A local parent told school board members tonight that the new 5x5 block system being used inSyracuse city high schools is causing major problems for her son and many students.
Diane Lloyd, whose son attends Corcoran High School, told the board that her son has missed ten classes already, because of having to leave school early with the golf team. “I hate to have the kid be put in the position where he has to choose between a sport and a class,” Lloyd said.
The 5x5 block system was formed so that students would be able to take more classes, the creator of the system Brian F. Nolan, Director of High Schools and Career Education, said tonight. However, Nolan admits that an “increase in enrollment, as well as 14 teacher cuts, has led to bigger class sizes.”
At the meeting tonight we spoke with June Goodreau, an art teacher at Henninger High School. She explained that the original school day had four, 80-minute blocks, plus about 30 minutes at the end of the school day in which students could get advising from their teachers. With the new 5x5 block system, Goodreau said, the students now have five, 74-minute blocks and the advising session has been eliminated.
Students can use their open block time for electives or to meet with teachers, but teachers aren’t always available during a student’s free block time. This leaves no opportunity for students to make up tests or asks questions, because the school day now ends at the same time for faculty and students alike. “The main issue is with parents and a loss of advisement,” Nolan said. Goodreau said tonight that she fears some students are too nervous to raise their hands in class and now have no chance to ask their questions at another time. “I really don’t like it.”
The Board of Education said tonight that its Curriculum Committee will be discussing the 5x5 block system at their next meeting.
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