Does Providence Day School (PDS) have the most effective schedule? This question has been labored over repeatedly throughout the past five decades that PDS has been around and is discussed among some of the PDS faculty to this day.
Providence Day uses a six day schedule in which there are eight periods in the day and six days in the rotation. Six of the eight periods rotate 45 minutes earlier each day while the two periods in the middle of the day stay the same. Having been around for ages, the PDS six-day schedule is deeper and more complex than what meets the surface. According to Eric Hedinger, the Head of Upper School, the schedule serves two distinct purposes.
First, the six periods rotate in order to give every class a chance to catch each student at both his or her best and worst times of the day. Some students come to school tired and gain energy throughout the day while others come energized and get worn down. The schedule accommodates all kinds of students. Second, it rotates so that one class does not continuously suffer when an athlete has early dismissal on a certain day of the week. Due to the simple fact that certain teams play games on the same day of the week, an athlete misses the last period. The rotation accommodates for these sporting events and other recurring non athletic events alike.
The creation and evaluation of this schedule is much more complex than what the Providence Day community knows. Providence Day and the Southern Administration of Independent Schools (SAIS) review the schedule and its effectiveness every four years. According to Hedinger, the committee was faced with a decision to possibly make a radical change a few years ago in order to possibly better the productiveness of each day, but decided against it, stating the institution was not ready for a whole schedule remodeling.
When compared to other comparable schools, Providence Day has a similarly structured schedule. The only different schedule, from a similar independent schools in the south, is called a drop day schedule: a seven day rotation with classes not meeting on one of the seven days factored into it to provide for free time.
Hedinger asserts that Providence Day uses a six-day rotation with a study hall instead of a seven-day-drop because it provides the student with the choice of taking a break instead of mandating that they take a break from class. Students should work at whatever pace they are comfortable with in order to be successful. This six day schedule has also been around since before Hedinger’s coming to PDS, making it of greater value than any other schedule.
“This is the only schedule I have known this institution to embrace, so I inherit, as a leader, what my predecessors have done” - Eric Hedinger, Head of Upper School
Finally, to conclude the interview we talked about potential changes for the schedule. With no definitive answer, Hedinger mentioned he is open to possible start and end time modifications and some aspects of the seven day drop schedule, but a serious change would be on part of him, PD faculty, and other thought leaders with regard to the philosophy of the schedule.
PDS schedule: Too hard? Too easy?
By Luke Boland
Image courtesy of L.Boland
COMMUNITY
The Charger, December 2017
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