SISTERS, OR -- Sisters High School students have had a few days to acclimate to a new, very different, class schedule. Principal Joe Hosang says they have always been on a trimester schedule, and two years ago, went from five to six periods a day to accommodate more student choices. But, administrators soon realized that was going to cause a credit problem. "Because we were offering six opportunities per trimester, 18 opportunities for a total year at .5 credits, essentially what that means is that we were going to see students graduating at the end of their junior year. And ODE requires us to have 90% of our seniors attend fulltime," Hosang tells KBND News. "So, we were going to be out of compliance if we didn’t change something."

The school switched to offering seven classes per semester, this year. Students attend five 73-minute periods a day, with three different scheduling variations throughout the week. Hosang says they modeled the A-B-C daily schedule after South Medford High School, partly to offer kids more elective choices. "Each day is a little bit different. Today we’re on a ‘B’ schedule, so you’re meeting with your second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh period. And then tomorrow, you’ll meet with your first, second, fourth, fifth and seventh period. Then, the following day, you’ll have a little bit of a twist."

He says everyone is starting to get used to the shift. "Initially, I think most of us humans are critical, at first. Now, [Wednesday] I’ve asked some people that were concerned, ‘Now I get it, I get it; actually, I like it. We get a break every two days, if I'm organized.’ It’s kind of preparing them to be organized for college." Hosang plans to assess how it’s working at the end of the year and determine if adjustments are needed.