WEST LOS ANGELES : University Is First District High School to Drop Semester System
University High School will eliminate the semester schedule this fall and go to a nine-week quarter system--becoming the first Los Angeles Unified high school to do so.
Classes at the West Los Angeles school will run 90 minutes instead of 50 minutes, and students will attend four classes a day, rather than five or six. The so-called “block schedule” proved to be a success at San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara, and University High teachers have been following the school’s progress since it adopted the new schedule last fall.
San Marcos teachers reported that classroom performance improved because they could give more individual attention to students.
University High teachers said they looked forward to more time with the students, but they will have to contend with some resistance.
“I don’t like the classes I have now,” said Nancy Hernandez, 15. “Having the classes for 90 minutes is going to be more boring.”
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