High school adopts new schedule

The high school plans to implement a new and unusual class schedule this fall intended to give students more flexibility and more chances to obtain one-on-one help.

The daily structure of eight 45-minute periods and 30 minutes for lunch will be replaced with a flexible-modular -- also known as "flex-mod" -- schedule.

The school day will be broken down into 15 modules of 25 minutes each. Classes will meet three or four times per week, and each class meeting will span one, two or three of those modules, depending on what best suits the subject matter.

Collective time per week for each class will be 210 minutes, the minimum mandated by the state and 15 minutes less per week than Pea Ridge classes meet now.

But that doesn't bother Pea Ridge superintendent Rick Neal, because the flex-mod schedule also includes "individual learning time" each day for students to use as they wish. A student may use that time to seek extra help in a particular class.

At least one teacher from every subject area will be free throughout the school day to meet with students who need extra help, school officials said. The current schedule makes it difficult for students to match up with the teachers they need to see outside of class time.

Students also may use individual learning time to take another class beyond what is required, to work on an extracurricular activity, or simply spend time with friends. They may make up work or tests they missed while they were absent.

"There are so many advantages," said Malinda Stewart, a Pea Ridge math teacher.

The flex-mod schedule introduces an element of college life to high school in that not every minute of the day is scheduled for students, Stewart said.

"It's trying to foster personal responsibility," Stewart said.

Schedules will vary depending on the day of the week. There will be no bells indicating the start and end of each class; students will be expected to know when and where they need to be in a certain place, said Jon Laffoon, high school principal.

About three months ago, Neal challenged administrators to come up with a new, more modern schedule. Through some research, they found out about the flex-mod schedule. Only about 20 schools in the nation -- and none in Arkansas -- operate on this schedule, Neal said.

Neal, Laffoon and others traveled to Lexington, S.C., earlier this year to visit River Bluff High School, which is in its second year on the flex-mod schedule. Neal described River Bluff High as having a college environment.

"Kids were allowed to socialize, to gather," Neal said. "It was very relaxed. And that's what we're trying to create. We're trying to refresh the school."

With that in mind, officials will try to create spaces within the school that are more comfortable for studying or just hanging out, Neal said.

As for the lunch period, that will be different, too. Food will be available during a longer period of time each day and students won't be boxed into eating during a particular 30-minute time slot.

The Pea Ridge School Board approved the flex-mod schedule at its meeting two weeks ago. Ann Cato, board president, said it's an example of the district trying new things to better meet the needs of its students.

"It makes sense to us to treat the classes differently, and not have them meet every day," Cato said. "There are some classes that are better suited for 90 minutes per day, and some for a shorter amount. We don't think one-size-fits-all works well for education."

Cato has four children, including a son who will be a freshman at Pea Ridge High School this fall. She's confident he will benefit from flex-mod. She's also not afraid of being the first school in Arkansas to try it.

"We'll roll it out, and it won't be perfect until we learn from it and refine it," Cato said. "We're OK with being first on some things if it really meets our philosophy. We know we'll have to make changes and it will evolve over time."

Pea Ridge High School has 566 students.

A survey of school staff members showed about two-thirds either supported or did not oppose a shift to the flex-mod schedule, Stewart said.

Implementing flex-mod won't cost the district anything, but the change will be an adjustment for everyone, Neal said.

"Teachers are creatures of habit, like we all are," Neal said. "They're going to have to work through (the change)."

The district has demonstrated it is not afraid to try new things. This school year it launched the Pea Ridge Manufacturing and Business Academy, a charter school focused on career and technology education.

Neal said he sees the flex-mod schedule as a spin-off of the kind of independence that's encouraged at the academy.

"It allows kids to grow a little more rapidly," he said. "When I see kids transforming into something you never expected them to be, that made me think this concept could go deeper than a certain group of kids."

Dave Perozek can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWADaveP.

General News on 05/06/2015