A potential return to a block-scheduling format for students in Toledo Public Schools will have to wait for at least another year, district officials say.
Initially, plans were considered to reconfigure high school course rosters starting next fall. But Jim Gault, the district’s executive transformational leader of curriculum, said it likely won’t be implemented until the 2024-25 school year at the earliest. Officials are still tinkering with the schedule blueprint, which at times would include fewer, but longer, class periods.
The benefits of block scheduling include allowing students to fit in at least one more course a year, he said. It also provides more time for teachers to review material without feeling rushed.
But Mr. Gault said no matter how the classes are formatted, block scheduling will require additional teachers. And with the district already struggling to fill positions, officials can’t guarantee they’ll have staff in place by the start of next school year.
“We have to make sure that we have dollars in a budget for that,” he said. “And then the other challenge with that is to make sure that we have enough educators to pull that off because the teacher shortage is happening not only in Ohio and here locally, but also across the country.”
Concerns remain about being able to find individuals to fill those positions, he said.
The other cost to the district would be training. Educators would need to learn how to prepare their course material and teach it differently to fill the longer class time, Mr. Gault said.
As it stands, he said it’s not guaranteed that district officials could pay for, schedule, and implement that training before next August.
Different ways are available to use block scheduling. Some districts have students take four classes for half the year, then switch to different ones after winter break. In the past, some Toledo high schools have had alternating-block schedules, with four subjects scheduled on one day and four others the next.
District officials are considering two variations of what they call a modified block schedule. The first features some 90-minute core class periods during the day while the remaining courses would last roughly 45 minutes.
The other alternative would have 45-minute classes all day three times a week. But twice a week, those same classes would be split between the two remaining days. Students would spend 90 minutes on four of those classes one day and the remaining four the following one, also for 90 minutes each.
Mr. Gault said officials prefer the modified block schedule formats because students could meet in their classes more regularly compared to a traditional alternating block schedule. And compared to the four-course per semester configuration, students could take more classes at once.
Toledo school board member Polly Taylor-Gerken said while she sees the benefits of block scheduling, it’s important that district officials and board members implement it responsibly.
Chairman of the district’s curriculum, instruction, and academic excellence committee, Mrs. Taylor-Gerken said she doesn’t want to see a repeat of 2010 when budget woes resulted in Toledo district officials ending block scheduling.
Mr. Gault previously stated switching back to a traditional schedule saved the district roughly $100 million over two years.
Mrs. Taylor-Gerken said she believes that most people were pleased with block scheduling.
“And I think the research supports that block scheduling is one way to improve student outcomes,” she said. “We don't want something to be working and then say, ‘Sorry, we can't do this anymore because of money.’
“So if that means dragging out the timeline in order to make sure that it's going to be sustainable, then I think that's much more important,” Mrs. Taylor-Gerken added.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gault said a block scheduling recommendation will likely be brought before the board of education sometime next fall.
First Published February 27, 2023, 12:30 p.m.