School district considers trimesters

The Blaine County School Board may implement a trimester system next year in all of its schools except Carey.

Currently, all schools subscribe to a semester program except Wood River High School.

Polly McQueen, a district speech and language teacher, proposed the idea to the school board. McQueen represents the Core Team, a group of teachers who investigate avenues for improving the schools, which brainstormed the idea.

The trimester system divides the school year into three segments instead of four, which means one less report card, but the same number of parent-teacher conferences.

McQueen cited several positive aspects of a trimester system. She said at all levels, grades better reflect a student’s competency because teachers have more time to asses each student’s capabilities in the fall.

She also said middle school students would have the opportunity to take three elective classes instead of two. Academic classes run all year, and elective classes run for two trimesters.

"Classes will feel shorter and more condensed," she said. "But, the exposure to multiple ideas and interests far outweighs the time lost."

McQueen said the chief drawback to the new system is the condensed classes, which would be structured as longer class periods in a shorter amount of time. As a result, one absence means a lot of missed material for a student.

"It’s also beneficial to have all schools on the same wavelength and consistent, especially for parents who have kids in different schools," she said.