VALDOSTA — Valdosta High School might be too big to accommodate seven class changes in one school day.

Janice Richardson, VHS principal, proposed changing the high school’s seven-period scheduling to block scheduling, or four classes per day. She discussed the possibility this week during the Valdosta Board of Education meeting.

She noted the irony of the situation, stating it was only four years ago when she came to the board asking to change block scheduling to seven periods at the high school.

“We were at a different place and different time at Valdosta High School,” Richardson said. “I needed help from the board to change from block to seven periods, so the kids could have some type of consistency in math and language arts.”

One issue now with seven classes is the size of the new building, Richardson said.

In a seven-period schedule, students are allotted 50 minutes for instruction time. With the adjustment of the class change bell to nine minutes and many students opting to take classes off campus at local colleges, that 50 minutes starts to thin.

Tardiness has become a huge issue, Richardson said.

“The number of classes is a lot with the transition time,” Richardson said. “Right now, students may have 40 minutes in class. It would increase the time on task in the classroom if we were on block.”

Switching to block scheduling would also decrease the crowd size during lunch, she said.

VHS currently serves about 600 students during three blocks of lunch, the most Richardson said she has ever seen in the cafeteria at once.

“Increased enrollment is a wonderful thing but I have over 600 students in lunch,” Richardson said. “I’m even having to seat some students outside.”

Block scheduling would allow room for four lunch blocks instead of the current three, she said.

Richardson told the board the transition would be somewhat seamless because her team had to figure out how to manipulate schedules when VHS changed from block to seven periods four years ago.

However, the amount of graduation requirements will need to be adjusted, said Dr. Todd Cason, school superintendent.

“We have to remember that graduation requirements will have to increase if you move from seven periods to block,” Cason said. “In four years, a child could earn 32 credits as opposed to 28 credits, so you have to increase that offering.”

The board said it would review the proposal in January. 

Katelyn Umholtz is a reporter with the Valdosta Daily Times. She can be contacted at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256.