For the past 19 years, block periods have been a staple of the Roosevelt High School schedule and community. Currently, block periods are required for all 9th graders and are optional in the 10th grade.
Roosevelt social studies teacher Michael Magidman describes block periods as “when an English and a social studies class are linked, and traditionally the way … that’s happened in this building means consecutively … back to back.” In this way, a single cohort of students are guaranteed to share at least two classes together.
Roosevelt social studies teacher Barbara Burton believes block periods have four objectives to benefit both students and teachers.
The first objective is to “create an opportunity for teachers to collaborate and work together to develop [an] interdisciplinary curriculum.” Second, Burton believes that blocks “help students develop community when they come in as freshmen, and … help support kids who are feeling a little bit marginalized or uncomfortable in a big school.”
Third, Burton believes blocks provide teachers with an “opportunity to provide extra support … [to] kids who might otherwise be falling in the cracks.” Finally, she says, “As teachers, we are constantly talking to each other about our lessons, and about what we’re doing in our classes, and it makes us better teachers.”
While Burton, among other block teachers, have shared many benefits of block periods and their impact on the Roosevelt community, language arts teacher Carolyn Kenney Hall, Magidman, and Burton all express one disadvantage: scheduling.
Recently, there have been on-going discussions between Roosevelt administration and teachers regarding the possible removal of 9th and 10th grade block periods in the 2022-23 school year.
Scheduling has posed the largest issue with maintaining blocked periods. After students submit their course registration in February, the data and classes are entered into a machine that produces a rough draft of the master schedule; subsequent edits are then necessary.
This rough draft is a big puzzle that requires effort from the Roosevelt administration. To complete the schedule, human hours are invested by the administration.
Scheduling block periods within the context of the master schedule’s larger puzzle has proved to be a difficult process. Blocked classes require periods to occur in succession, therefore limiting flexibility to adjust around a students’ course requests and graduation requirements.
While blocks for the 9th grade class are still in contention, 10th grade class blocks have been fully eliminated for the 2022-23 school year and beyond. According to Social Studies Department Head and teacher Daniel Gross, the school has officially cut yearlong AP Human Geography (APHG) as a course option for 10th graders and replaced the class with a single semester of Ethnic Studies World History 3.
By removing APHG, the credit requirement for the class of 2025 and beyond has dropped from three and a half to three social studies credits; this allows incoming classes to explore other electives during this additional open semester in sophomore year.
Regarding 9th grade blocks, Roosevelt freshman and block student Esmae Nelson says “I think it creates a really good community, especially because it’s a difficult transition for freshmen … and it’s just a lot, it’s a bigger school, and having a block creates a safer space, and it makes it feel more comfortable.”
With freshmen block periods still up in the air, the Roosevelt community could see a change in scheduling soon.
