Jan. 24, 2007 — A new block-scheduling policy approved by the Board of Education seeks to improve student performance in language arts and math classes while providing help to students falling behind.
The board approved the policy in a 6-to-3 vote during the its meeting on Tuesday, despite a majority of members agreeing no real assessment has been conducted to determine whether block scheduling benefits students or bolsters their achievement rate.
Board member Debra Smith-Watlington said the board's Policies, Rules and Regulations Committee drafted the new policy after "taking into consideration" concerns voiced by local public school principals and administrators.
The school representatives said the current policy creates certain academic conflicts, limiting — among other things — students' ability to take advanced-placement classes, she explained.
"We also heard that there is an inadequate amount of teachers and space," Smith-Watlington added. "There is a huge problem with availability of teachers able to conduct year-long classes in math and language arts."
The board recognizes the importance of allowing teachers to have more flexibility when setting school schedules, she said. "The current policy was not intended to stymie economic development," she said. "So, taking these concerns into consideration, the committee revised the block-scheduling policy."
The new policy stipulates that block scheduling is authorized for use in local junior high and high schools as long as "every effort is made to schedule students for courses in mathematics and language arts in consecutive semesters" until graduation requirements are met.
The current policy allows students to take language arts or math classes for only one semester a year, Smith-Watlington explained, hurting their proficiency levels. "We want to make sure that math and language arts are provided on a consistent basis," she said
Students who perform well and complete their graduation requirements early would thus get the opportunity to "accelerate through advanced classes," she added.
According to the policy, students testing below their current grade level would also be enrolled in either yearlong courses in math and language arts or a combination of remedial classes and a "credited" math or language arts course.
The original draft of the policy, however, said remedial classes should be offered to students testing three grades below their current level — a stipulation highly opposed by other board members.
"We shouldn't wait until the student is three levels behind to offer these services," said Nandi Sekou. "Our policy should aim toward best practice and help all those students that are behind, otherwise what's going to happen is that the department (of Education) is going to say, 'Hey, we can wait until this person is three levels behind before we help them.'"
Board member Shawn Gibson said the board should focus on student achievement, and suggested the policy be tabled until the board takes the time to look "at this issue holistically," coming up with a solution that would "more meaningfully address the problems we have."
The board instead voted to amend the policy, mandating that remedial classes be offered to students testing below their current grade level. The policy was subsequently approved, with favorable votes coming from board members Jorge "Tito" Galiber, Gibson, Terrence D. Joseph, Nereida Rivera O'Reilly, Sekou and Smith-Watlington.
Voting against the policy were board members Judy M. Gomez, Keith Richards and Oswin Sewer Sr..
In other news, the board also approved an "employee performance planning and evaluation policy," and unanimously voted to certify 52 new teachers.
A total of 56 certificates were approved — 26 certificates for 25 candidates on St. Croix, and 30 certificates for 27 candidates in the St. Thomas-St. John district. To aid in the certification process, the board also approved a $10,000 grant from the V.I. Humanities Council, which allows the board to offer new candidates a course in V.I. history and culture.
The board will also contribute financially to a project conducted by the Department of Education, which will ultimately add the Praxis II exam to the certification requirements for elementary school teachers.
At the end of Tuesday's meeting, the board elected a new set of officials. Smith-Watlington will replace Gomez as the board's chairwoman, while Joseph fills the position of the board's vice chairman. Sewer will serve as the board's secretary.
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