Stamford parents ‘deeply concerned’ about new high school schedule

STAMFORD — A new work contract for Stamford teachers was unanimously approved by the Board of Education Tuesday night, but teachers and parents are still questioning the proposed switch to new high school schedule next year.

Within contractThe Stamford Education Association teachers union discussed the implications of a schedule that could be set by the district superintendent. However, union leadership opposes the schedule itself, arguing that it will lead to a loss of knowledge and that there is insufficient data to support its implementation.

District leaders say the proposed schedule will give students more flexibility than ever before while reducing the number of classes they need to focus on at any given time and also give teachers a smaller roster of students at any given time during the school year. Additionally, Middle School Assistant Superintendent Laurie Rhodes has stated several times that there is no research either against or in favor of specific block schedules, although there is plenty of research supporting the idea of block scheduling.

On Tuesday, several parents spoke out against what the district called a “flexible” schedule.

Christina Acocella, the mother of two seniors and a sophomore, questioned the move to the new schedule because the current one at the Academy of Information Technology and Engineering has been successful for years.

“Why, when we have a successful model in our district, couldn’t we partner with the great faculty and students at AITE and adopt a schedule that has proven to work?” she said.

Under the proposed new schedule, students will take most classes in four-cohort classes—meaning each class meets every school day and lasts for one semester or half of the school year—and some in an A/B system—classes meet every other day , but continue throughout the entire academic year.

All three secondary schools currently use the A/B model pioneered at AITE, which means students attend up to four classes on one day and another four the next day, alternating between them.

Classes with end-of-year standardized tests, such as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses, will continue to be offered as full-year classes that meet every other day, as will performance-oriented classes such as orchestra and choir, among others. .

Currently, a student can have up to eight classes that meet every other day during the school year. The new model will allow most students to attend four to six classes at any time of year.

In the future, class time will be reduced from 96 minutes to 84 minutes.

Although both Westhill High School and Stamford High School have implemented A/B blocking schedule in 2022AITE has been using it for many years. Prior to 2022, neither Westhill nor Stamford High used a block schedule.

District leaders said they will hire an outside planning company to help create the high school schedule for the next school year. When a similar timetable was proposed in 2022, headteachers at Westhill and Stamford High described it as catastrophic because the difficulty of creating a schedule for all students.

Many speakers Tuesday argued against spending money on an outside group to make the schedule work, with some saying the contract costs $100,000 or more.

However, the cost of the consultant remains unknown. Kathleen Steinberg, a district spokeswoman, said there is no contract yet and no money attached to it. The Board of Education only approves purchases over $100,000, meaning the contract will go to the board for review if it exceeds that amount.

Additionally, the district has paid consultants in the past to help with high school scheduling, although Steinberg could not say how much they were paid. She said the contract with the planning company is for one year because the hope is that school officials will be able to take over planning after receiving training from consultants.

Amanda Lechner Blanco, mother of a sophomore and a daughter who will start high school in two years, said she was concerned about the schedule change.

“What problem is this supposed to solve?” she asked. “How will this improve the achievement of our students?”

Parent Lori Gilbert questioned the decision to cut some classes to one semester because students could take one class in the fall and not take another course until the following fall, potentially exacerbating the learning loss that students typically suffer during the following semester . summer holidays.

“I am deeply concerned that unintended consequences could hinder the academic progress and long-term success of our students,” she said.

The projected value of the new SEA contract will be $21.8 million, an increase of 14 percent over the previous contract, primarily due to increases in teacher salaries and the elimination of certain salary steps. The agreement itself still needs approval from the Council of Representatives before it becomes official.

The biggest scheduling change that came out of the negotiations was the maximum number of students for teachers. Under the district’s preferred schedule for the upcoming school year, teachers could have a roster of 180 students for the entire school year, which would be an increase from the current maximum of 150 students. SEA was able to agree that teachers would be given a maximum of 25 students to teach six lessons per school year under the new schedule, allowing them to maintain their current numbers.

Additionally, as part of the recently agreed upon contract between the Board of Education and SEA, teachers will now receive 10 days of paid maternity and paternity leave.