After 15 years on block scheduling, Fulton High School is switching to an hourly schedule for the 2012-13 school year.
Instead of taking eight classes a semester - split into four classes a day and alternating days - students will take seven classes a day, every day. Principal Jason Whitt said district administrators decided to make the change based on input from the high school staff.
"We asked our teachers what type of schedule would be best for them, and what type of schedule would be best for our students," Whitt said. "Our teachers overwhelmingly thought that the hourly schedule is best for the students. It was a faculty decision."
He said the most important aspect of going to an hourly schedule is that students would see their teachers every day, "which allow students ... to get more dedicated attention."
"To sum it up, it allows us to catch students who are falling behind more quickly - when you see a student every day, you see it quicker," Whitt said. "Our students who need help need that."
He said when students heard about the impending change, a number of them were worried about losing their study hall period - which Whitt referred to as intervention time. Because of those concerns, he said the school day at the high school next year will include seven class periods and intervention time.
"A lot of our students use that time and use it wisely," Whitt said. "Since our students really feel a need for intervention time we found a way to keep it."