This book demonstrates that block schedules provide opportunities for educators to address the needs of diverse student populations in general education classrooms. The inclusion of at-risk students and students with special needs into regular classrooms provides new challenges for educators, and block scheduling provides extended time for these…

Growing student diversity, reports and government mandates, ninth-grade transition problems, and middle-school influences have produced new enthusiasm for high-school reorganization. Restructuring approaches such as block scheduling, differentiated instruction, academic teaming, house plans, career academies, heterogeneous grouping, and integrated…

A recent project collected and analyzed student success indicators generated by six high schools from a large, midwestern school corporation. Schools with clear student goals and enhanced professional-development opportunities made more successful transitions to block schedules. High achievers remained successful; low-achievers struggled under…

Summarizes a study on block scheduling for second-language programs among Canadian middle school students. Results show that students studying French on a block schedule (e.g., one-half day instruction over a 10-week period) performed better on standardized tests than did control students who received standard 40-minute per day French instruction.…

A discussion of block scheduling for second language instruction looks at the advantages and disadvantages and offers some suggestions for classroom management and course organization. It is argued that block scheduling may offer a potential solution to large classes, insufficient time for labs, too little individualized instruction; few…

These eight papers focus on connections beyond the foreign language classroom. They include the following: (1) "Intercultural Communities: Rethinking Celestin Freinet" (Helene Gresso and Lara Lomicka); (2) "Beyond the Foreign Language: Making Connections Through Recorded Oral Histories" (John Chaston); (3) "Information…

High Schools That Work (HSTW) sites have used a variety of specific approaches to implement a challenging curriculum, provide a systematic program of sustained guidance, and enable academic and career and technical education (CTE) teachers to work together in planning and delivering integrated instruction. The HSTW-recommended curriculum calls for…

Archbishop Chapelle High School (ACHS) is an award-winning, girls school in Metairie, Louisiana. This article describes the library supporting the ACHS curriculum, highlighting library skills courses, block scheduling, educational technology and Internet access, the role of the librarian in administration and curriculum development, and public…

This article presents the findings from a qualitative study that sought to learn about students' perceptions of a Cross-Cultural Learning Community (CCLC) at a large Midwestern University. The article focuses on three major areas that emerged as a result of focus groups: 1) students' reasons for joining the CCLC, 2) the role of the CCLC in the…

In 1995 the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC), Richmond (Virginia) commissioned a study of alternative high school scheduling modules to determine the effects of different schedules on teaching strategies, teacher and student satisfaction, and student and school performance. This report presents the results of an analysis of a…

Studies indicate that information provided by students may contribute to successful implementation of educational innovations, but educators seldom seek out student perspectives. In April and May 1997, over 160 high school students participated in 16 focus groups in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The students were primarily…

This document is intended to assist all individuals responsible for scheduling activities related to implementation of a career academy. The first section examines the importance of scheduling in forging the close ties among academy teachers and students that are critical to achieving a meaningful school-within-a-school program. The following…

The story of the process that Mundelein High School (located in a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois) as it moved from a traditional schedule to a block schedule is described throughout this book as a way to blend theory with practice. The book addresses types of block schedules; key issues for effective preparation; professional development…

The three primary purposes of this report were to: (1) determine to what extent the Cross-College General Education (CCGE) pilot at Sheridan College (Ontario, Canada) achieved its goals of offering students choice of quality courses and access to all goal areas, including alternate delivery courses, and opportunities for student mix; (2) analyze…

Aimed at secondary school library media specialists who are undertaking the transition to block scheduling, this book examines the essential components of the library media program in a block-scheduled school and provides useful handouts, lesson plans, and the experiences of four practitioners through their case studies. The following chapters are…