Block Scheduling
At the Sept 28th RIH BOE meeting, there was as always, plenty of drama and grandstanding (more to follow), but one really important thing to note. Dr. Dionisio is moving ahead a proposal for block scheduling, as per his strategic plan.
October 16th - there will be a public presentation about the proposal to implement block scheduling in our district. Many, many high performing districts already do this (Dr. Dionisio pointed out tonight that they have been for 10-20 years). There is a lot of data to support the use of block scheduling, and the benefits of improved academic results for students. Bergen County Academies (the number 3 high school in the state of NJ), has done this for many years, as have many other high performing districts in our area and state.
October 30th, the BOE will vote on whether or not to implement block scheduling. Judy Sullivan raised concerns this evening about the lunch time being at 10:30am (take it from my kids, RIH has always had a lunch time at 10:30am!) and Doreen Mariani brought up safety concerns (inadvertently blurting out confidential security information from executive session in the public meeting). This seemed to indicate that some board members may not yet be on board with this proposal. Dr. Dionisio stressed that Board members should wait to see the full presentation before opining on the proposal.
Please attend the presentation on October 16, ask questions, advocate for student achievement, and let's see what this Board does.