| Principal to add minutes to schedule (04/08) | | Print | |
| Written by Jason Siu | |
|
The administrative council plans to revise the modular schedule to add additional minutes in order to fulfill state mandates.
California Education Code requires each school to have a minimum of 64,800 minutes of instruction per year; however, Lowell averages only 63,450.5 minutes, according to principal Andy Ishibashi. School administrators are revising the schedule to prevent any citations, especially from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, which accredits education institutions on a six-year basis. “Lowell needs to meet all the standards,” Ishibashi said. The administrative council, composed of department heads and administrative staff, has developed two proposals: one to extend A-code classes from 40 minutes to 45, the other to schedule freshmen into more B/C-code classes, which currently alternate between 40 and 65 minutes. Department heads, parents and students will have a chance to express their opinions on the issue, according to Ishibashi. “I will be making the decision, but I will have input from departments and the principal review council,” he said. The principal review council is composed of Lowell Student Association members, Ishibashi explained. Ishibashi personally favors the solution of more B/C-code classes for freshmen. “Forty-minute English classes just aren’t enough,” he said. However, Ishibashi said he is fine with an adoption of either proposal, “as long as we increase instructional minutes.” Social Studies teacher Alex Schwarz does not feel that the 45-minute plan would be a significant change. “Forty minutes isn’t long enough, but I’m not convinced that five extra minutes will make any difference,” he said. The majority of the English department supports making A-code classes 45 minutes for all students, according to English department head and AP English teacher Svein Arber. However, Arber said he personally believes that more B/C-code classes can help the freshmen be better acquainted with the Lowell environment and be better for teachers’ instructions. Senior Jennifer Ma, who took A-code junior Advanced Placement English classes last year and currently takes B/C-code AP English, said that the extra time helps with class instruction. “B/C-code for English class was better in the sense that on long days, we had time for class discussion in comparison to an A-code class,” Ma said. Both proposals will eliminate freshmen resource periods, which will save the school money. The School Site Council, which oversees Lowell’s budget and policies, already voted at a March 10 meeting to eliminate the position of the paraprofessional who supervises resource due to the current budget crisis. Developed to add more minutes to Lowell’s instructional time, resource periods do not actually “constitute instructional minutes,” Ishibashi said. However, freshman Katrina Liwanag said she found resource helpful, “especially during the first grading period when the academic atmosphere is unfamiliar. It helped me set my priorities straight.” Liwangag dislikes both proposals, as “both take away our free time to catch up with homework and meet up with our friends,” she said. Ishibashi will finalize the decision at the end of the school year, he said. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
to listen.
