LAWRENCE CO. – Yesterday’s North Lawrence Community Schools Board meeting saw the approval of the NLCS decision to move Bedford North Lawrence High School from a trimester schedule back to a semester schedule. The decision was made after several meetings to gauge the effectiveness of semesters instead of trimesters and the extra workload transitioning for next year would add to staff.
Bedford High School Principal Matthew Canada recommended transitioning from a trimester to a semester schedule “To keep in mind our students and maximize their experiences.”
The BNL High School transition was approved for the years 2024-2025, and the attempted amendment for the transition to take place in 2025-2026 by Jeff Lambrecht and Tracy Bailey failed.
Jeff Lambrecht also voted against the transition in general, but it passed with a majority.
Initial concerns were brought forward from the North Lawrence Career Center about the schedule changes. The Center was in favor of trimesters. “We don’t want it where students have to pick a track,” regarding different trades and skills. The representative wanted flexibility and open options for students.
Semesters, as opposed to trimesters, will change class offerings to alternating path options instead of being able to offer all of them each year.
Other concerns came from staff that would do much of the schedule alteration.
The transition would mean that:
- Miss out on student conferencing
- Reduce course drop/add times
One council member had concerns with timing and the potential mistakes that may occur with rushing. Waiting will allow counselors to talk to students and help them understand what new courses are and give staff time to tear down and rebuild courses.
Implementing the semesters will have an initial tear-down and rebuild of 3-7 days, then cause a month delay that will carry throughout the rest of the school year.
The transition will also require an entirely new course catalog for both Bedford North Lawrence High School and NLCS.
However, BNL’s graduation rate has been falling off, prompting the urgency of the whole discussion to begin with.
NLCS Board President Wendy Miller wants to stop the dropping rate but does not want to put more stress or pressure on the teachers and staff. This is weighed against the importance of improving student education and graduation rates.
Teachers were consulted on how difficult the transition back to semesters would be. Lacy Hawkins reported that the number of sessions and when they happen doesn’t really affect teachers as long as they’ve taught the classes before.
Lacey Hawkins stated when BNL initially changed to trimesters, she had to cut down her classes, remove educational content that she thought was fun, and really condense the content into a shorter time span.
Notably, it was easier for teachers to stretch content into a larger time frame instead of cutting out content into a shorter one, like trimesters required.
The council stated that there will be no change in the number of staff due to the transition, and any hours worked beyond those that are usual for staff will be compensated.
The only factor that would alter the number of teachers is a fluctuation in enrollment.
Principal Matthew Canada explained that the transition in the coming year is attainable and best for the students despite the challenges. At-risk students especially would benefit from the return to semesters instead of staying with trimesters.
In conclusion, the consensus that what was best for the students overall was most important.
The teachers and staff will have approximately nine months to adjust to the change and prepare for the semester transition.
