changing the whole schedule.”

Alyse Matoian, a 16-year-old junior at Dundee-Crown High School, said the changes are not in the best interest of students.

“This is going back to a middle school schedule when they are supposed to be preparing us for college,” Matoian said. “We’re not going to have the attention span.”

Some, however, welcomed the proposed changes.

“I totally support it — it’s overdue,” said Ann Clarton, a parent of two daughters at Dundee-Crown High School. “I like the continuity of having the same class throughout the year.”

The board of education is expected to take action on the proposed schedule changes at its board meeting at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at Westfield Community School.