Scheduling problems need thoughtful, creative solutions
by Dan Rzewnicki, Editor in Chief
September 12, 2011

Ah, the first day of school. Students return dressed in new outfits, sporting smiles and tired eyes. They wave hello to friends they haven’t seen for a while and scan the crowd for interesting new students. Teachers weather the snowstorm of questions awaiting them in homeroom and prepare for another year of dealing with all of us. This year’s first day of school, however, also brought incomplete schedules, an overwhelming number of study halls and a packed guidance office.

Paula McCorkle returned to school excited for her senior year, but was baffled when she discovered her schedule had been filled with four study halls.

“I didn’t want to sit in school for nothing, but it was difficult to change classes because of the number of students wanting to change schedules,” McCorkle said. She added that she had the limited number of choices to fill her schedule given the number of electives she had all ready taken and the number of classes being cut.

Guidance counselor Kelly Sadler said that she is very upset for students that have no other options than to fill a schedule with study halls.

Sadler was furloughed over the summer, leaving the schedule to be built by people who had no experience scheduling all the students and balancing all the classes within the schedule. Sadler was recalled from furlough at the Aug. 17 school board meeting, leaving her just one work day before the teacher’s in-service to try to correct the messy excuse for students’ schedules that, ironically, had no study halls in them at all. Talk about last minute.

The study hall problem affected most of the student body. Fifth period features four different study halls filled with a grand total of 91 students, even after a multitude of schedule changes.

In other words, nearly 25 percent of the high school student body is wasting the same period in study hall. Every day.

But the scheduling fiasco doesn’t stop at study halls. While the budget cuts did cost Leechburg 10 percent of its faculty, many teachers still at Leechburg are losing classes rather than taking on a bigger load.

Social studies teacher Tyler Vargo’s honors sociology class, Contemporary Social Problems, was cut. Reason: “not enough” students signed up.

Ironically, Physics II was just approved to run with three students, and Journalism I and II simultaneously during run sixth period with five students. 

And speaking of physics, physics and Algebra III/trigonometry are scheduled the same period, cutting the number of students enrolled in physics in half. It is important for the students in physics to have the math skills covered in Algebra III/trig, and most students take both courses the same year.

Technology teacher Mark Duriancik has also been losing classes over the last few years. He has lost accounting, intro to business and marketing. He nearly lost Microsoft Office this year. These cuts leave business-bound students like senior Tyler Swarmer short on electives. Swarmer’s schedule features 13 study halls per week, but he said he would not fill his schedule with electives that mean nothing to him.

Technology teacher Kris Kulick also said that he would like to see his three-day classes moved to all week courses. He argues that he has nearly the same group of students in study hall and would be able to cover much more material with the two extra class days per week. Furthermore, in order to combat a strict schedule, more and more of Kulick’s classes are being shortened.

Spanish teacher Tricia Shank has been challenged to teach Spanish III, IV, and V. She has to teach those all during one period. Shank said she is embracing the challenge and would rather have some sort of class offered than nothing, but she also knows there could be more for the students.

“The kids want to be there, and if it were not for the mixed classes, so much more could be done,” Shank said.

In spite of the mess, Sadler is not to blame. She was laid off and given one day to be the hero and fix the schedule. One could argue that she fought valiantly and was able to improve an awful situation to a “pretty bad” status. Also, given that Sadler’s position is currently funded by a grant, she could be put in the same situation every single summer.

Furthermore, one can hardly blame assistant K-12 principal Matt Kruluts and the other employees who attempted to put together a schedule with little knowledge of how to do so.

The blame is put on whoever decided that LAHS was going to get by without a guidance counselor – as if the only responsibility she had was to drop a few names in a computer schedule and magically everything would work out all right. The fact that Leechburg is a small school with several classes that meet just once per day makes scheduling a particular challenge. Imagine scheduling a senior who wants to take Honors English 12, band, Spanish V, college composition, Physics II and AP Calculus, all classes that meet in one period slot only. The task is more than a challenge.  

District superintendent Dr. James Budzilek said that the school district can stay on its feet if it continues to stay competitive and provide creative options. Yet, cutting class after class and leaving a student with no other option than a study hall is hardly being creative or competitive.

Nearly a third of the junior class left for Lenape this school year, many in search of more options and a jumpstart to their careers.

Believe it or not, many students come to school every day hoping to learn something and earn an education. But sitting in four study halls a day is not education. Filling a schedule with study halls and electives that mean nothing to a student or his or her future is not being creative. Changes need to be made in the immediate future to improve the quality of education at Leechburg.

Leechburg’s students are ready for an education. We are waiting for “competitive and creative options.” We are waiting for a change.