The future course schedule at West Seattle High is still uncertain after a staff vote last Friday resulted in a dead heat between a "rolling" block schedule and a straight six.

"The staff is pretty split right now down the middle about which (schedule) to go to," said West Seattle High Principal Bruce Bivins.

Under a rolling block, students would attend six, 55-minute periods Monday and Friday. The remaining three school days will be four, 85-minute periods.

Special education teacher Wayne Grytting said 37 voted for the rolling schedule and 35 favored a six-period day. A new schedule is supposed to replace the school's four-period day beginning this fall.

But a two-thirds majority is required to validate a staff vote, and since the vote wasn't even close to that, the school will have to figure out how to proceed, said Bivins.

One possibility is to test out each schedule for one quarter and then have staff re-vote.

Bivins said he prefers the compromise of a rolling schedule to a traditional six-period day because it still offers longer periods for classes that require more in-depth activities, such as science labs.

"There's still a feel for a four-period day on a rolling schedule," he said.

Bivins works under the philosophy that there is "no one size fits all" model when it comes to high school scheduling, noting there are "too many limitations" to having the same schedule every day.

"Every course and curriculum has a different need," he said last week, before the staff vote.

Based on results from two audits conducted on the schedule, Seattle School's Chief Academic Officer, Carla Santorno, decided last fall that the school would operate better on a six-period system. For 14 years, the school has obtained a waiver from the state Superintendent of Public Instruction to operate on the four-period schedule.

However, there is still an effort by some at West Seattle to get the district to overturn the mandate.

The Seattle teachers union has filed a grievance with the district that directing a schedule change violates the site-based management contract it has with the district. There's some concern that district officials' stated mission to create a more standard curriculum and operations will eventually erode Seattle's long history of site-level management.

Grytting said that's a big worry and that in the district's quest for standardization, academic gains could be overlooked. Most teachers want to stick with the four-period day, he said.

"Staff here feels very strongly that we've put together a really good program," said Grytting. "All the district studies show that. We just got stepped on."

Last Thursday, several students and parents marched in support of the block schedule from the high school down California Avenue Southwest. They held signs that said, "Wildcats roar for four."

Junior Mahlissa Martin helped organize the student-led event and is hopeful it will make an impact on the district. She said the demonstration was also meant to reenergize her fellow classmates.

"Anything, with enough persistence ... can be overturned," Martin said. "This march is to pump up everyone and get everyone riled up again."

David Tucker, a spokesperson for the district, said the students and staff are entitled to their opinion but that the protest wouldn't make a difference.

"The decision has been made," said Tucker. "Carla Santorno is committed to that decision."

The issue to change the schedule has been a source of contention among staff and parents for the last few years.

Supporters of the four-period day say having longer classes allows for more teacher-student personalization and better opportunity for in-depth learning. Critics don't like that classes are on average larger than with six periods and have fewer hours of instruction per credit.

Students take eight classes in one year with four periods instead of six, and courses that are completed in a year at other high schools last an entire semester with the block schedule.

A steering committee formed last year to come up with a new system that addressed these concerns, but a compromise couldn't be reached after several months. At that point, Santorno stepped in.

Continuity of core subjects, especially in math, was a primary factor in her decision to end the block schedule. Some students would end up with gaps of six months to a year between some courses.

But Martin said Santorno's reasoning is selective. As a student, she values the opportunity to do more unconventional activities within the four-period day.

"You can learn more physically - you can learn with your hands," Martin said. "You just have longer time for more learning."

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