Meridian High Schools Think About Switching to Trimester Schedule

By Bill Roberts, The Idaho Statesman, Boise

Feb. 6–High school kids in Meridian School District could find themselves with a new school-day schedule in 2008.

District officials are thinking of chucking the six-period days at Eagle and Centennial high school and the block schedules at Mountain View and Meridian high schools in favor of a uniform system.

The trimester system, which divides the school year into three equal parts, is getting close scrutiny.

Trimesters could:

–Make sure all schools have enough credits to absorb more math and science graduation requirements without forcing students to give up electives. Students will take two more years of math and an additional year of science by the graduating class of 2012.

–Ensure the number of students that teachers see each day in the growing district stays within state and regional accreditation rules that govern whether colleges accept a school’s credits.

–Put all schools on the same schedules so class times line up and students could enroll in specialized programs at other high schools without disrupting schedules at their home schools.

The trimester system isn’t expected to lengthen the school day.

Trimester pros:

–Students take more classes in a year so they have more opportunities for electives.

–If students are in a class they don’t like, it ends in about 12 weeks compared to about 18 weeks on the semester system.

–Class load is lighter. Students take five classes a trimester instead of six or eight that are taken under the semester system.

Trimester cons:

–Some teachers say they could lose teaching time. At Mountain View High School, class periods would go form 90 minutes to 75 minutes. At Eagle and Centennial High, class time would grow from 60 minutes to 75 minutes.

–Instruction gaps: Some students could take classes like math for two out of three trimesters, then sit out for 12 weeks and possibly the summer before returning to a math class.

Get more information on the district’s thoughts about trimester in Wednesday morning’s Idaho Statesman. To offer story ideas or comments, contact reporter Bill Roberts at broberts@idahostatesman.com or 377-6408.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Idaho Statesman, Boise

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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