After a year in operation, the Timpview High School block schedule will be undergoing changes in an effort to increase class time.

Timpview began its block schedule last year because of increased state requirements for graduation.

The block schedule allows for more advanced placement classes, as well as more remedial classes.

Last year's schedule consisted of half of students' eight classes on Tuesday and Thursday, and the other half of the classes held on Wednesday and Friday. The Monday schedule started with academic assistance, then all eight classes.

Timpview principal George Bayles said the schedule had students in each class for only 37 minutes on Mondays, which turned out to be ineffective.

"We found that that just wasn't long enough," he said. "We just couldn't get anything done in 37 minutes."

The high school will now be using a more traditional rolling block schedule, with even periods on Monday, Wednesday and Friday one week, and Tuesday and Thursday the next. Bayles said the students will still have academic assistance time for 45 minutes at the beginning of each Wednesday, but the academic assistance days will no longer include all eight classes. Instead, the tutoring time will affect even periods one week and odd periods the next.

Bayles said some of the problems with the old schedule stemmed from the amount of time spent in class on Monday. The academic assistance was an important feature for the school to retain, but Bayles said the combined schedule with eight classes in one day was not effective for students or teachers.

"It was not effective instructional time, and it was not effective student support time," he said.

The block schedule drew some criticism from parents who felt 80-minute class periods were too long for teenagers, but Bayles said the time should not be a problem. Many kids spend the same length of time playing video games, but Bayles acknowledged it can be a challenge for learning-disabled students. The block schedule is an adjustment, but Bayles said adjustments can be made to help students, such as breaking up the class period into segments.

"You can't sit and lecture for 87 minutes," he said.

Provo school board member Carolyn Wright said although the new schedule will be a benefit, she doesn't think a block schedule is the best way for students to learn. She said she has heard from parents of students from across the spectrum of academic ability who all wish to return to the school's old seven-period day.

Wright said the schedule provides the same amount of overall instruction time, but it decreases the number of hours spent on each subject because there are eight periods instead of seven. A group of parents even filed a petition earlier this year asking that at least 140-150 hours be spent per school year on each credit and that math classes be held every day.

"That's how serious they were about it," Wright said.

The block schedule does not help students achieve, Wright said, and it essentially decreases the amount of schooling in a class from nine months to eight months once total hours are calculated. Wright said the district needed to solve the problem of new state requirements of more core classes, but it should have been done a different way.

"Was the seven-period day perfect?" she asked. "Well, Timpview High School was thriving."

Wright said the district should continue to look at alternate schedule options, such as a setup with some classes held every day and some held less often. Wright said the new schedule is an improvement over last year, but the overall schedule is still not a benefit for students.

"I think continued improvement can be made," she said.

Greg Hudnall, student services director for Provo School District, said he can see both sides of the scheduling issue. Some students do well with the longer class periods, and some do not. The key is for teachers to adjust their class periods to adapt to students' needs.

"What we have found is that the classes it works the best in are the ones that have 130, 140 minutes of hands-on time," he said.

Hudnall said the change is hard on students and teachers, but teachers have enjoyed having more time in a class period to connect with their students. His own children have enjoyed the schedule because it breaks up the classes, but Hudnall said it is important to keep looking for ways to make it better.

"Our principals are constantly looking at what they can do to improve," he said.