District trustees
‘surprised’ at request from Sobrato for switch this fall
Block scheduling at Sobrato High will have to wait until at least August 2006.
Trustees – after a sometimes emotional discussion Monday night – said the school could not implement the major change for the start of classes this fall.
“I’m completely floored by the process,” Trustee Mike Hickey said. “I owe the board I came on with an apology. There were times when I sat out there (in the audience) and said, ‘Come on, you must know about this, you’re the board.’ But now I’m in their shoes. I heard about this (block scheduling at Sobrato next year) about a week and a half ago.”
What started out as a presentation by the staff of the district’s newest high school on a recent visit by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges committee to review the school for possible accreditation turned into an emotionally charged exchange between trustees and staff about transitioning the school into a block schedule for the fall.
Five trustees – Hickey, President Shellé Thomas, Amina Khemici, Julia Hover-Smoot and Peter Mandel – told the staff and Principal Rich Knapp that they had many questions and concerns about the schedule itself, but also the fact that they did not know the staff was considering the change in scheduling for next year.
The two other trustees – Don Moody and Kathy Sullivan – were vocal in supporting the change.
There are many ways to implement block scheduling, according to Knapp and his staff, but what they are proposing is similar to a college schedule, with longer classes and certain classes on certain days. Students would also have built in study periods, some at the beginning of the day, others at the end of the day. Teachers would have tutorials, similar to office hours when they would be available to students for help with homework or projects or to assist in planning their career direction and counseling.
Currently, Sobrato has an advisory period on Wednesday: students have a shorter day and can work with teachers. Teachers can also collaborate during this time.
Letters were sent out to Sobrato parents and parents of students who will be freshmen at the school next year inviting them to a forum Wednesday on block scheduling. The letter states, as does the school’s newsletter, that the school will move to block scheduling next year.
During Monday night’s discussion, Hickey and Mandel strongly expressed surprise at not having prior notification the staff was researching block scheduling.
“You understand my discomfort here: we hear about this today, and we have to go into a trust agreement in hours,” Mandel said.
A trust agreement is something a school can use, if staff approve and a trust agreement committee approves, to change the way their day is structured without a renegotiation of the teachers’ contract with the district.
Since the block scheduling presentation was a discussion item on the board’s agenda, no vote was taken, but after listening to each of the trustees during discussion, Thomas determined it was clear five trustees favored waiting, to give the board and the Sobrato staff more time to research, train and to bring the new superintendent, who will take over the reins after Superintendent Carolyn McKennan’s contract expires June 30.
The board is in contract negotiations with Alan Nishino, currently superintendent of Alameda School District.
When asked about Monday night’s decision, McKennan said, “I believe the board said don’t go ahead at this time – that they need more information.”
McKennan said the block scheduling concept was brought to the board’s attention during a Jan. 10 board meeting as part of a presentation of Sobrato’s goals.
“They said they would be studying the issue and would bring it back to the board,” she said.
Knapp said he was surprised by the board’s reaction, but he understood the reaction.
“I made an assumption that wasn’t accurate,” he said Friday. “I assumed they knew that my staff was doing a lot of work, interviewing teachers, interviewing parents … and they weren’t, and so this was a communication breakdown. It evolved in a way that we did not expect.”
Knapp said he will discourage parents and future Sobrato parents who are planning to attend the forum on block scheduling Wednesday evening at 7pm at Sobrato from gathering signatures for petitions. He said he will encourage them to be patient and wait for more research and the support of the board for a possible change in the 06-07 school year.
McKennan said block scheduling was not a new or radical concept in education, that it had been around for many years.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at md****@*************es.com or phoning (408) 779-4106, ext. 202
