Two of the biggest changes at Benicia High School this year are the adoption of a new bell schedule and the switch to a new special education model. Items on both were presented at Thursday’s school board meeting.

Bell schedule

The implementation of a new bell schedule at Benicia High has been in the works ever since it was suggested as a goal by a Western Association of Schools and Colleges visitation team more than two years ago. After two years of conducting research, soliciting feedback from the community and presenting various possibilities for a new schedule to go into effect in the 2017-18 school year, Benicia High announced a new schedule in May. Rather than students having a non-rotating six-period schedule for all five days of the week, students will only have that schedule for three days of the week. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, students will have a block schedule consisting of three 86-minute classes each day. Odd-numbered classes will meet on Wednesdays, even-numbered classes will meet on Thursdays, and school will end for students 30 minutes earlier.

Principal Brianna Kleinschmidt went into further detail at Thursday’s meeting. The schedule includes a one-hour Access period in between the first two classes of the day where students go to an assigned classroom where they can work on projects or homework, make up a test or quiz, meet with teachers, or attend workshops or guest speeches. The goal, Kleinschmidt said, is for students to access what they need during that time.

“The excitement is just growing with what we can do during that time,” she said. “We’re able to teach them responsibly how to use that time.”

However, Kleinschmidt said that students would not be moving around much during the first week due to special events set up. On Wednesday, there will be a 9th-grade assembly with a guest speech by gold medal Olympic volleyball player Dain Blanton on goals and success. At the same time, seniors will receive a discussion on how to use the Access period. On Thursday, there will be a discussion on the school’s safety plan. By the second week, students will have more opportunities for homework and other business.

“It doesn’t take away from class time and there’s more opportunity to ask questions, really run through that information in a more meaningful way,” Kleinschmidt said.

Access will be preceded by a 10-minute Homeroom period, where students can view the weekly student news web series Panther TV and listen to morning announcements in a way that does not interfere with class time.

“Students didn’t feel like they were getting the communications or announcements about what was happening in school, so they were missing these opportunities that we worked so hard to provide,” Kleinschmidt said. “We felt that if we dedicated some time, there would be more opportunity to communicate better with them.”

Kleinschmidt also said that the Access period would continue to be refined over time.

A presentation on the new schedule was recently held at a staff retreat, and a staff development day will be held on Sept. 5 to discuss how the new schedule is working. Additionally, Kleinschmidt noted that when talking to students from other high schools that used similar schedules, some were apprehensive about the changes but not one said they would revert back to the previous schedule.

However, Kleinschmidt said modifications would continue to be made. Discussions will be held throughout the year to collect feedback and propose necessary modifications prior to a May 2018 Benicia Teachers Association vote for the 2018-19 school year. These discussions would take place through surveys, coffee chats with parents and monthly student forums.

“By May, we will have had the conversations to look at possible adjustments for next year’s schedule,” she said. “This conversation is very much ongoing, and we’re just getting started. We’re very excited about it.”

The schedule can be viewed at bhs.beniciaunified.org/our-school/bell-schedule/.

Special education

The next to speak was Dr. Carolyn Patton, the director of student services, regarding Benicia High’s new instructional model for students with disabilities. Previously, the special education department focused on providing resource classes in the areas of English, math, history and science at a style and pace geared toward students with Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs). While Patton said some of these courses would continue to be offered— including biology as well as 12th-grade English and U.S. government/U.S. economics for the current senior class—, students with IEPs would now spend most of their time in general education classes with necessary accommodations.

Patton said the decision came from a variety of factors, including Benicia Unified School District’s model of creating an inclusive environment for all students as well as research that suggests that students with disabilities do better when they have high expectations, share classes with general education peers and are exposed to teaching from educators who specialize in the content area they are teaching. She also said the district looked at how students were learning as they progressed through school. At the elementary level, they would learn a variety of strategies and lessons all at the general education level.

“Their teachers would learn their skills and help them access their curriculum at elementary,” she said.

In middle school, Patton said that some students would have a more limited number of teachers in the special education department, but the majority of students with IEPs spent most of their days in general education classes.

“We didn’t have any special education science or social studies classes,” Patton said. “We had resource classes in math and English.”

However, at the high school, many students with disabilities would have three to five special education classes on their schedules. Patton noted that this was often the result of students, parents or teachers requesting these classes.

Additionally, Patton said the district looked into federal and state rulings that mandated that students with IEPs spend their days in the least restrictive environments. One California Department of Education requirement stipulates that districts need to increase the number of students who spend 80 percent or more of their day in a general education requirement. Benicia Unified, she said, was not meeting that metric.

“When you analyze that, it’s because of our high school students spending less time (in general ed),” Patton said.

The district looked at a variety of options but decided to settle on a curriculum support model where students take general education classes and receive support on their assignments from their case managers. Previously, case managers would have students at all grade levels on their caseloads. Now, case managers will have students at all grade levels, except for the sophomores who will be split amongst two case managers.

“It (sophomore year) is such a big bubble, both on the general ed side and special ed side,” Patton said. “It’s just a big group of kids.”

Patton noted that case managers would work with general education teachers at the grade level on their caseload and learn the curriculum of any given class and support that during a new curriculum support class.

“For example, they will meet with the 9th-grade NGSS physics teachers, and they will know there is a lab they’re going to be doing this week,” Patton said.

Special education teachers will then be able to reinforce the curriculum and help students get through their assignments and projects.

The curriculum support class replaces directed studies, which was utilized as a time for students to complete homework or discuss progress with teachers. Whereas directed studies classes had students at all grade levels, the curriculum support classes will also be by grade level, which will allow students to be able to work together on assignments from other classes.

In addition to general education support, curriculum support will offer instruction of its own, including lessons on time management skills, self-advocacy skills and academic abilities like note-taking and test taking. Students will also be able to receive additional support through the new Access period, where students will be assigned to their case manager’s room.

Some programs will remain, including Cristina Valle’s functional academic class for students with cognitive disabilities, the Program for Effective Relations in Learning for students with emotional disabilities, additional support services like speech and counseling, and the level of parent participation.

Patton said the response from the community has been very positive.

“I think we’re ready for it as a district, and I think our general ed teachers are ready to step up at least from the training,” she said. “They were brainstorming all kinds of ways to make this work.”

In other business, Bond Director Roxanne Egan provided a quarterly update on the progress to the Measure S bond (More information will be in Tuesday’s paper), and the board unanimously voted to approve a resolution allowing Benicia High dance teacher Samantha Sanchez to teach physical education. Superintendent Charles Young also highlighted the work of the operations and maintenance department, who performed several tasks over the summer, including putting in a new carpet in Robert Semple Elementary’s hallway, remodeling the library at Matthew Turner Elementary, removing a dead tree at Benicia Middle School and paving the lower parking lot at Benicia High with new asphalt and micro-sealing.

The next meeting will be held Thursday, Sept. 7.