Parents, students and teachers Tuesday continued to question Naperville District 203’s proposal to alter school start times and switch middle and high schools to a block scheduling format.
Superintendent Dan Bridges said the district is listening to the feedback it has received since the tentative changes were announced last month, and no final decision has been made. Board discussions on the subject will resume March 10.
The district also is updating its frequently asked questions section on the Innovative School Experience plan on its website, www.naperville203.org.
Under the proposal, the district would change the start and end times for elementary, middle and high school, add 15 minutes to the elementary day, increase math instruction time at the middle school level and change to a block schedule with longer class periods for middle and high school students. If approved, the district would implement the changes in the fall.
Elementary school hours would shift from an 8:15 a.m. start to a 7:45 a.m. start, while middle school would start 50 minutes later, moving from an 8 a.m. start to 8:50 a.m.
The high school day would be shorter and start later. It currently runs from 7:45 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. If the plan is adopted, school would start at 8:20 a.m. and end at 3:10 p.m.
Administrators said the changes will make better use of time and resources, ensure students arrive to school as close as possible to the start time and provide more opportunities for students to delve deeper into subjects and receive more instructional support.
Parents, students and teachers, however, have said the district is moving too fast to implement such sweeping changes.
Madison Junior High School teacher Joe Nikkel said it’s not the fear of change driving the pushback from the teachers and community.
“Trust me, if you are ever in need of someone to build a plane while it is flying and sub because a stewardess has gotten sick, go ahead and ask a teacher; they’ll be ready,” he said.
“And that’s why we have so many questions. We have lived change. We have seen its great successes. We have also seen change that can been detrimental to our students’ education and lives. We want to be innovative, but we also want to purposeful in its approach. We are not afraid of innovation or change, but innovation for innovation’s sake is not the best approach.”
Madison Junior High School teacher Catie O’Boyle, a parent of a high school student, said the new schedule should include clear research on how it could impact students.
Topics she’d like to see district research on, she said, include how the changes would affect students with different needs, such as those enrolled in Advanced Placement courses, students who have an Individualized Education Program, those with attention deficit disorders or individuals coming from low-income families.
“If you are going to do a radical change, I want to see the numbers,” O’Boyle said. “There has to be solid evidence to back up what we are asking. Not opinion. Not change just for change.”
The district shouldn’t experiment on the students, she said.
“We all know they went through COVID,” she said. “But they also went through junior high with the change in grading systems, and it was hard and anxiety-producing. We don’t need them to go through another experiment.”
Some students said the plan has been overwhelmingly opposed by their classmates.
Naperville Central High School junior Ben Berkoff said the district could fix some of its issues at the high school level by making small adjustments as opposed to changing the start time and shifting to a block schedule.
“Forcing teachers to redesign their entire class structure, one that is working already very well, just isn’t necessary,” he said.
Block schedule would be hard for students in Advanced Placement courses, honors courses or fast-paced courses that have a strict curriculum, Berkoff said. Extending class time to 85 minutes would hurt students because studies show they can lose focus within 15 minutes. The district also shouldn’t reduce the amount physical education classes because daily physical activity can improve focus, reduce stress and improve academic performance, he said.
Student ambassador Caleb Lewis, who represents Naperville North High School, said the student body wants to know how it will impact their classes, their lunches and their lives.
“The one overarching theme that students at Naperville North are concerned about is uncertainty or the fear of the unknown,” he said. “If the board were able to put together some type of immersive presentation that clearly demonstrated to the students what their lives would look like on a day-to-day basis, Monday through Friday, and even with special schedules, it would really be a great help.”
Naperville Central High School junior Gavin George said while there is clear opposition from the students, the district administration did not include that dissenting feedback in any of their presentations to the board and community.
“If you were to ask students at Naperville Central High School what the primary problems with the district are, the answer would not be the buses or the schedule or the time school starts,” he said.
“I encourage you to take everyone’s feedback and if you decide to implement a new schedule, then you implement something that both students and teachers can agree on.”
Earlier this month, representatives from the teacher’s union said a survey of their members showed a majority had concerns about the plan.
Bridges said that since the survey results were announced, the administration has met with the union’s executive board to analyze the feedback.
He stressed that stories going around about teachers being called in for meetings or facing disciplinary action after speaking out against the proposal have been investigated and found to be unfounded.
If there are staff members who believe they have experienced some sort of retaliation, they should contact human resources or their union representatives, Bridges said.
Since Jan. 24, more than 300 people have submitted comments through the district’s “Let’s Talk” website feature, with about 65% expressing concern over or disagreement with the new schedule, board documents said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.