District puts brakes on block scheduling decision

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By Lindsey Hilty, Staff Writer Updated 8:23 AM Friday, November 20, 2009

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield City School District has put the brakes on its analysis of block scheduling.

The Board of Education asked Thursday, Nov. 19, to slow down the process to ensure there is clarity in the discussion and more information before a decision is made.

“It is not something we are looking to implement next school year,” said board President Jerome Kearns. “I think this is something that is very important and we need to take the time to look at this and make sure we have all the information before we make a decision.”

Member Mark Morris said he would volunteer, along with member Balena Shorter to work with district officials on the issue. Morris said the key is defining what scheduling options are available and looking to see what other districts are doing.

“I really would like to see us look outward, use connections we have in neighboring districts,” he said. “There are districts across the country going through the exact same thing we are. ... I don’t want us to feel like we are reinventing the wheel here. Clearly we’re not the only district dealing with this.”

The driving force behind evaluating the scheduling, he said is a financial reason, but student success must not be lost in the process. Also, he said, the district must make this decision while considering new mandates from the state such as credit flexibility and what that might look like to the district.

Member Dan Murray highlighted the music program as a concern, and said no matter what decision is made, it must optimize student participation in successful programs. However, it must better enable students to take math and science courses consecutively.

A survey for district parents is available online at  www.fairfieldcityschools.com and a survey will be administered to students to seek input.

In other business, the school board approved a new name for its weight room facility to Performance Athletic Training Center after the Performance Automotive Network made a substantial contribution to the district.

“It’s great whenever we can partner with the public private partnership and that facility is a great example of that partnership,” Morris said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5067

or lhilty@coxohio.com

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