A schedule which changes the high school day from four block periods to seven shorter periods has been designed for the 2008-2009 school year.

Herington High School and Herington Middle School teachers, counselors and principals worked together to create the new plan.

The schedule was changed to maximize class time in hopes of raising test scores so that Herington will continue to meet Adequate Yearly Progress on state assessments. It also was changed to allow more flexibility for scheduling teachers and classes, and to give teachers more equal planning times, Principal Steve Mies said.

The difference between the block schedule and the seven-period day schedule is that with the block schedule students have four classes a day and all classes on Fridays. With the seven-period schedule, students attend all classes every day.

The change will be an adjustment the students, as well as teachers, will need to work out because it will leave the students with more classes and more homework to be responsible for each day. The teachers will need to adjust to having less planning time and teaching more classes each day, Mr. Mies said.

Many students are apprehensive about the change.

"Just give the new schedule a chance, and we will see how it works out," Mr. Mies said.

In addition to the change from four classes each day to seven, there will be a change in the way seminar works. Seminar will be on a sliding schedule, which means that it will meet first hour the first day of seminar, second hour the second day and so forth. Once it slides through all seven periods, it will go back to period one.

By having seminar replace one class period each day, the length of periods can be longer. Currently, on Fridays, students meet in eight periods for 42 minutes. With the sliding seminar and seven periods, classes will be 50-55 minutes long.

Another advantage of having seminar slide through the schedule is that students will have seminar each day. This change provides more minutes each week to meet with teachers, study and do homework.

Although the seven-period day will be new to most Herington High School students, it is a schedule that is used effectively in many schools throughout the United States.