A Columbus East High School student hopes to gather at least 1,000 signatures from students, parents and staff members on a petition protesting Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.’s proposal to add block scheduling in its three high schools.
Sophomore Emilee Whipker created the petition on March 6 via Change.org, a petition platform site. The petition, titled “End BCSC block scheduling proposition,” has received more than 750 signatures.
“I created it because I really don’t believe (block scheduling) would be a good thing to help everyone out,” Whipker said.
BCSC presented its proposal for a block schedule to school board members during the board’s March 4 meeting. A block schedule means students would alternate different classes between two days with longer class periods. Teachers would also have a planning period built into the schedule each week.
BCSC officials did not return a request for comment about the petition on Tuesday afternoon, but said they were looking into it.
Students in the three high schools, Columbus North, Columbus East and Columbus Signature Academy — New Tech are currently on a traditional schedule, with eight 45-minute sessions.
The proposal would implement a “block 8” schedule — different 85-minute classes on day one and different 85-minute classes on day two with an advisory time for one day and a student resource time on the other. The schedules then continue to alternate.
Whipker said she didn’t think the corporation offered a “very rationale reason” for its proposal.
“They just said it was benefiting social life,” Whipker said. “They didn’t really give any statistics. The only statistics they gave were from Carmel, which is a very privileged school — they don’t have nearly as many kids with bad, stricter home lives and such like East and North do.”
BCSC did offer several statistics to support its March 4 presentation, including a survey of BCSC seniors from 2015, 2017 and 2019 that showed an increasing rate of seniors who have felt sad or hopeless for two or more weeks, contemplated suicide or created a plan for suicide. The block schedule was proposed as a way for staff to spend more time with students, and be available to identify and help students who are struggling.
A committee tasked with studying block schedules and creating a sample schedule also visited different Indiana schools, including Carmel, to gather ideas for the best way to implement a new schedule. The corporation also hosted multiple student and parent focus groups for input, where school officials said the block schedule proposal was positively received.
If the board approves the proposal, the corporation would use the next year to study the best way to arrange the schedule and divide class time so students remain engaged in the content. The schedule could be implemented during the 2020-2021 school year at the three high schools.
“A lot of people would say that it helps kids get ready for college, but there’s a vast majority of kids in Columbus who don’t necessarily need to go to college or don’t want to go to college,” Whipker said. “I don’t think it would benefit everyone. It wouldn’t really affect me personally but I do care about those who aren’t as advantaged and don’t have as good of a home life or are in poverty.
Whipker said she is also concerned for students with disabilities and “those who are not good at school” because they “may not have as good of a support system” or be able to focus for a long period of time in a block schedule.
Whipker first shared the petition link on her personal Snapchat and Instagram profiles. She plans to deliver the petition to school board members at the board’s April 8 meeting. Whipker said she is also writing an argumentative essay explaining why she is against a block schedule.
“All of my teachers are in support of it. All of my colleagues at school, everyone I know really has been pushing me for it,” Whipker said.
Only a few people have criticized the proposal, she said, with most people being supportive, she said.
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A "block 8" schedule means students would alternate different classes between two days and longer class periods. Teachers would also have a planning period built in to the schedule each week.
Based on the sample schedule created by BCSC, students would have three 85-minute class periods, with a 45-minute lunch built into one period, and a 92-minute class at the end of the day to include any administrative duties such as announcements. Students would also rotate between a 30-minute advisory period and a 30-minute student resource time each day.
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