Our dropout and absenteeism rates were too high. Our grades and test scores were too low. Vachon and others realized it was time for a change. The high school collapsed a seven-period day into four large blocks of time. Classes now last 83 minutes instead of 43 minutes.
Most courses run for a semester instead of a year.
Redesigning the school day set off a chain reaction that is still being felt today. The high school has increased its graduation requirements, dropped a strict tracking system of placing students according to skill levels and, most important of all, forced faculty to revamp the way they teach. Everything in my bag of tricks, I couldn't use. But I see this as a plus, not a negative. It reinvigorated my teaching career.