Walton County School Board budget discussion

[SGB]

Just an additional note - with traditional scheduling a class can be offered more times a day than with block scheduling, so you'll actually increase your ability to be flexible with your schedule and still get the classes you need. So you're more likely to be able to schedule the high school classes you need for earlier in the day and be free to leave high school a little earlier to go attend college class. With the block schedule, sometimes the only block you can get a class is one particular block, which might not match up with getting to a college class.

We discussed this a bit today at SWHS- our guidance counselor was telling us that it very difficult to take both high school and OW classes at the same time due to travel time to and fro, even with block. So most kids do all OW classes during a semester, or take OW classes later in the day. For example, an 8 am OW class that last 50 minutes would knock out the first 2 periods of the high school block schedule, which is workable only if you could schedule your necessary high school classes in 3rd and 4th block, which is virtually impossible to be that lucky to have that work out. More likely, the 2 classes you needed that sememster would be 1st and 3rd, or some combo that wouldn't fit with a run over to Niceville.

It's complicated to dual enroll where you are going to the high school and OW every day. We may have to look at an afternoon/eveing math class for Will's senior year, because thanks to block, he will be taking AP calculus junior year, and then will be finished with math. We don't want him going an entire year without math before he starts college.

Another option is Florida virtual- he will finishing his language requirement this way next year. One class period will be set aside for him to go to the media center and work on his FL virtual class, instead of taking 7 classes at school and adding an 8th.

 

[beachmouse]

While it doesn't help the immediate situation, they're making good progress on the NWFSC SoWal campus and they should be offering some college basics (English 101, etc.) out there within walking distance of SWHS by this time next year.

 

[GoodWitch58]

While it doesn't help the immediate situation, they're making good progress on the NWFSC SoWal campus and they should be offering some college basics (English 101, etc.) out there within walking distance of SWHS by this time next year.

Yeah, I think that is the case now with the Walton High students, they have the DFS campus of NWFSC right in town, so it probably worked better for some of them.

 

[SGB]

While it doesn't help the immediate situation, they're making good progress on the NWFSC SoWal campus and they should be offering some college basics (English 101, etc.) out there within walking distance of SWHS by this time next year.

That would be wonderful - is it really true? I was told about a year ago that the course offerings at this location would not be those that would be of interest to the high school kids. That it was going to be geared more towards adults looking to expand their business education. I sure hope the info I was given is wrong because it would simplify a lot of lives (and save a lot of gas!).

 

[beachmouse]

From what I hear, plans for that campus are still being finalized and I think they're not quite sure right now what they're going to do with the whole complex. But it would just seem to make sense to have at least some basics out there like they do for every other branch campus. The only real persistent rumor I've heard for the location is that they want to move the Choctawhatchee Bay Alliance offices out there.

 

[ShallowsNole]

Even if classes are not offered at the new NWFSC SoWal location, our kids could go to the Chatauqua Neighborhood Center in DeFuniak, at least the ones who would be going directly from school or from east of Santa Rosa Beach - closer than going to Niceville via Hwy 20, don't have to deal with 98, and from SWHS it should take roughly 35 minutes, depending on traffic lights in DFS. Most of the classes offered are once-a-week evening classes, even now.