Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Lakewood High School
Trimester Scheduling Presentation
Brian Williams, Principal
IntroductionL
akew
oo
d P
ub
lic S
cho
ols
The concept of Trimesters is not new, but is one that is being considered by many high schools now with the new state graduation requirements.
In a trimester schedule, the school year would be divided into three terms instead of two semesters.
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
lsTrimester Rationale
The new Michigan Merit Curriculum is forcing schools to find ways to reach all students. The trimester format appears to meet the needs of all students.
1. Students who seek advanced courses will have more opportunities to take advanced courses.
2. Students who wish to take advantage of the Career Technological Centers will have more options available.
3. Students who struggle in school will have more remediation opportunities. (Referred to as recycling)
School Year Calendar Comparison
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
SEMESTER:
Aug [---18 wks---] [ ---18 wks---] June
January
TRIMESTER:
Aug [--12 wks--] [ --12 wks--] [--12 wks--] June
November March
Advantages of Trimester SchedulingL
akew
oo
d P
ub
lic S
cho
ols
•Students will have more time to devote to in-depth and quality study time in a fewer number of subjects per trimester.
•Students show a willingness to take a challenging 12 week course than they are in a semester structure. (Reported by other schools)
•Students can take more electives, including advanced courses.
•Students can take different types of classes than they might have ordinarily taken.
More AdvantagesL
akew
oo
d P
ub
lic S
cho
ols
•More time for comprehensive instruction and strategies.
•Curriculum is reevaluated and realigned to what is considered important for the students to know.
•Creation of new courses.
•Teachers have more daily planning time of 72-75 minutes. (Planning should strengthen)
•There are fewer class changes, which makes for fewer potential disruptions and discipline problems that often arise from students moving around a facility.
•If a student fails a class, there are more opportunities to repeat it and still graduate on time. (Recycling)
•Meets the rigor required by the MMC.
Questions and AnswersL
akew
oo
d P
ub
lic S
cho
ols
1. Will Lakewood be able to meet all the MMC requirements?
• We believe this is possible with realignment of state standards. Other schools are reporting success and we believe we will achieve the same success.
2. Which courses will be year-long courses?• All Advanced Placement Courses, band and choir are typical for
most schools.
3. What is the length of all other courses?• Typically a year-long course will run two trimesters and a semester
course will run one trimester.
Questions and AnswersL
akew
oo
d P
ub
lic S
cho
ols
4. Will trimesters have a negative impact on college admissions?
• NO – Surveys conducted of U-M, MSU, WMU, CMU, Kalamazoo, Albion and Alma Colleges have reported no negative impact.
5. Will the longer class periods go beyond a student’s attention span?
• Learning from other school districts that have implemented a trimester schedule stress the importance of instructional design strategies – such as, every 10-15 minutes there should be a classroom transition.
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls Questions and Answers
6. Is there a concern for the potential gap in instruction that will occur if a student has a first trimester and second trimester course, and then does not have the next sequential course until the next trimester of the following year?
• Studies (Semb, Ellis, & Araujo (1993), Kamuch & Ledman (1995), and Bahrick & Hall (1991)) show that “gapping” did not result in loss of retention. Schools who have implemented the trimester schedule have reported similar findings. Furthermore, these same schools indicate that the GPA’s of the students have remained consistent.
School Day (Tentative) 08-09L
akew
oo
d P
ub
lic S
cho
ols
Start End Minutes Lunch
1st Hour 7:30 8:42 72
2nd Hour 8:47 9:59 72
Meeting/Reading 9:59 10:14 15
3rd (A Lunch) 10:49 12:01 72 10:14-10:44
3rd (B Lunch) 10:19 12:01 72 10:55-11:55
3rd (C Lunch) 10:19 11:31 72 11:51-12:01
4th Hour 12:06 1:18 72
5th Hour 1:23 2:35 72
Providing a World Class Education
Sample Freshman Schedule Taking Algebra (Colored Slides are all Electives)
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Hour Trimester 1 Trimester 2 Trimester 3
1 English 9 A Micro English 9 B
2 Algebra I A Algebra I B Elective
3Freshman Academy Biology A Biology B
4 PE A PE B Health
5 U.S History U.S. History Elective
Providing a World Class Education
Sample Sophomore Schedule With Band (Colored Slides are all Electives)
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Hour Trimester 1 Trimester 2 Trimester 3
1 English 10 A Elective English 10B
2 Geometry A Geometry B Government
3 EconomicsPhysical
Science APhysical
Science B
4 Spanish I A Spanish I B Elective
5 Band Band Band
Providing a World Class Education
Sample Junior Schedule – LCC Class 2011 & Beyond
(Colored Slides are all Electives)
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Hour Trimester 1 Trimester 2 Trimester 3
1 English 11 A ACT PREP English 11 B
2 U.S HistoryChemistry or
Physics U.S. History
3 ALGEBRA II ALGEBRA II Chemistry or
Physics
4 LCC LCC LCC
5 LCC LCC LCC
Providing a World Class Education
Sample Junior Schedule – LCC (Colored Slides are all Electives)
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Hour Trimester 1 Trimester 2 Trimester 3
1 English 11 A ACT PREP English 11 B
2 U.S History Elective U.S. History
3 ALGEBRA II ALGEBRA II Elective
4 LCC LCC LCC
5 LCC LCC LCC
Providing a World Class Education
Sample Senior Schedule- Class of 2011& Beyond AP Courses
(Colored Slides are all Electives)
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Hour Trimester 1 Trimester 2 Trimester 3
1Senior Social Studies Elective Elective
2 AP English AP English AP English
3 AP Calculus AP Calculus AP Calculus
4 AP Biology AP Biology AP Biology
5 Elective Elective Elective
Providing a World Class Education
ResearchL
akew
oo
d P
ub
lic S
cho
ols
• Trimesters result in greater scheduling flexibility. Miller (1998) reports that students were able to enroll in classes that would not fit in their schedules under the semester model.
• Trimesters result in a decrease in behavioral problems. All studies note that students are more engaged and perhaps due to fewer passing times, less involved in behavioral disturbances.
Schools Using or Moving To Trimester Scheduling
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Saranac Belding Grayling
Caledonia Maple Valley Constantine
Ionia Holt Plymouth
TK (Middleville) Eaton Rapids Harrison
West Ottawa East Kentwood Tri-County
Zeeland Wayland-Union Boyne Falls
Schools Using or Moving To Trimester Scheduling
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Hamilton Quincy Napoleon
Hudsonville Ovid-Elsie Morenci
Cedar Springs Spring Lake
Essexville-Garber
Farmington Hills Holland Comstock
St. Johns Allendale Leslie
Godfrey Lee Newaygo Rockford
Schools Using or Moving To Trimester Scheduling
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Reed City Manistee Bedford
North Branch Orchard View Monroe
Bath Lapeer Dundee
Holly Clarkston Cheboygan
St. Louis Reed City Fennville
Whitmore Lake Traverse City Grand Ledge
Schools Using or Moving To Trimester Scheduling
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Ann Arbor Skyline Southgate Imlay City
Big Rapids Holton Jonesville
Shelby Ferndale Hesperia
Saline Lake Fenton Farwell
Cadillac Shepard Birmingham
Schools Using or Moving To Trimester Scheduling
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Walled Lake Sturgis Coldwater
Grant Clarenceville Montague
Allegan Fremont Lowell
New Buffalo MontabellaHarbor
Springs
North HuronWarren
Fitzgerald Ludington
Cassopolis Fruitport Mona Shores
Why TrimestersL
akew
oo
d P
ub
lic S
cho
ols
We believe this schedule provides ALL students with the opportunity to meet new state required graduation requirements, maintain rigorous academic pursuits, and explore opportunities they may otherwise be denied.
Additional InformationL
akew
oo
d P
ub
lic S
cho
ols
www.trimesters.org
•Created by Mark Westerburg – Spring Lake
www.wws.k12.in.us/WHS
•Westfield High School - Indiana
A copy of this PowerPoint can be found on the Lakewood website
www.lakewoodps.org
One Final NoteL
akew
oo
d P
ub
lic S
cho
ols
Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.
Pauline R. Kezer
Lak
ewo
od
Pu
blic
Sch
oo
ls
Lakewood High School
Trimester Scheduling Presentation
Brian Williams, Principal