Committee gives FHS students chance to help chose new schedule

By Jack Long

In an attempt to see what schedule best serves the students of Flathead High School, every 9-12 grade student will be surveyed Monday to determine what students most want to see in a schedule.  The 10-question survey will be distributed to students at Kalispell Junior High and FHS during second period.

“The students will have a tremendous amount of impact,” said scheduling committee member Callie Langohr. “We’re going to listen to what the people want.”

In the past, FHS has seen schedules ranging from a block schedule to a seven-period day to next year’s six period day with an early-bird.  After so many changes, the commitee hopes to adopt a schedule that will remain in place for many years.

“The changes have been frustrating,” said Langohr. “It’s been bad for everyone, especially the ninth graders trying to plan their future.”

In the committee’s second meeting on May 7, the four class presidents — sophomore Aaron Bouscher, junior Ben Smith, and seniors Scott Clark and Tyson Hall — met with staff  members to provide input toward the survey.

“We’re the ones who have to sit through class every day,” said Hall. “We know what we want.”

The student survey will be an optional one-sided questionnaire, with most  questions being multiple choice. Questions range from, “How many class periods would you like to have in a day?” to “What are your fears with a new schedule?”  The committee hopes that giving students the option of not taking the survey and limiting it to one page will provide optimum results.

“My main concern is if students will take the time to fill out the surveys,” said Hall. “The shorter it is, the more people will fill it out, and the more data we’ll get.”

The objectives of the committee are to research all the different schedule vehicles for a future proposal to the school board. The timeline of the project will stretch three years, with the adoption of a new schedule set for the 2000-01 school year.

“We’re going to spend three years on the projects; we’re going to do a lot of homework,” said Langohr. “The schedule needs to be good for the students and fit into the existing budget.”

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