Members of a steering committee charged with proposing modifications to West Seattle High's four-period day aren't making as much progress as they had hoped.

The group, comprised of West Seattle High staff and parents, has been meeting twice a month since mid-February to address ongoing concerns about the school's 13-year-old block scheduling system.

Based on a program evaluation last year, Seattle Public School's Chief Academic Officer Carla Santorno has asked the committee to come up a modified version of the block system that could include some shorter periods or retain the current schedule providing certain conditions are met.

The school must make available two years of continuous and sequential math coursework for all ninth and tenth graders. Year long world language and music classes must also be available for students.

A new or modified schedule wouldn't start until the 2008-09 school year.

The deadline for a recommendation is June 29, but if the committee isn't able to come up with something to Santorno's satisfaction the school could revert back to a six-period day.

At a committee meeting last week, some expressed concern with the lack of progress as deadline day nears.

The group is waiting on the district to create simulated schedules of a modified four-period day. They also plan to analyze what West Seattle's schedule would look like in a six-period day.

Technical difficulties have delayed that and committee members were frustrated.

"We need to see what the real deal is," said Jeff Ursino, head of the school's science department.

"I feel like we haven't really gotten anywhere," said one parent on the committee.

Brad Bernatek, who works for the chief academic officer, said he would try to get the mock schedules in the next two weeks. Bernatek has replaced Ramona Pierson as chair of the steering committee and is still trying to get caught up.

West Seattle's assistant principal Bob Court said he's concerned that the committee wouldn't have enough time to come up with a recommendation by the end of June.

"I'm not sure the end of April is the best time to get broken in," he said to Bernatek "Why are we rushing this?"

Much of the debate over the schedule has divided parents and some West Seattle High staff; staff has historically supported the four-period day while parents have been critical.

Students take four 85-minute class periods per quarter with a four-period day and one year of curriculum is completed each semester. Most other high schools in the district take six 55-minute classes.

The district's program evaluation found some benefits to the block schedule are fewer transitions per day and better teacher-student personalization with longer class times. The four-period day also allows teachers longer preparation periods, though some have questioned whether that time is used appropriately.

The evaluation also found some significant limitations to the schedule, which echo concerns of some West Seattle High parents.

The schedule provides fewer opportunities for electives and advanced placement classes. Fewer sections of courses are offered and classes are about 8 percent larger than those in a six-period day. Transferring credits to high schools with another type of schedule can also be difficult.

Continuity is one of the biggest issues for some parents because subjects like language arts and math are only taken one semester per year. Parents also say that longer class times can result in loss of focus during a class period.

But on the other hand, lab classes benefit from longer periods because it allows for more in-depth study.

Taking into account the school's current student population, staff, facility size and number of teaching stations, it would be difficult for the school to maintain its current size with a six-period day, said Ursino.

"There's no firm numbers yet, but it's definitely true that we'd have a crunch in terms of spaces," Ursino said. "There's some work environment issues that would come up."

Parent committee member Nancy Swenson said since other schools in the district are successful with six periods there's no reason West Seattle couldn't be also.

Ursino pointed out that it wasn't accurate to compare West Seattle with other schools because the building had been designed to accommodate the current schedule.

A science teacher said she'd have 60 additional students each day with a six-period schedule, reducing her ability to hold inquiry-based labs where each student creates their own experiment with her oversight.

"Instruction will look a lot different on a six-period day - not worse or better - but different," she said.

Another parent committee member said it's not fair to say what would actually be gained or lost until they can examine mock schedules.

"We have to be looking at specific schedules," he said.

Several schools across the state that used the four-period day have reverted back to more traditional schedules, noted Kevin Lorensen, a parent attending the meeting.

"When you look at the list, it looks like the four-period day is a declining philosophy," said Lorensen. "Can we learn from their experience and move on, or are we just going to thrash around and butt heads until June?"

The steering committee meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month through June from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the West Seattle High Library. The meetings are open to the public.

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com