Welcome to Stafford County Schools.  Stafford County has 17 Elementary Schools, 8 Middle Schools, and 5 High Schools.  The 5 High Schools are Brooke Point, Colonial Forge, North Stafford, Stafford, and Mountain View.  At this time 3 of the 5 High Schools in Stafford County currently are on a Block Schedule.

 ”Block scheduling:  is a type of academic scheduling in which each studenthas fewer classes per day for a longer period of time. This is intended to result in more time for teaching due to less class switching and preparation. It also allows for a student to take four electives, rather than two, or three”.   -From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In 2005 the Stafford County School District adopted block scheduling at three out of five of its high schools: North Stafford, Mountain View, and Brooke Point. The other two high schools, Colonial Forge and Stafford High Schools, remain on the traditional school schedule.  In block scheduling the students are required to take classes that last twice as long as traditional classes. A traditional 45 minute class becomes a 90 minute class (87 minutes to allow time between class) under the block scheduling idea. Stafford has adopted what is known as 4X4 block scheduling where the students take 4 different courses per semester that are taught at twice the time of a traditional class. The block scheduling students take 8 classes for the year, whereas under the traditional schedule the students take 7 classes.

With this said block scheduling is a topic that is very controversial.  It is believed to have its pros and cons.  Which I guess is the case for just about anything. 

There are some advantages that have been observed in high schools using block scheduling, including:

• Fewer failing grades
• Less time lost in the halls between classes
• More time for student-teacher interaction
• Less stress (unless teachers actually try to cover twice the material in a longer class period!)
• More time for labs and advanced topics with motivated students
• More time for teacher planning
• More time for off-site work experiences for school-to-work programs (is this really an educational advantage to students, or a nice way for businesses to get free labor?)
• Reduced drop out rates

 The disadvantages that have been observed in high schools with block scheduling are including:

• Problems with attention span limitations

• Retention problems

• Problems in transferring

• Problems with Specific Courses

• Academic performance

• Difficulty when school is missed

I currently have two teenagers in high school and absolutely love the block scheduling.  I have noticed that my children are receiving even more attention than in a traditional 50 min class.  Yes, it is a time for students to complete homework which gives the children the power to ask for help if a subject is difficult.  I have found that my children understand the work more due to the amount of discussion on the subject.  I have also noticed that with core classes the school system does try, with all of their efforts, to separate the classes.  The separation also with the Semesters to even out the core classes and the electives.

I want to hear what you think about block Scheduling.  Are your children apart of it?  Do you love it? Hate it?  Let us hear from you.

Interested in the schools that are block scheduling here are a list of counties that you will find are on the block:

VIRGINIA: All public high schools in these city and county systems have block schedules: Alexandria, Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fauquier, Loudoun, Manassas, Manassas Park, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Winchester.