New schedule brings ‘super block’ to NHS

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NAUGATUCK — Naugatuck High School implemented a new class schedule this year that includes a “super block.”

The schedule is seven periods per day, six of which are 40-minute classes and one is a 75-minute class or a super block. Previously, the school’s schedule was eight 41-minute periods in a day.

“The feedback from teachers was that 41 minutes was not enough time to get at the diverse learning needs of all the students,” said Naugatuck High Principal Jan Saam, who co-teaches an English class. “The period just got started and, boom, it was over.”

The classes are on a seven-day rotation, so the super block class students have each day is different.

Under the old schedule, when a student had a class with a lab it would only take place once a week, Saam said. This meant the student would have study halls the other four days they didn’t have a lab.

With the new schedule, students can have their science class and lab during the super block, cutting back on the number of study halls students have, Saam said.

Saam said the reaction from students about the new schedule has been mixed.

“When they are in a course they love those 75 minutes fly by,” Saam said. “If you are in a class that is not your favorite, it could seem like a very long period.”