The Uintah School Board voted unanimously Wednesday night to retain the current five class trimester schedule at Uintah High School.
The 5-0 vote came during the board’s regularly scheduled business meeting following a presentation by Superintendent Rick Woodford and more than 30 minutes of input from members of the public.
The superintendent’s presentation highlighted the months-long process that was used to gather information about the scheduling options for the community and the board. The process culminated in a multi-question survey that was sent out last week to parents/guardians, students in grades 8 through 12, and Uintah High School teachers and staff.
The three scheduling options presented in the survey were the high school’s current five class trimester schedule, a six class trimester schedule, and a 5x5 block semester schedule. When asked which schedule the board should adopt, the responses were as follows:
Current Schedule: Parents - 75.99%; Students - 80.17%; Teachers/Staff - 88.1%
Six Class Trimester: Parents - 6.84%; Students - 9.88%; Teachers/Staff - 8.33%
5x5 Block Semester: Parents - 17.17%; Students - 9.95%; Teachers/Staff - 3.57%
The survey results also show that 69% of parent respondents, 69.65% of student respondents and 84.52% of teacher/staff respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, “Uintah School District should change the UHS schedule in order to provide students with more options and opportunities to take elective courses.” The statement noted that such a change would “increase the number of credits students will need to earn a diploma from UHS.”
By comparison, 20.67% of parent respondents, 14.43% of student respondents, and 7.14% of teacher/staff respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the district should change the UHS schedule. The percentages of respondents who provided a neutral response were 10.33% (parents), 15.93% (students), and 8.33% (teachers/staff).
In his presentation to the board, Superintendent Woodford stated that research on school schedules indicates that one schedule is not more or less conducive to student learning than another.
“In other words, school schedules do not have an impact on student learning,” the superintendent said. “If the research indicated that one was better than the others, I would have a definitive recommendation for the board.”
Researchers suggest that schedule decisions should account for the unique needs and desires of a community, Superintendent Woodford noted.
“Therefore, the only recommendation I have to offer is to consider the input provided by our stakeholders and go with the schedule that is most supported by our stakeholders,” he told the board.
Board President Dave Chivers expressed the board’s appreciation to those who served on the UHS Schedule Option Committee, to those who participated in the information-gathering process, and to those who provided feedback to the board during this process.
“But I don’t think this is something we ought to revisit for awhile,” President Chivers said. “Let’s get back to the other things that we need to work on.”