By Press Times Staff
SEYMOUR – Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and positive feedback from students, parents, school board members and staff, three schools in the Seymour school district will be moving to a trimester schedule beginning with the 2021-22 school year.
The school board approved the new schedules for Seymour High School, Seymour Middle School and Black Creek Middle School at its meeting, Tuesday, Feb. 23.
“We surveyed teachers, researched a variety of schedule options, compiled a list of pros and cons and met with several schools who currently use a trimester schedule,” said Tom Heins, school board member. “We wanted to gather as much information as possible. It will be a positive change.”
Heins said instead of having four, nine-week quarters like the district currently has, the schools would have three, 12-week trimesters.
“There are many benefits to a trimester schedule,” he said. “Students have fewer classes at one time, there’s more appropriate time in class (about 70 minutes compared to 90-minute classes) and it increases time in each class to allow teachers to go more in-depth with the content.”
Other benefits include fewer students per term, it allows students to retake a course in the next trimester versus retaking it in summer school and it offers students the opportunity to take one extra elective per year.
“Trimester schools we have interviewed are pleased with their schedules,” Heins said. “The schools said an unexpected outcome has been a calmness in the building. We expect to be sticking with this change for years to come.”
West De Pere, which has had a trimester schedule since 2004, was one of the schools Seymour interviewed.
“We still have some things to iron out,” Heins said. “Bell schedules, study halls, intervention time, band, choir, AP (advanced placement) classes, foreign language and class sequencing all will have challenges. In a trimester schedule, master scheduling is complex.”