9 Bartlesville district schools to have longer days this year

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - The upcoming academic year will bring some changes to the schedules of most of the schools within the Bartlesville Public School District.

Nine of the district's 11 schools will have longer school days, according Bartlesville school officials.

"Where we can find time for extra instruction — to ensure our students receive the best education possible — that’s what we like to do," said BPSD superintendent Dr. Gary W. Quinn.

He said though the schedule changes are "very slight" and will have little effect on the students and staff throughout the course of a given school day, the changes — when taken together throughout the entire school year — can make a big difference.

For the district’s seven elementary schools — Hoover, Jane Phillips, Oak Park, Ranch Heights, Richard Kane, Wayside and Woodrow Wilson — school days will begin earlier and will end later.

This year, classes will last from 8:50 a.m. to 3:35 p.m — giving an extra 15 minutes to the day compared to last year's 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. school day.

The change will bring an additional 44 hours of study to the district's 176 days of instruction for students.

"We’re happy with the schedule changes that we’re making for the 2010-11 academic year," said Quinn, "and I think they will have a positive effect on our instruction."

Also set for schedule changes are Bartlesville Mid-High School and Madison Middle School which will move from six- to seven-period days. School official hope the change will allow the students at the respective schools more flexibility to take elective courses.

Both the Mid-High School and Madison will see their schedules change from last year's 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. schedule to this year's 7:50 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. With the alteration, class periods at the two schools which were 55 minutes last year, this year will be 50 minutes. Students will have to transition quickly between classes as time between classes will be trimmed from five minutes to four.

According to officials, the swap from a six to seven periods will help students find space for electives as this year Mid-High freshmen will be required to take five core classes in a given semester, plus a new financial literacy course. The extra period will leave one slot available for an elective course.

In addition, with the old six-period day, if a student struggled and needed to take a remediation class in with the core courses, there would be no room for an elective. That won’t be the case with the new seven-period plan.

Central Middle School already uses a seven-period schedule and which will not see a change to its class times this year. Bartlesville High School, which features a six-hour schedule, will not see a change either.

Those who would like to see the complete list of school schedules for the district by going online by clicking here . They can then click on the "Students & Parents" link which is located on the left side of the home page. Once on the "Students & Parents" page, the list of school schedules can be found at the bottom of the page.

The district's upcoming academic year is due to begin on Wednesday, Aug. 11.