Block schedules offer many advantages, including increased usable instructional time, increased opportunities to use alternative instructional strategies, and fewer homework assignments and class changes for students. Challenges include maintaining student attention, providing balanced schedules, retaining major concepts, and accommodating…

An evaluation of the 4 X 4 block schedule used in three North Carolina high schools elicited strong support from teachers, students, and parents. Schools planning to implement this model should review D. G. Hackman's guidelines covering faculty input, feedback procedures, training opportunities, teacher fatigue, holidays, classroom monitoring,…

Lubbock (Texas) High School, a successful magnet and neighborhood school, discovered the benefits of flexible scheduling over 15 years ago. The unique schedule and other organizational structures have sustained a successful magnet program, created a diversity-enhancing culture, and revitalized a school near closure in 1978. (MLH)

The story of the process that Mundelein High School (located in a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois) as it moved from a traditional schedule to a block schedule is described throughout this book as a way to blend theory with practice. The book addresses types of block schedules; key issues for effective preparation; professional development…