Students and parents expressed concerns and outright disagreement over the proposed class scheduling changes at Boothbay Region High School on April 9.

As was planned for the CSD School Committee that evening, BRHS Principal Dan Welch and Guidance Director Jennifer Burns presented the reasoning behind the decision to move to the block scheduling, the other types of scheduling considered, the pros and cons of each, and participated in a question and answer session with audience members and the school board.

Students at schools offering a traditional block schedule may take four courses per semester with each class 75 to 80 minutes long. Currently at BRHS, students have six or seven subjects each day.

Plenty of time to take their AP elective courses, something the 4x4 schedule will restrict.

This proposal has created a great deal of stress for AP students (and consequently their families), who fear that block scheduling won’t allow them to take as many AP courses as students would want. Fewer AP courses on their transcript will impede their acceptance into preferred colleges, opponents say. Currently, BRHS offers seven AP courses.

As Welch and Burns presented it, reasons for the change include the following: longer class periods are more conducive to some STEM (science-technology-engineering-mathematics) subjects such as robotics and engineering; works well with iPad and other technologies to provide a varied learning experience; the 4x4 eliminates rotation (students have the same subjects every day), helping to promote continuity.

With the 4x4 block scheduling, there would be a daily, school-wide, 40-minute study hall during which all teachers would be available to assist students, meet with students on independent studies, or with those who are taking online courses.

The administration said that by eliminating rotation the opportunity is created to overlap periods with the middle school students (grades 7 and 8), affording the opportunity to share resources and bring STEM classes to BRES students.

“We really felt this (4x4) was the best option,” Burns said. Burns said other schools using 4x4 saw an increase in student achievement. And, for the student that fails a class, he or she had a better chance of being able to take it again the following semester. Block scheduling also offered the highest level of course fulfillment.

However, the number of AP courses available to students would be limited, and there would no longer be year-long class time available for band, foreign language and lower level mathematics subjects.

Welch said students would have alternatives, such as online courses or independent study opportunities. Both parent and student said neither of the alternatives were appropriate for foreign language.

Burns said the change in scheduling would not affect students attending classes at Bath Regional Vocational school. There are two periods in the morning and two in the afternoon.

Student Sinead Miller brought a list of student concerns including: band students worried about losing study hall time, GAPP students' fears about getting behind after missing class time, and a petition signed by 99 members student body (out of 240 kids) in protest of the change.

Miller noted that the number of students concerned about the change was more than the number of AP students in the school.

“We have seven students taking more than one AP class right now,” Welch said. “And I think there are still plenty of opportunities for students to get the courses they want.”

How important are AP classes to colleges? Will it be the quantity of AP classes on a transcript that impresses a dean of admissions, or is it the quality?

According to the Dean of Admissions at Bowdoin College Scott Meiklejohn one of the most important factors for admissions officers is indeed “rigor.”

Meiklejohn said rigorous courses in high schools are AP, honors and/or international baccalaureate programs. He was aware of the seven AP courses offered at BRHS.

“We read transcripts very carefully to understand the path that each student takes and the success he or she has had — in the context of what is available at each high school,” Meiklejohn said.

Meiklejohn said strong applicants to Bowdoin would have taken “at least some of those most challenging courses, along with other upper-level BRHS courses.”

“In the highly selective context of our applicant pool, students who have taken more rigor and who have achieved higher grades and higher AP scores are likely to be stronger candidates than those with weaker rigor and lower test scores,” Meiklejohn said.

Wendy Thompson, an independent college counselor on Westport Island, said students see curriculum as a strategy, not as part of a journey. Admissions offices look to see how invested a student has been in their courses, and she should know. Thompson is a former Bowdoin admissions department employee.

"Don't just take them [AP courses] to take them," Thompson said. "Do it because you are passionate about the subject. Stimulate your intellectual curiosity - that's where the high scores of 4s and 5s [on AP tests] come from. Students should see their guidance counselors - they are there to help."

As Welch informed the school committee about BRHS' own guidance counselor: “Jen, having worked with college admissions, knows the expectations. It's about the whole package, the essay, how a student challenged themselves. It's about the rigor.”

Related:

Navigating the college application process