information from Highline Public Schools

Highline is holding a series of meetings to get input on course offerings that could be added to high school schedules. Check out the meeting schedule here. You can also give your input online.

Highline high schools will switch from a two-term semester schedule to a three-term trimester schedule in the fall of 2020. Students will have five (longer) class periods a day, rather than six (shorter) periods.

The trimester schedule gives students the opportunity to take more courses and earn more credits in four years of high school. Advantages of this include:

1.    Students have more opportunities to explore their interests outside of required courses in preparation for college and/or career, including the arts, career/technical education and physical education (PE). Students can also go deeper in an area of academic interest, such as STEM or the humanities.

2.    Students will have more credit earning opportunities to meet the state’s new, more demanding graduation requirements.

Here are some questions and answers on the trimester schedule:

How will having the opportunity to take more courses prepare students for college and career?

Students will be able to expand their learning in an area of interest and/or to go deeper in a pathway such as STEM (science, technology, math, engineering) or the humanities (social sciences, language arts, world languages). Students will be exposed to a greater variety of subject areas that could lead to a career.

What do we know about other districts using the trimester system?

Washington districts successfully using the trimester system are:

·Kelso (graduation rate: 89%)

·Sunnyside (graduation rate: 90%)

-Washington districts moving to trimesters include:

·Renton (switched to trimesters in September 2018)

·Oak Harbor (will switch to trimesters in September 2019)

How will we address the time gaps between courses in core subjects?

Some courses could be structured as three trimesters rather than two. This would provide more instruction time in a subject and eliminate the third-trimester gap. We are currently deciding which courses to structure this way. Your input is welcome!

How will course content be covered in fewer weeks per term?

We are addressing this in a number of ways:

·Class periods will be longer, so there is more instruction time per period.

·Some courses will run for three trimesters.

·Lessons can be restructured to focus in on key learning standards that prepare students for college and career.