Block Schedule

Posted on Feb 1, 2021 in High School |

Hello Tabernacle Family!

We are quickly approaching the one-year mark since we had to close in-person learning and shift to virtual learning. Since then, we have learned to adapt to many changes during the course of our school day to return to learning. It has not always been easy, but I am so thankful that we have seen progress and consistency that other schools have not been able to experience. I believe this to be the result of God blessing us with the absolute best school faculty and a great group of understanding and patient families.

Despite all of the changes brought to our doorstep by this pandemic, never did we stop looking to the future. Tabernacle’s mission statement is to teach Biblical truths, to share the plan of salvation, and to train students to draw closer to Christ. For 47 years, we have achieved that mission by providing our students with a Bible-based, academically advanced education. Our students leave Tabernacle spiritually and academically prepared for the next chapter in their lives.

But success is no reason to rest. Instead, we have worked over this past year to develop the Tabernacle Plan, our vision for the future of our school. We are excited to announce that the first phase of this plan will begin in the 2021-2022 school year with the implementation of a Block Schedule in grades 07-12.

What is a Block Schedule?

Currently, grades 07-12 have 7 periods each day, 6 academic classes and an elective period. Students are in the same 6 classes for the entire year, earning 1.0 credit toward graduation for each completed class. Below is a simplified version of a 7-period schedule showing the classes our students currently take.

	7^th Grade	8^th Grade	9^th Grade	10^th Grade	11^th Grade	12^th Grade
1^st	Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible
2^nd	Math	Math	Math	Math	Math	Math
3^rd	Science	Science	Science	Science	Science	Science
4^th	English	English	English	English	English	English
5^th	History	History	History	History	History	History
6th	PE	PE	PE	Health/Comp	Spanish I	Spanish II
7^th	Electives

A Block Schedule transforms the daily schedule from a 7-period day to a 5-block day, with 4 academic classes and an elective class. Rather than having the same classes all year long, full 1.0 credit classes would be completed in a single semester. This lets students have a completely different set of classes from one semester to the next. Below is a simplified version of a Block Schedule containing the same classes we currently teach.

Fall Semester (August – December)
	7^th Grade	8^th Grade	9^th Grade	10^th Grade	11^th Grade	12^th Grade
1^st	Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible
2^nd	Math	Math	Math	Math	Math	Math
3^rd	Science	Science	Science	Science	Science	Science
4^th
5^th	Electives

Spring Semester (January – May)
	7^th Grade	8^th Grade	9^th Grade	10^th Grade	11^th Grade	12^th Grade
1^st	English	English	English	English	English	English
2^nd	History	History	History	History	History	History
3^rd	PE	PE	PE	Health/Comp	Spanish I	Spanish II
4^th
5^th	Electives

Why a Block Schedule?

A Block Schedule would allow us to offer more classes and more opportunities to our students each year, helping them to have an even more well-rounded education. In addition to the spiritual and academic preparation our students now receive, we will be able to offer more classes dedicated to life skills and preparing our students for college and the job field.

How does a Block Schedule work?

Because there are only 4 academic classes each day, each class period will be longer than the 50-minute class periods we have now. This extra time is what allows a class to be taught in its entirety in a semester’s time rather than a full year. This is also what allows us to offer more to our students in this schedule.

Looking at the sample Block Schedule above, every class from our current schedule is accounted for, and 4^th period in each semester is open. This is where we can offer an additional 2.0 credits of classes each year for our students. This gives us an opportunity to have classes with our Junior High students that address issues like Social Media Responsibility, Study Skills, and Critical Thinking. For our Senior High students, we will have the opportunity to focus on Career and College Prep courses. For our Seniors, they will have the opportunity to take dual enrollment classes at a local college, or even get a head start on working in their chosen vocation field. The possibilities are truly unlimited!

What other benefits come with a Block Schedule?

In addition to the classes mentioned above, there are other tangible benefits a Block Schedule will offer to our students, each aimed at not only a better experience while at Tabernacle, but also geared toward better preparing them for their paths after graduation.

Because a Block Schedule only has 4 academic classes each day, students will have less classes to prepare for each night. This will allow them to better focus on each class.

A Block Schedule will allow us to begin teaching Honors classes as early as 9^th grade instead of waiting until 11^th grade under our current schedule. Offering Honors classes earlier allows us to split each grade into smaller classes, which will lower our student-teacher ratio for each class. Also, taking Honors classes earlier will give our students the opportunity to begin earning the weighted GPA as early as 9^th grade, helping them be even more competitive when applying for college and scholarships.

Possibly the best aspect of moving to a Block Schedule is that it is just the first phase of an overall direction and vision for our school. Too often complacency can be the first step towards decline. While Tabernacle has a great history of academic excellence, with a proper vision our best years can still be ahead of us. This is the first of many steps toward making a bigger impact for our families, for our community, and for the Kingdom.

Stay tuned in the weeks, months, and years to come as we continue to roll out phases of the Tabernacle Plan. It is an exciting time to be the Torches!