Meeting set to help MLHS parents

MOSES LAKE - Parents of current Moses Lake High School freshmen, sophomores and juniors are being invited to a meeting Feb. 18 to help them navigate the new high school schedule. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the high school theater.

Moses Lake School Board members approved a new seven-period schedule at the Jan. 23 board meeting. Students have their choice of beginning classes at 7 a.m., 7:55 a.m., 8:50 a.m. or 9:45 a.m.

"Students will start and end school at various times throughout the day. For example, a student who starts school during first period would be finished after eighth period, whereas a student who starts school during fourth period would be done after 11th period," wrote MLHS principal Josh Meek in a newsletter to be sent to parents.

Students can be at school for eight straight periods (including lunch), Meek said. But they also have the option of taking some classes in the morning, having a break sometime during the day, and finishing later in the afternoon, he said.

The idea is to make the schedule flexible enough to fit the varying needs of families, he said. "To really truly be flexible, let them (families) make those decisions," he said. "They can really own that schedule however they want."

Depending on when kids start, they're dismissed for the day from 2:15 to 5 p.m. Kids are there for seven 55-minute classes plus lunch, Meek said. The rumor that kids have to be in school from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. is unfounded, he said.

The goal was to reduce crowding at the high school, which is projected to have 2,383 students in the 2014-15 school year. The building was built to hold about 1,500 to 1,600 students, Mark Johnson, director of business and operations, said at the Jan. 23 board meeting. Incoming freshmen will have choices, but parents will be encouraged to be there when students start filling out the schedule, Meek said.

The switch will mean changes in the credit structure, but credits will be adjusted, Meek said. The class of 2015 will need 27 credits to grate, the classes of 2016 and 2017 will need 26 credits. The committee that worked on the new schedule wanted to ensure that expectations don't change for kids already in high school, he said - a junior that needed to pass all senior classes to graduate still will need to pass everything. But "for most kids it works out in their favor," he said.

Some parents have expressed concern about students having schedule breaks, but Meek said that's already happening. "We have hundreds of students who come and go on and off campus at different times according to their schedules."

High school officials are working on establishing a study center somewhere on campus for kids who have schedule breaks, he said.

Qualifying students will have a choice of seven academic classes, while other students will have six classes and a Chief Focus class. The Chief Focus program provides extra academic help and teaches study and time management skills, and has been part of the curriculum for three years, Meek said.

"You can earn your way out of it," he said, but some students choose to stay in it for the support it provides. Chief Focus is being expanded as part of the new schedule, he said.

Chief Time is a period where seniors meet with the teachers supervising their senior projects, and freshmen meet with advisors. There will be room for Chief Time in the new schedule, Meek said, and it could be expanded to sophomores and juniors.

Parents who have questions about the schedule change can contact the high school office, 509-766-2666, and talk to Meek, assistant principals Greg Krittrell, Kay Sidwell or Jake Long, or counselors Patty Holloway, Bren Curtis, Robert Jones, Enrique Tarver or Mari Cardwell.