Returning Warsaw Community High School and Warsaw Area Career Center students in the fall will have a different schedule than they’re used to. Principal Troy Akers presented the 2015-16 Modified Block Schedule to the school board Tuesday afternoon. The biggest change will be Wednesdays and Thursdays. Akers said longer periods on Wednesdays and Thursdays will allow teachers to go deeper into content with their students. First period on Wednesday will go 90 minutes from 7:40 to 9:10 a.m. There will be a 20-minute “Everybody Reads” time, from 9:16 to 9:36 a.m., until third period begins at 9:36 and goes 90 minutes to 11:06 a.m. Fifth period on Wednesday will include 90 minutes of class time and 33 minutes for lunch. It will go from 11:12 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. A 90-minute seventh period concludes the day, going from 1:21 to 2:51 p.m. Thursdays will start with a 90-minute second period, going from 7:40 to 9:10 a.m. It will be followed by Everybody Reads from 9:16 to 9:36 a.m., and fourth period from 9:36 to 11:06 a.m. Sixth period will include 90 minutes of class and 33 minutes for lunch, and go from 11:12 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Following sixth period, there will be a 49-minute “Enrichment Period,” going from 1:21 to 2:10 p.m. The Enrichment Period is designed to address the academic needs of students who have shown insufficient growth using interventions. It also offers enrichment opportunities for students performing at satisfactory levels. This period can be used for grade-level or whole-school initiatives, Akers said. Students who do not have to stay after school for educational purposes then will be released at 2:10 p.m. while teachers and staff have Professional Learning Communities time from 2:10 to 3:10 p.m. Thursdays. “It will be a privilege to be released at 2:10 p.m.,” Akers said. Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays will have the same schedule and there will be seven periods a day. First period will go from 7:40 to 8:27 a.m.; second period, 8:33 to 9:18 a.m.; third period, 9:24 to 10:09 a.m.; fourth period, 10:15 to 11 a.m.; fifth period, 11:06 a.m. to 12:33 p.m., including 33 minutes for lunch; sixth period, 12:39 to 1:24 p.m.; School Resource Time, 1:24 to 2 p.m.; and seventh period, 2:06 to 2:51 p.m. There will be three lunch shifts, with the shifts on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays being: shift A, 11:06 to 11:37 a.m.; shift B, 11:31 a.m. to 12:02 p.m.; and shift C, 12:01 to 12:32 p.m. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, the lunch shifts will be: shift A, 11:10 to 11:45 a.m.; shift B, 11:55 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; and shift C, 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. If there is a school delay, Akers said the day’s schedule will be similar to the Monday, Tuesday, Friday schedule but there will be no School Resource Time. All of the classes will be 31 minutes, except fourth period will be 87 minutes to include a 35-minute lunch period. If school is canceled on a “big block day” – Wednesday or Thursday – he said it will not be carried over to Friday or another day. Akers said, “This began in earnest in September. What we came up with, we really feel excited about.” In another matter before the board, Chief Academic Officer David Robertson presented the elementary school textbook rental charges for kindergarten to fifth grade for the 2015-16 school year. Textbook rental charges for grades sixth through eighth will be presented in July since those costs include leasing of iPad Minis. For kindergarten, the total 2015-16 charge will be $129.50, including textbooks, consumables and fees. Charges for first grade will be $167.95; second grade, $159.20; third grade, $153.95; fourth grade, $158.95; and fifth grade, $169.25. Compared to the 2014-15 school year, the kindergarten textbook rental rate in 2015-16 will be $9.75 less; first grade, $2.05 less; second grade, $1.80 less; third grade, $2.05 less; fourth grade, $2.05 less; and fifth grade, $2.75 less. Robertson noted that the Indiana Department of Education does allow schools to adopt technology instead of traditional textbooks. Fees are figured into the students’ textbook rentals. Prior to 2013, textbooks were adopted on a six-year cycle by Indiana policy. Although no longer required, for funding purposes, Warsaw Community Schools continues to plan on a six-year cycle. Adoptions are made based on need. The state regulates how schools calculate the fee based on actual cost. Free and reduced lunch students are not charged. The state provides a flat reimbursement amount, which usually does not cover the expense. The unfunded amount is allowed to be made up locally.
