Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of discussion among the community members concerning the Morrison Community School District #6 Board of Education’s decision to move Morrison High School off the Block 8 schedule and onto a seven-period, traditional schedule. Rest assured that this decision was not done without conscientious thought and consideration for the well being of all students, faculty, and staff. All board discussions concerning the schedule change were held in Open Session, and the public was invited to comment. Listed below is a brief timeline of events leading up the Board of Education’s decisions
o December 12, 2010, the issue of moving Morrison High School away from the Block 8 Schedule is introduced to the Board of Education.
o May 28, 2013, the Morrison Community School District #6 Board of Education votes to remove Morrison High School from the Block 8 Schedule.
o July 28, 2014, the Morrison Community School District #6 Board of Education and the Morrison Education Association agree to keep Morrison High School on the Block 8 schedule for the 2014-2015 school year and work collaboratively to develop a traditional schedule for the 2015-2016 school year.
o August 2014, a committee comprised of administration and teachers from every department was created to develop the new high school schedule.
o November 24, 2014, the Morrison High School Scheduling Committee recommends implementing a seven period day to the Board of Education.
o May 18, 2015, the Morrison Community School District #6 Board of Education votes to adopt a seven period day at the high school for the 2015-2016 school year.
The decision to implement a seven period day was the result of months of planning and discussion. When developing the new high school schedule, there were several factors that went into the decision making process, including but not limited to:
o increasing instructional time for students in each class.
o satisfying contractual requirements including:
o length of the day
o teacher lunch periods
o teacher prep time
o impact on co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.
o declining enrollment at Morrison High School.
o passing periods.
o bus arrival and departure times.
o Whiteside Area Career Center departure and arrival times.
After much thought and consideration the Board of Education voted to implement a seven period day. The schedule that is being implemented this year at Morrison High Schools provides the following benefits:
o provides more instructional time per class over both an 8 period day as well as the Block 8 schedule.
o meets all current contractual obligations.
o provides for a homeroom period at the end of the day which will allow
a) co-curricular activities, such as Student Council, BLIND, and Key Club, to hold regular meetings.
b) students needing to leave early for athletic events to do so, without missing instructional time.
c) students time to work on homework before leaving school each day.
o maintains adequate passing periods.
o maintains current start and dismissal times.
o does not interfere with Whiteside Area Career Center students.
o increases the annual Average Daily Attendance claim.