Reply to Potential block schedule changes district-wide?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So these are the feasible options I see:

1) Schools do regular 7-period schedule with a double period of math, leaving one elective per kid (foreign language or band or something else, must pick one) and no electives for immersion kids or MYP IB schools (only "elective" spot must go to foreign language)
2) Schools do block schedule with double math (i.e. math every day), leaving two elective spots for regular kids and one for kids at MYP IB schools with mandatory FL and zero for immersion kids who take double FL
3) Schools drop to a 6 period schedule with 60 minutes daily for all courses-- leaving one elective per kid (foreign language or band or something else, must pick one) and no electives for immersion kids or MYP IB schools (elective spot goes to foreign language)
4) Schools figure out some way to have kids take double math only a couple days a week, perhaps dropping gym down to 3 days a week or having double math one semester and gym the other (if MSDE okays it as averaging out to 300 minutes over the year), or doing something similar with electives so that kids get 1.5 elective spots rather than 1 
5). Schools get MSDE permission to count some really disconnected stuff into their weekly math, like converting basically all of advisory/homeroom into a math into something mathy in huge groups, or spending 15 minutes every day in science class doing something mathy enough to count as math 
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Should also add that all the "zero electives free for kids who take FL/at MYP IB schools" statements also apply to kids at magnets with a mandatory magnet elective.  [/quote]

DP.  Except for the more math/science focused MS programs, where option 5 might count, say, a CS or  physics course as math for the purposes of the requirement.  With MSDE approval, of course.

These MSDE mandates are coming with little or no family stakeholder input.  Probably even less than we see from MCPS, and certainly with less notice in the community until it lands on us.  Such a blanket and simplistic policy could use nuance to achieve the desired effect without blowing things up.  60 m

It's the same with the MSDE mandate of math in all four years of HS, where they could have allowed standard exceptions for those passing well enough a high enough class earlier than Senior year (e.g., getting through Calc with a B or better, or Pre-Calc and Stats with the same, either of which easily would indicate societal-need mastery of the subject).  Of course, they are shifting to a new paradigm with Integrated Algebra 1 & 2 that is both notionally promising and fraught with implementation burden, ripe for inconsistencies among the first couple of classes...and for the last classes in the current Algebra/Geometry/Algebra 2 paradigm.  I don't know if they are handling the 4-year requirement differently with that change, though.;
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Yeah, I think I get the thinking behind the 300 minutes of math mandate, but the school day is only so long and so that's going to come at the expense of other subjects. But math is important! Is the response I'm sure. I totally agree... but why can't homework count toward the 300 minutes?[/quote]

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