New Schedule Announced for Next School Year

February 7, 2020

On February 3, Principal Mona Passman announced a new daily schedule to be put in place next school year. 

The process of designing the new schedule was handled primarily by the Academic Think Tank, based on extensive research, talking to other schools, and surveying students, parents, and faculty.

The schedule will feature block classes and a later start time than the current schedule, allowing students to get much-needed rest and spend time engaging in deeper learning with longer class periods.

The school day will start at 8:15 am and end at 2:50 pm. This decision was based on abundant research about adolescent sleep needs. Parent and student surveys indicated that while the majority of parents and students supported a later start time, some were concerned about the impact on after-school athletics, activities, and jobs. The 8:15 am start time allows for both a later start as well as flexibility at the end of the day for these activities.

Our new schedule offers a consistent three-day rotating class schedule. Classes will meet for one hour on two out of every three days. These 60-minute class periods provide ample time for teachers and students to delve deeper into their subject matter. It also slows the pace of the day and eliminates some of the transition time needed to start and end a class. This will also give students an opportunity to experience a schedule more similar to a college structure.

We added a 75-minute “flex period” at lunch. Most parents and students voiced a need for academic help and/or study time during the school day. Flex time provides for lunch with peers, as well as academic help and study time. It will also enable time during the school day for club meetings, time to meet with counselors and support groups, prayer time, etc. This is also an excellent opportunity to learn and practice time management skills. Teachers will also have an opportunity to meet together in Professional Learning Communities so they can better meet the needs of students.

"Alumni/ae that return to CDH tell me repeatedly that managing the amount of free time they have outside of high school can be a difficult thing to do," said Science teacher Mike Steineman '92, co-chair of the Academic Think Tank. "With the addition of Flex Time, students will have an opportunity to select what they are going to do with that time every day."  

Our new schedule also incorporates a separate period for “community time” for mass, assemblies, class meetings and CASA. We will no longer be required to design special schedules with shortened classes to accommodate these important community gatherings. 

"Our assemblies, CASA, Senior Service, etc. are what set us apart from other schools. We wanted to find a schedule that would allow us to continue these traditions and maintain academic excellence at the same time," Steineman said. "It was important for us to look at all the wonderful things that we do at CDH and make sure that we don't lose those traditions that make us the school we are."