A major organizational change is necessary to promote more equitable and effective instructional grouping schemes in schools. A palatable restructuring alternative that combines effective grouping with the flexibility to meet each school's needs is parallel block scheduling. This system capitalizes on teachers' strengths, promotes greater mixing…

After investigating alternatives, a Missouri high school adopted the eight-block flexible scheduling model. Instead of meeting 45-60 minutes every day, classes now meet 94 minutes every other day. Staff and students are enthusiastic. Longer instructional periods allow teachers to develop key concepts and use diverse learning activities and permit…

Outlines critical elements of restructuring: three focal properties (curriculum standards, performance assessment, interdisciplinary teaching) and four facilitating properties (block schedules, technology, self-directed teacher teams, and parental involvement). (SK)

The traditional seven-period high school schedule is undergoing intense scrutiny. New schedules are reducing class preparation time; permitting students to move ahead, attend alternating full-day vocational and academic programs, and perform community service during regular school hours; and allowing teachers more productive instructional modes.…

Ralston (Nebraska) High School's restructuring was helped by participation in the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's consortium. Ralston faculty led the change process, holding students to higher standards, altering curriculum beyond arbitrary subject limitations, changing the school year, and increasing staff expertise with…

Describes how two Orlando, Florida, high schools enhanced student success by implementing community-generated restructuring plans. Block scheduling helped improve attendance and grade point averages. Also, a survey of teachers and students disclosed school climate gains in the areas of safety, success, involvement, commitment, interpersonal…

Describes the ways in which block scheduling can decrease school-day interruptions, reduce discipline problems, and help students who need more time and a slower pace. Also describes block schedules' effects on students and teachers. Sidebars offer guidelines for block scheduling and selected references. (LMI)

Virginia's high schools are restructuring the state school system. Using the 4 x 4 schedule, four high schools are offering all students up to a year of postsecondary study beyond the full high school program. Postsecondary scholarships will make this world-class education available to all well-disciplined students who attend regularly and learn…

Describes a principal's efforts to help staff restructure an Arizona junior high school's entire curriculum while struggling to achieve a successful transition to middle school status. The most traumatic change for staff involved a radical scheduling change from one-hour classes to two-hour time blocks with alternating subjects from quarter to…

This report is an excerpt from the National Education Commission On Time and Learning Final Report, "Prisoners of Time," published in April, 1994. In it, the Commission concludes that the reform movement of the last decade is destined to founder unless it is able to harness more time, and better management thereof, for learning. The…

Two decades after helping a school begin the transition to middle level, observations are made of the results of middle school planning, implementation, and evaluation. Chief areas of focus were interdisciplinary teaming, block scheduling, exploratory activities, and an adviser-advisee arrangement. (MLF)

High schools today face problems of culturally diverse student populations, diversity of student learning styles, and a growing public perception that high schools do not adequately prepare their graduates for either work or college. This paper offers an extensive review of literature on block scheduling as well as a handbook for gaining support…

Ability grouping persists because few practical, financially feasible, and politically palatable alternatives have been explored. Built to accommodate a team of 6 teachers and 135 to 150 students, 1 Virginia middle school's parallel block scheduling plan exchanges tracking for a practical method of working with heterogeneous groups of students.…

This newsletter on educational innovation contains a reflection on educators' time limitations, a personal examination of the "teacher as coach" analogy, and several brief descriptions of programs in school renewal, innovation, and teacher education around the nation. Shari Castle and Gary D. Watts argue, in "Temporal Tensions: The Tyranny of…