Schools

Nicolet Administration Considering Longer School Days, Shorter Classes

School Board will consider new program at tonight's 7 p.m. meeting.

The School Board will take a look at a new program that proposes to extend the school day and shorten classes to accommodate a daily 40-minute resource time.

More information on the program will be presented to the full School Board at tonight's 7 p.m. meeting in the Community Room.

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Nicolet's new curriculum and instruction adviser, Lisa Elliot, was met with opposition when students, teachers and parents questioned the benefit of that resource time at the January curriculum meeting.

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"Personally, I think it's absolutely ridiculous," Cullen Billhartz, a student at Nicolet said. "I believe it's going to hurt more people than it helps."

To create this 40-minute block of time, Elliot proposed lengthening the school day by a total of 14 minutes and shortening classes by four minutes. School would then begin at 7:20 a.m. instead of 7:23 a.m., and end at 2:34 p.m. instead of 2:30 p.m. Every other Wednesday would remain early release days.

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"I would encourage you not to make that a homework-based class," a Nicolet parent said.

Committee member Jennifer Peltz said her biggest concern is that this program would become a glorified study hall, just a free period for students.

"If you're talking about advising for 20 kids in a 30-minute period with one teacher, I don't see that as quality time," Peltz said. "The biggest concern is how we structure the time and how that time is utilized."

Goal: Give students chance to work with teachers

Principal Greg DePue explained to the committee that many students at Nicolet do not even have a study hall in their schedule, which only leaves before and after school to receive additional assistance from teachers. But many of those same students also fill before and after school with sports and extra curricular activities, making it a tough choice between getting extra help or attending extra curricular choices.

"What's nice about this, is it really doesn't force kids to make a choice," Elliot said. "After school, they can either go to their sport or they can get help. They don't have to make that choice because it's built right into the school day."

But Peltz still wasn't convinced.

"For some kids who work at different levels, it's a glorified study hall and I don't want to see that turn into this here and that's my biggest concern," she said.

One parent at the meeting said: "I share Jennifer's concern, every day for 40 minutes seems like a huge amount of time that the middle kids are not going to get the most out of."

Elliot said many of the questions from committee members and the audience would be answered as administrators flesh out the program. Her presentation at the January meeting was to update the committee on the beginning workings of the program and to obtain their approval to continue working on it.

"We're really opening up the opportunity for students to focus on their academics whenever that would be, and not have to make some of those difficult choices that teens have to make," Elliot said.

School Board member Mort Grodsky is not on the curriculum committee, however, he also attended the meeting and was supportive of the new program.

"I think this is going to be very helpful for perhaps every student, perhaps those who need the help or those who could take advantage of enrichment so I think this would work, and it's an important part of the school day," he said.

AP student not in favor

DePue also said that this new program could allow for more AP help for students. But Billhartz, an AP student who attended the meeting, disagreed because he said it's hard enough to get all the curriculum for AP classes squished into the time already allotted, much less if classes are shortened. 

"It's going to make it harder for teachers to fit all the content into the year, and I think the resource period isn't going to work effectively," Billhartz said. "I think there are also going to be a good increase in the number of students late to school because of the earlier start."


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