Lakewood Public Schools
Lakewood High School
Trimester Scheduling
Presentation
Brian Williams, Principal
Lakewood Public Schools
Introduction
The concept of Trimesters is not new, but
is one that is being considered by many
high schools now with the new state
graduation requirements.
In a trimester schedule, the school year
would be divided into three terms instead
of two semesters.
Lakewood Public Schools
Trimester Rationale
The new Michigan Merit Curriculum is forcing
schools to find ways to reach all students. The
trimester format appears to meet the needs of all
students.
1. Students who seek advanced courses will have more
opportunities to take advanced courses.
2. Students who wish to take advantage of the Career
Technological Centers will have more options available.
3. Students who struggle in school will have more
remediation opportunities. (Referred to as recycling)
Lakewood Public Schools
School Year Calendar Comparison
SEMESTER:
Aug [---18 wks---]
[ ---18 wks---] June
January
TRIMESTER:
Aug
[--12 wks--]
[ --12 wks--]
November
[--12 wks--]
March
June
Lakewood Public Schools
Advantages of Trimester Scheduling
•Students will have more time to devote to in-depth and
quality study time in a fewer number of subjects per
trimester.
•Students show a willingness to take a challenging 12
week course than they are in a semester structure.
(Reported by other schools)
•Students can take more electives, including advanced
courses.
•Students can take different types of classes than they
might have ordinarily taken.
Lakewood Public Schools
More Advantages
•More time for comprehensive instruction and strategies.
•Curriculum is reevaluated and realigned to what is
considered important for the students to know.
•Creation of new courses.
•Teachers have more daily planning time of 72-75 minutes.
(Planning should strengthen)
•There are fewer class changes, which makes for fewer
potential disruptions and discipline problems that often
arise from students moving around a facility.
•If a student fails a class, there are more opportunities to
repeat it and still graduate on time. (Recycling)
•Meets the rigor required by the MMC.
Lakewood Public Schools
Questions and Answers
1. Will Lakewood be able to meet all the MMC
requirements?
•
We believe this is possible with realignment of state standards.
Other schools are reporting success and we believe we will achieve
the same success.
2. Which courses will be year-long courses?
•
All Advanced Placement Courses, band and choir are typical for
most schools.
3. What is the length of all other courses?
•
Typically a year-long course will run two trimesters and a semester
course will run one trimester.
Lakewood Public Schools
Questions and Answers
4. Will trimesters have a negative impact on college
admissions?
•
NO – Surveys conducted of U-M, MSU, WMU, CMU, Kalamazoo, Albion
and Alma Colleges have reported no negative impact.
5. Will the longer class periods go beyond a student’s
attention span?
•
Learning from other school districts that have implemented a trimester
schedule stress the importance of instructional design strategies –
such as, every 10-15 minutes there should be a classroom transition.
Lakewood Public Schools
Questions and Answers
6. Is there a concern for the potential gap in instruction
that will occur if a student has a first trimester and
second trimester course, and then does not have the
next sequential course until the next trimester of the
following year?
•
Studies (Semb, Ellis, & Araujo (1993), Kamuch & Ledman (1995), and
Bahrick & Hall (1991)) show that “gapping” did not result in loss of
retention. Schools who have implemented the trimester schedule
have reported similar findings. Furthermore, these same schools
indicate that the GPA’s of the students have remained consistent.
Lakewood Public Schools
School Day (Tentative) 08-09
Start
End
Minutes
Lunch
1st Hour
7:30
8:42
72
2nd Hour
8:47
9:59
72
Meeting/Reading
9:59
10:14
15
3rd (A Lunch)
10:49
12:01
72
10:14-10:44
3rd (B Lunch)
10:19
12:01
72
10:55-11:55
3rd (C Lunch)
10:19
11:31
72
11:51-12:01
4th Hour
12:06
1:18
72
5th Hour
1:23
2:35
72
Lakewood Public Schools
Sample Freshman Schedule Taking
Algebra (Colored Slides are all Electives)
Trimester 1
Trimester 2
Trimester 3
1
English 9 A
Micro
English 9 B
2
Algebra I A
Algebra I B
Elective
3
Freshman
Academy
Biology A
Biology B
4
PE A
PE B
Health
5
U.S History
U.S. History
Elective
Hour
Providing a World Class
Education
Lakewood Public Schools
Sample Sophomore Schedule
With Band (Colored Slides are all Electives)
Hour
Trimester 1
Trimester 2
Trimester 3
1
English 10 A
Elective
English 10B
2
Geometry A
Geometry B
Government
3
Economics
4
Spanish I A
Spanish I B
Elective
5
Band
Band
Band
Physical Science A Physical Science B
Providing a World Class
Education
Lakewood Public Schools
Sample Junior Schedule – LCC
Class 2011 & Beyond
(Colored Slides are all Electives)
Hour
1
2
Trimester 1
Trimester 2
Trimester 3
English 11 A
ACT PREP
English 11 B
U.S History
Chemistry or
Physics
U.S. History
3
ALGEBRA II
ALGEBRA II
Chemistry or
Physics
4
LCC
LCC
LCC
5
LCC
LCC
LCC
Providing a World Class
Education
Lakewood Public Schools
Sample Junior Schedule – LCC
(Colored Slides are all Electives)
Hour
Trimester 1
Trimester 2
Trimester 3
1
English 11 A
ACT PREP
English 11 B
2
U.S History
Elective
U.S. History
3
ALGEBRA II
ALGEBRA II
Elective
4
LCC
LCC
LCC
5
LCC
LCC
LCC
Providing a World Class
Education
Lakewood Public Schools
Sample Senior Schedule- Class of 2011& Beyond
AP Courses
(Colored Slides are all Electives)
Hour Trimester 1
Trimester 2
1
Senior Social
Studies
Elective
2
AP English
AP English
Trimester 3
Elective
AP English
3
AP Calculus
AP Calculus
AP Calculus
4
AP Biology
AP Biology
AP Biology
5
Elective
Elective
Elective
Providing a World Class
Education
Lakewood Public Schools
Research
• Trimesters result in greater scheduling flexibility.
Miller (1998) reports that students were able to
enroll in classes that would not fit in their
schedules under the semester model.
• Trimesters result in a decrease in behavioral
problems. All studies note that students are
more engaged and perhaps due to fewer
passing times, less involved in behavioral
disturbances.
Providing a World Class
Education
Lakewood Public Schools
Schools Using or Moving To
Trimester Scheduling
Saranac
Belding
Grayling
Caledonia
Maple Valley
Constantine
Ionia
Holt
Plymouth
TK (Middleville) Eaton Rapids
Harrison
West Ottawa
East Kentwood
Tri-County
Zeeland
Wayland-Union
Boyne Falls
Lakewood Public Schools
Schools Using or Moving To
Trimester Scheduling
Hamilton
Quincy
Napoleon
Hudsonville
Ovid-Elsie
Morenci
Cedar Springs
Spring Lake
Essexville-Garber
Farmington Hills Holland
Comstock
St. Johns
Allendale
Leslie
Godfrey Lee
Newaygo
Rockford
Lakewood Public Schools
Schools Using or Moving To
Trimester Scheduling
Reed City
Manistee
Bedford
North Branch
Orchard View
Monroe
Bath
Lapeer
Dundee
Holly
Clarkston
Cheboygan
St. Louis
Reed City
Fennville
Whitmore Lake
Traverse City
Grand Ledge
Lakewood Public Schools
Schools Using or Moving To
Trimester Scheduling
Ann Arbor Skyline
Southgate
Imlay City
Big Rapids
Holton
Jonesville
Shelby
Ferndale
Hesperia
Saline
Lake Fenton
Farwell
Cadillac
Shepard
Birmingham
Lakewood Public Schools
Schools Using or Moving To
Trimester Scheduling
Walled Lake
Sturgis
Coldwater
Grant
Clarenceville
Montague
Allegan
Fremont
Lowell
New Buffalo
Montabella
Harbor Springs
North Huron
Warren Fitzgerald
Ludington
Cassopolis
Fruitport
Mona Shores
Lakewood Public Schools
Why Trimesters
We believe this schedule provides
ALL students with the opportunity to
meet new state required graduation
requirements, maintain rigorous
academic pursuits, and explore
opportunities they may otherwise be
denied.
Lakewood Public Schools
Additional Information
www.trimesters.org
•Created by Mark Westerburg – Spring Lake
www.wws.k12.in.us/WHS
•Westfield High School - Indiana
A copy of this PowerPoint can be found on
the Lakewood website
www.lakewoodps.org
Lakewood Public Schools
One Final Note
Continuity gives us roots; change
gives us branches, letting us
stretch and grow and reach new
heights.
Pauline R. Kezer
Lakewood Public Schools
Lakewood High School
Trimester Scheduling
Presentation
Brian Williams, Principal