Standard schedules to provide enough, equal, consistent learning time will be in place this fall
Eugene School District 4J is changing to a consistent calendar and standard schedules for all schools in 2018–19 to provide enough, fair and equal instruction time for students and consistent schedules for families.
The new school schedules will be in place this fall, following a community engagement process to inform schedule development and approval of the final schedule parameters by the Eugene School Board.
The change to standard schedules will:
• ensure that all schools meet state standards for adequate instructional time
• provide fair and equal learning time for students at different schools
• provide consistent, predictable schedules for families, and
• allow coordinated time for staff professional development and collaboration.
Under the standard schedules, developed with staff and community input, all schools at each level will have a standard start and end time (two times for elementary schools, staggered by 35 minutes) and the same amount of instructional time each day, week and year. Currently each 4J school has a different calendar, schedule and amount of instruction time, and learning time for students at different schools can vary by hundreds of hours over elementary, middle and high school.
New Schedules
| Monday–Thursday | Friday Early Release | Recess / Lunch / Break / Passing Time | Annual Instruction Hours (minus any non-academic assemblies, etc.) | |
| Elementary Schools | Tier 1 (see list): 7:55 a.m.–2:25 p.m.Tier 2 (see list): 8:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. |
Tier 1: 7:55 a.m.–1:10 p.m.Tier 2: 8:30 a.m.–1:45 p.m. |
60 minutes on regular days
50 minutes on early release day |
915.2 |
| Middle Schools | 9:00 a.m.–3:35 p.m. | 9:00 a.m.–2:35 p.m. | 54 minutes | 935.2 |
| High Schools | 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. | 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. | 57 minutes | 1009.6 |
Public Process
To develop the standard school schedules, a first draft schedule was published in March for staff, parent, student and community input. The district considered the input received in developing the second draft schedule that was published in April for further review and feedback.
The final proposed schedule, published in May, included adjustments responsive to the input solicited and received from more than 2,500 parents, students, staff and community members—including earlier school day ending times for middle and high schools than first proposed, elementary school start times close to current times in most cases, and early release for teacher collaboration and professional development on Fridays.
The school board approved the new schedule parameters on June 6.
More About 4J’s Shift to Standard Schedules
