Gilroy High bell schedule process has not yielded success, so
it’s time for trustees to map out a sensible plan
Golly, the bell schedule committee has spent six months pondering options for Gilroy High School … and what have we to show for it: nada, nothing.
“One thing I learned after sitting on that committee was there is no perfect schedule,” said Trustee Rhoda Bress. Well, now that we have that out of the way …
Two basic truths should be the blocks upon which a new and improved high school schedule is built:
– There is no way to feed all the 2,600-plus students on campus in one lunch period.
– The math scores are abysmal. Only 10 percent of GHS students are proficient.
Solving the first problem should be simple. Split the lunch schedule. Is it a perfect solution? No. But it’s necessary, and it’s more important to get students fed and to the bathroom than it is to, for example, play soccer at lunch.
The ancillary problems, whether they have to do with clubs or sports, can be solved. If it’s the soccer lunch league, have freshman and sophomore teams play, and then the underclass champion can play the champion of the junior and senior league after school, for example.
Solving the math competency problem is the second part of the schedule equation.
How much time do students – not teachers – need to become more competent in math? This is a much trickier problem that involves staff development, commitment and collaboration. The current two-hour math block at GHS may be too long, but it’s certainly too long if students spend the last 30 minutes just doing their homework.
The Gilroy Unified School District Board of Education is now, a year after acknowledging that the GHS schedule needed changing, in a very awkward position.
Despite their best intentions, the process has failed. There is not a recommendation before them that makes sense.
This then becomes a test of their collective commitment to the district’s Accountability Plan. The driving force in that plan is that decisions be data driven for the betterment of student achievement.
Trustees must turn to that in making crafting a new schedule. It is clear to the community that a shift in the culture at Gilroy High School is necessary to begin the process of steady improvement. That is not going to happen without trustees and the GUSD administration making some tough calls.
The GHS schedule is one of those, especially since the teachers have their own proposal on the table.
Will process rule the day, or will trustees make it clear that only data-driven, common-sense decision will be acceptable? Stay tuned.
Time is now a key factor. The new schedule should be in place before the staff scatters for summer break, and trustees must be reminded of that famous line: “Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.”
