Allatoona Mulls Schedule Change

officials revealed Friday morning that they are considering changing the class schedule from the block to the traditional school day to compensate for increased enrollment and to reduce student stress.

The announcement came during the first Coffe Talk meeting of the school year between parents and school administration.

According to Principal Scott Bursmith, any decision on a schedule change would not occur until next semester. If the school decides to adopt the traditional school day, the changes will take place during the 2012-13 school year.

Under the current schedule, students attend four 95-minute classes a day. Students go to the same classes for one 90-day semester, then change classes for the second semester.

The system as it stands benefits science labs and other fine arts programs because of the extended time in each class. Additionally, students are allowed to have two electives, such as band or JROTC.

However, teachers on this schedule teach only about 90 children a day. Under the traditional, seven-period model Allatoona is considering, teachers would have 150 children a day.

“I've done the math,” Bursmith said. “Under the traditional schedule, the shorter classes allow the equivalent of six more weeks of instruction.”

Allatoona's current instruction is top-notch; the school is the fifth best in the state and first in Cobb County, according to schooldigger.com.

The proposed schedule would have seven 55-minute periods a day, with classes lasting the entire school year. Students who are taking two elective courses would have to choose one elective to pursue year-round.

An additional advantage of the traditional semester is continuity. Under the block schedule, a student could go a year and a half without any instruction in a given topic, such as math or a foreign language.

Yearlong instruction is especially helpful for students in Advanced Placement (AP) classes, who always take their tests in the spring. It is more difficult to pass the AP test and earn college credits when the student hasn't been in the class for five months.

“I don't know about you,” Bursmith said. “But is anyone else concerned with the frantic pace we have to teach classes at under this schedule?”

Most of the audience agreed.

Bursmith emphasized that the process is ongoing and that there will be plenty of opportunity for parents to give feedback on the proposed change.

Parents were already giving Bursmith feedback on the many schedule changes forced on Allatoona by the ever-changing allotment and feeder school situation. Cobb County schools that do not pass their Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) benchmarks can be compelled to bus students to a higher-performing school at the school's expense.

An influx of such students from other schools, combined with the roughly 300 incoming freshmen, forced administrators to shake up almost every student's schedule.

“I bought (a home) here specifically for the school,” a parent said. “And I'm frustrated that our children are being punished because people don't register their kids on time.”

Pending the potential loss of one more teacher, Allatoona's scheduling troubles are over. They could be much worse, said Benji Morrell, Allatoona's athletic director. He mentioned that he saw hundreds of students at who had yet to receive a schedule this week.

Morrell also informed parents about the , which cost $700,000 in SPLOST funds. The new bleachers for Allatoona supporters cost $400,000. The booster club wrote a check for $200,000, and the football coach decided to sacrifice a proposed fieldhouse with more lockers for his players to help pay for the bleachers.

Morrell said the school plans to hold future graduation ceremonies on the field. He added that all of the improvements made by the school have been paid for by donations and fundraising and that no team is in debt to any organization, which drew applause from the audience.

Administrative assistant Donald Holmes has been preparing for the frantic pace of county and state standardized testing.

“We have two benchmark tests we must administer before the end-of-course test in each subject,” he said. “You take one test, and then two weeks later there's another.”

The school's testing schedule can be found here. Some important tests on the horizon are:

• Georgia High School Graduation Test (Writing), Sept. 27.
• Georgia High School Graduation Test retakes, Sept. 12 to 16.

Holmes said the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) tests will now be counted in AYP scores.

On the counseling front, Dawn Neely told parents that senior meetings will start soon. The meetings are designed to help graduating students make the transition to the university environment. Meetings for juniors and their parents will start after senior meetings and continue throughout the year.

“If your neighbor gets a letter about it and you don't, we haven't forgotten about you,” Neely said.

Allatoona will host Georgia Apply to College Week on Nov. 2. This initiative, headed by the University System of Georgia, is designed to help students with the lengthy collegiate application process.

Allatoona is joining nearly 200 other state high schools participating in the project.