Lisbon high school will see schedules of bells changing this coming school year.
Secondary principal Jack Leighty said that the school day’s first bell will ring at 8:10 a.m. in the morning.
One of the most drastic changes for the high school will be going from three lunch shifts down to two lunch shifts for seventh through twelfth grade students.
“This change is being made really to help at the elementary school levels,” Leighty said. “There were times they had four elementary grades trying to eat lunch at the same time, and that lead to a lot of chaos and pandemonium.”
With half of the seventh through 12th grade classes eating at one time, there will be times it is louder and chaotic, but middle school and high school students have had years of the expectations of behavior.
“It’s a huge deal for us in the elementary to have fewer grades eating at once,” said elementary principal Justin Brown.
With the change, the school will also be moving the What I Need time for students in the schedule. Leighty explained that previously WIN time amounted to just 18 minutes in the middle of the day. By splitting the fifth periods at school, WIN time will now move to the end of the school day and increase to 25 minutes in length.
“That gives students who need more time in working with teachers to get that help in their school day,” Leighty said.
That eighth period of the day is one where students who are on extracurricular activities sometimes cut out early, and by moving WIN time to the end of the day, students will also miss less instructional time as well.
High school changing assessments
Lisbon High School will also be switching to FAST testing in the coming years, as opposed to MAP testing.
Secondary principal Jack Leighty said the change is being made because the tests are quicker for students to complete, which reduces the impact to academic time when the tests are administered.
“They will still provide us with the data we want, and we’ll have the results more quickly as well,” Leighty said.
There is also a reduction in the cost between MAP and FAST assessments, but the primary reason for the switch has to do with the speed in which tests are administered and results received.