Biglerville High School plans to switch from seven periods a day to a four-period block schedule that administrators expect will better serve students and teachers.
Currently, high school students’ classes range from 44 to 46 minutes in length, administrators said at the Upper Adams School Board committee meeting Tuesday. Under the block schedule, classes would run between 83 and 85 minutes. Students would take four classes a semester, then halfway through the year switch to four new classes — a format many colleges and universities follow.
The block schedule is planned to start with the 2026-2027 school year.
Principal Beth Graham, Secondary Assistant Principal Jared Mummert and School Counselor Heather Swope in their presentation Tuesday said the change would benefit the school in numerous ways.
Rather than teaching “bell to bell,” Mummert said teachers will have more time in class to build stronger connections with students and have more meaningful discussion.
“For our teachers and our students there will be a deeper learning,” he said. They’ll really be able to go into in depth discussions, they can do more projects, more hands-on activities in science classes.”
Mummert said students will be able to take more classes in one year, give themselves time to take dual-enrollment courses or pursue an internship. In addition, he expects students to feel less stress juggling four classes at once instead of the typical seven. Block schedules also cut the time students spend in hallways moving from one class to another, he said.
Superintendent Todd Dishong said block scheduling allows for a greater depth of learning. He said traditional scheduling is “like a mile wide and maybe like half a mile deep,” and block scheduling is like a “half mile wide but a mile deep.”
The school board first heard about the block schedule transition in November 2024. Since then, administrators created mock schedules, gathered Upper Adams teacher feedback, heard from those in other districts who teach under a block schedule, and provided instructional strategies to help Upper Adams teachers adapt to longer class periods.
While the administrators touted the benefits of block scheduling, some board members were not convinced.
Board member Tricia Plank worried how the new schedule could affect student athletes who will miss a larger block of class time. Graham said it would be “easier” for students to catch up since they will be taking fewer classes at once. Mummert said under the new schedule students will have 30 minutes of “flex time” compared to the current 20 minutes, which they can use to see teachers about missed work.
Plank encouraged administrators to gather student feedback on the new schedule.
Swope said the administrators would like to hold a public meeting to help district families understand the change.
New board member Matthew Lustig said in his own research he found while schools see some benefits to block scheduling like higher GPAs, it can also be more difficult for students to catch up on work when they are absent. He also expressed concern that students may be spending less time in class over the course of the year under a block schedule compared to a traditional schedule.
In addition, Lustig took issue with how the administrators presented the information to the board.
“I really appreciate, and I would appreciate in the future too, for changes that are suggested like this, not just a selling to the board, but also a frank discussion of pros and cons,” he said. “It would be better to not speak as if it’s a done decision when the board has not yet taken a vote.”
Graham said she was under the impression that the board does not need to vote on the block schedule.
Lustig said he did not know whether state law required a board vote, but he spoke to districts “either in Adams County or surrounding counties” who said they did seek board approval for such a change. He said the Upper Adams board may need more time to decide.
It was not immediately clear Tuesday whether the Upper Adams School Board needs to approve the block schedule.
The Upper Adams School District policy manual, under policy 006, indicates which matters require board approval as per the Pennsylvania School Code. It states “adopting planned instruction” requires a majority affirmative vote of the full board. The policy does not appear to require a board vote on class length or schedules.
Course descriptions do need board approval, however, and a vote on that matter is scheduled for the Jan. 20, 7 p.m. meeting.
