Henrico Schools to continue 8-period schedule for some high schools

Half of Henrico high schools will continue to operate on an eight-period schedule implemented through a pilot program while the others keep seven periods, school system officials concluded recently.

Five high schools – J.R. Tucker, Highland Springs, Hermitage, Varina and Henrico – chose to participate in a pilot program to use an eight-period schedule, said Liz Parker, director of school counseling, student support and wellness. During the current course request window in which students select their classes for next year, some parents heard that schedules would be returning to seven periods.

Whitney Fogg’s ninth-grader, a student in the Spanish immersion program at J.R. Tucker High School, texted her panicking that he wasn’t going to be able to take language electives such as conversational Spanish because of the schedule change, she said.

This is Fogg's first year as the parent of a high-schooler, and she didn’t realize the effect of a possible schedule change until her child explained it to her, she said. Additionally, she had not seen the announcement about the switch back to seven periods, which she said was so “obscure” in a weekly email that she missed it.

Henrico school officials had continued to discuss the implications of the pilot program leading up to the registration period. They wanted parents to be prepared in case their students would be switching to a different schedule, Parker said.

“There may have been a little bit of premature communication just to try and keep parents involved and aware,” Parker said. “But then ultimately, meeting with the principals, we were able to provide the flexibility working with them to continue on their desired schedule.”

In a Facebook group including both parents and teachers, there were varying levels of knowledge about the different schedules among schools and opinions about what the right option was, Fogg said.

“I think no matter which side you were on, the lack of continuity right was probably the most frustrating thing,” Fogg said. “Because coming out of COVID, we really do not need to be yanking teachers in multiple different directions, or our kids for that matter.”

Uncertainty about whether the eight-period schedule worked well for schools may have led to initial communication about the schedules, and the decision to keep all high schools operating with their current schedules was later relayed in emails from principals, Parker said. The master schedule is an instructional tool, and student needs drive scheduling decisions, Parker said.

The eight-period schedule gives students the option to take electives, but not every student at the five schools offering this schedule takes eight classes, Parker said. At schools with seven periods, students can opt to take early-bird classes or summer school.

“We are always going to err on the side of doing what we can to create the most opportunities for students as possible, and sometimes that’s a little bumpy,” she said.

Some parents were concerned about the potential equity implications of the pilot program and schedule changes between schools on the East End and West End, Fogg said. While she was happy schools would determine their schedules, Fogg wishes the process around scheduling decisions had been handled better.

“It just seemed really sudden and unwise and un-thought-out,” Fogg said. “And I was, in fact, really pleased to hear that each school was going to be able to keep what worked for them.”