As the 2022-23 school year approaches, new bell schedules at Morgan Hill Unified School District sites are designed to improve student learning and meet the various needs of local children and their families, according to MHUSD officials.
The changes are the result of ongoing “journey of gathering input and reviewing academic programs, course offerings and student progress in order to inform next steps to enhance student learning opportunities” that district staff undertook throughout the 2021-22 school year, says a press release from MHUSD.
The district’s data gathering and public outreach efforts “showed a need and strong desire for enriched learning including music, art, and language” for elementary school students, and improved learning opportunities at the middle and high school levels, the press release says.
For Live Oak and Sobrato high schools, the 2022-23 bell schedule has changed to allow for seven class periods per day—up from six classes last year. This accommodates students’ and staff’s desire to be able to explore different courses throughout their school year, says the press release.
The new high school bell schedule also allows students who couldn’t previously stay after school due to sports or extracurricular activities, to take additional courses during the day, according to district staff.
“Students can explore more courses as part of their high school experience (elective, Advanced Placement class, PE, Career Technical Education) or have time to repeat a course in which they received a D or F to be competitive in college and university options,” says the press release. “Further, as part of the student’s school day, students will participate in tutorial support with their assigned teachers.”
For MHUSD elementary schools, the new schedules include “integrated specialized instruction” for students in PE, music, theater/arts and other subjects in 45-minute periods, led by specialist teachers, says the press release.
New middle school schedules will be finalized and communicated to parents before the Aug. 16 start of the school year, the press release notes. As of early August, district staff were still meeting with employee groups and administrators to explore new learning opportunities for students during the school day.
Collectively, the new bell schedules are part of MHUSD’s Local Control and Accountability Plan that is submitted to state education officials, and is designed to address the academic as well as social and emotional needs of students and families, says the press release.
“The updated bell schedules will enhance our delivery of services and meet the needs and requests of our community while maintaining the integrity of instructional time for teachers and creating parity of instructional minutes for students by grade span across the District,” says the press release from MHUSD.
To view the new bell schedules for all MHUSD schools, visit https://tinyurl.com/5vrz26ah.
