A new class scheduling format has been on the block at Columbus High School for a year, an academic change that was on the horizon for the high school since Superintendent Paul Hillyer’s took over in the summer of 2005.
Improving the Columbus Public Schools’ instructional programming and student achievement was a prime objective of the new superintendent when he left his job as director of instructional services at Owatonna (Minn.) Public School after 10 years to lead CPS.
“That was the main goal,’’ said the 53-year-old Hillyer.
Hillyer previously was an elementary principal at several schools. He is a graduate of St. John’s University in Minnesota and received his master’s degree from Northern State College in Aberdeen, S.D., and his doctorate from Iowa State University in 1998. He and his wife Janie, have five sons.
A piece in the puzzle of upgrading the district’s educational programs and student achievement was launching the modified block schedule at CHS last fall.
There were remarkably few glitches last year with the high school’s switch from a nine-period school day to the four-period format, Hillyer said. The school’s counseling staff spent many hours reducing the problems students had in adjusting to the new format, he said.
Teachers, students and parents didn’t throw up many roadblocks to the new scheduling format.
“There was a lot of conversation (before the switch to fewer, longer periods during the school day),’’ Hillyer said. Students, teachers and parents, but especially the students, have voiced satisfaction with the scheduling change, he said.
Class time went from the former 43-minute periods to 90 minutes with the switch last fall. The longer class time provided the opportunity for more in-depth discussions, hands-on activities and one-on-one time between students and teachers.
Also, the class load students take at one time was reduced, but students could take more classes each year. Typically, most students previously took seven classes that met the entire school year.
Under the modified block format, they now take four or five classes each semester. There are both 90-minute and 45-minute classes offered for students. The 90-minutes classes meet for a semester and the 45-minute courses meet an entire school year.
Other benefits of the schedule change, officials said, include an improved school climate by having fewer transitions between periods per day, which could reduce incidences of misbehavior in the hallways.
Although Hillyer’s primary focus has been setting in motion plans for curriculum and staff development and increasing rates of student achievement, he has also had to turn his attention to the district’s building facilities.
A more-than $15 million renovation of the high school was already under way when Hillyer took over the helm of the district. CPS also had built a couple of new elementary schools and renovated several others.
The new superintendent presided over the remodeling of Lost Creek Elementary School during the last year, the final district grade school to receive an update.
Development of the district’s elementary facilities “was not a big part of my charge,’’ said Hillyer, noting that CPS is spending more than $1 million this year on Centennial, North Park and Emerson elementary schools to deal with an expected enrollment bulge.
CPS’ changing demographics came as “a bit of a surprise’’ to district officials, Hillyer said. Kindergarten enrollment based on projections is significantly higher this year and will be in the next several years, he said.
Since last fall, Hillyer and the CPS Board of Education have been chewing over the future of Columbus Middle School. The superintendent and the board has been mulling three options for making improvements to CMS throughout the spring.
The three CMS proposals include building an addition on the current site and razing the original 1924 building, building an addition and renovating the 1924 building or moving students to the current high school and building a new high school near Columbus Community Hospital.
The three plans will be designed for a 1,000-student capacity. The current building is designed for 750-825 students.
Weighing the benefit/cost ratio of the different CMS improvement proposals is the next big hurdle for the district and its patrons, Hillyer said. The board commissioned an educational consultant this summer to draw up an overview of the district’s future after meeting with district patrons and community leaders.
“The school board has done a good job in setting the general direction for the district while allowing the school sites the latitude and flexibility to achieve their goals,’’ Hillyer said.
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