In 2003, Dr. Freddie Thomas Middle School in Rochester, New York, was in serious trouble. In 2000, it had been labeled a "school under registration review" by the New York State Education Department and was under a directive to make significant progress or face serious consequences. Three years later in 2003, only 3% of eighth-grade…

This paper discusses why scheduling is a valuable but untapped resource for school improvement. It reviews some of the problems that are alleviated through scheduling, focusing on the benefits of block scheduling. The text discusses the fragmentation of instructional time and how this is an issue at all levels of precollegiate education. It offers…

Principals can ensure stakeholders that a block schedule will provide enhanced teaching and learning opportunities for raising student achievement when implemented with adequate instructional planning and attention to teachers' instructional needs and students' academic needs. Success depends on the master schedule, training opportunities,…

There are those in the school community who believe that the anxious feelings and heightened sense of anxiety experienced by sixth graders as they transition from elementary to junior high school constitute a rite of passage. Teachers and school administrators in the Indiana Area Junior High School in Pennsylvania believed differently. During the…

A Virginia Department of Education survey of urban, suburban, and rural schools using block scheduling revealed fewer disciplinary problems, a strong teacher preference for this format over traditional scheduling, and positive effects on standardized test scores in reading and mathematics. When time is used well in schools, school climate improves…