- March 6, 2025
When middle and high schools lost 45 minutes of instructional time two years ago, schedules were reorganized to accommodate. High schools switched from seven-period days to block schedules, which allows for more overall instruction time than a shortened, daily period does.
“Right now, we meet the absolute minimum on contact between student and teacher for a course by state standard,” said Dr. Chris Pryor, principal of Matanzas High School.
To him, reinstating the 45 minutes of instructional time that was cut for budgetary reasons is crucial. The Flagler County School Board is asking voters to approve a 0.5 mill property tax in a special election June 7 that would do so, as well as fund other programs.
The proposed tax has brought the Flagler County School District’s budget under scrutiny: Last week, the School Board spent about 12 hours discussing where its budget could be streamlined if the tax does not pass (0.25 mills of it are a continuation of a tax already in place needed for the district’s budget next year). In wake of that discussion, questions of how effectively the new 0.25 mills would be spent if passed arose.
But to school officials, the need for increased instructional time is great.
“In the high schools, the extra 45 minutes would allow the schools to go back to a straight seven-period day,” said Jacob Oliva, assistant superintendent of the school district. “This would eliminate the block classes (in the high schools), giving the students more overall time per year in each class. More instructional time should equate to better student achievement.”
Pryor said an extra 45 minutes per day of school time would give students 135 hours in the classroom per course each year. Currently, on the block schedule, students get 120 hours of classroom time per course, per year.
On the block schedule, students spend 82 minutes in each class every other day. If the 45 minutes were reinstated, each of the seven classes would be closer to 50 minutes daily.
Research yields mixed results about whether increased time in the classroom, whether it is from a longer school day or a longer school year, correlate with increased student achievement. A 2012 research review from the Texas Comprehensive Center, an organization that supports its state’s education agency, shows that little evidence either supports or discredits the idea that increased time in the classroom yields higher test scores. Some researchers suggested the lack of correlation between the two show that the issue is less about time spent in the classroom and more about how that time is used.
Lynette Shott, prinicpal of Flagler Palm Coast High School, said that time spent on-task in classrooms is crucial to increasing student achievement.
"Every minute of instruction we have with students is precious time," Shott said. "That 45 minutes of time per day is critical."
At Matanzas, there are rules in place about how those 45 minutes — or any classroom time — might be spent, Pryor said. He does not allow full-length movies to be shown in class. His school operates on a “bell to bell” learning model, which requires that teachers continue instruction until the bell rings rather than letting teachers mill about the classroom in the five minutes before the bell rings. Teachers who do not follow this see it reflected in their reviews, he said.
Pryor said the additional instructional time is especially important for the 2014-2015 school year, at the end of which, students will have to take state-mandated comprehensive exams for each subject topic.
“Internationally, we have the shortest school day and the shortest school year than any other country in the world,” Pryor said. “(The increase) just gives them more time to prepare.”
