Boulder Valley School District appears to be moving forward with a proposal that would transition all high schools to a standardized seven period schedule beginning in the 2025-2026 school year.
The change comes in response to the current failure of most BVSD high schools to meet the Colorado Department of Education’s seat time standards, which require that middle and high school students have the opportunity to receive 1080 hours of instruction per school year.
A BVSD seat time committee was created to address this issue in August 2024 by a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Boulder Valley Education Association (BVEA), the union that represents BVSD teachers, and the district. The committee consists of district personnel and members of the BVEA from Fairview High School, Centaurus High School, Broomfield High School, Monarch High School, and Arapahoe Ridge High School.
After extended negotiations, the resulting consensus statement sent by the seat time committee to the superintendent in December recommends a seven period day.
The district is also strongly considering condensing the 2025 spring finals week in order to compensate for lost seat time this school year. Details are not yet finalized.
BVSD’s insistence on maintaining Wednesday morning late start to facilitate professional development greatly limited the solutions available to the seat time committee. While most of the teachers on the seat time committee were opposed to the seven period solution, BVEA eventually agreed that it was the only workable schedule given the district’s requirements.
“The proposed 7 period schedule is the best option that fulfills the MOU given the District’s parameters of not changing starting and ending times or late start. The BVEA team concedes that, given the current parameters, the proposed schedule is the best current option for next year, but that this be a one year option designed to ensure state funding for next year, and asks that the BVSD administration consider changing the parameters in its control around the high school schedule in order to allow schools the flexibility to design schedules that meet their needs as well as the needs of BVSD,” reads their consensus statement, dated December 13.
“It didn’t feel like [the district was] bargaining in good faith,” said Scott Peoples, a history teacher from Fairview who is on the committee. “We came up with probably two dozen different potential approaches and they rejected all of them. […] There’s supposed to be a little give and take, and there was no give.”
Seven period schedules are utilized at Broomfield High School and Monarch High School, where lunch is roughly thirty minutes, unlike the full period currently allocated to Fairview students. Students in the Broomfield and Monarch seven period schedules are divided between an A and B lunch, meaning that they are either assigned lunch before or after fourth period class.
While eliminating common lunch on block days was also previously considered as a way to meet seat time, the proposed schedule will most likely refrain from doing so.
Following previous reporting on the proposed seven period schedule, Shay-Elan Johnson (11) created a petition asking the district to reconsider the schedule change. It has been signed by 142 people.
Concerns about the seven period schedule ultimately center around the fundamental principles of Fairview itself. The Fairview website touts the variety of courses offered at the school, as well as the comprehensiveness and adjustability of the IB/AP honors program, a key draw for many students.
“The eight-period school day allows students to take more electives,” reads the “Academics” page of the website. “The customized approach to IB/AP enables students to craft schedules that provide appropriate academic challenge while allowing them freedom to pursue their passions.”
With the switch to a seven period schedule, students would no longer have the same flexibility.
“I do think the number of students taking the full IB Diploma could be impacted, given the [Theory of Knowledge] class requirement that is sometimes an 8th class for students, among other challenges,” said Ashley Houston, a counselor who is on the seat time committee. “I think it will be difficult to fit all of our classes into 7 periods. […] The number of classrooms available to put classes in will be less due to less periods available to spread the class out, so it’s possible classes will be larger. […] You might have more students choosing to take 6 classes instead of 7, which would lead to less classes running. In terms of offering courses, we will still offer the same classes that we do each year, but it will depend on student sign-ups to determine if the class will run or not.”
“It really limits my options,” said Madeleine Grandsaert (11), who was considering forgoing a lunch period next year in order to fit all eight classes she wanted to take. This would not be an option under a seven period schedule.
Johnson expressed similar sentiments in his petition to the school board, writing, “The proposed change limits our class choices. It discourages diversification of academic experience, gravely impacting students’ personal, academic, and future professional growth.”
Another concern is that those considering advanced classes or electives might hesitate to sign up due to the lack of an off period. While many students are currently able to use their lunches to study, make up tests, or go off-campus, none of this would be feasible in the 34-35 minutes allotted at BVSD schools using the seven period schedule.
“We’re terrified [that students will no longer take electives],” said Peoples. “If students need to fill up their schedules with required classes, they’re just not going to have room for a class that they might want to take, but don’t need.”
The district’s next steps are unclear, but the schedule changes could be implemented without ever being addressed by the school board, instead going directly to the superintendent for approval. “This is not an issue that requires action by the Board of Education,” said Randy Barber, BVSD’s chief communications officer. He did not comment on when the district plans to make the decision.
Nevertheless, with course registration for the 2025-26 school year generally taking place in early February, decisions regarding the schedule for the next school year will need to be made soon.
“The counseling office is hoping to have the final decision by the time course selection will start, as that is an important piece of information that will be needed for students to pick classes,” said Houston.
Peoples urges students and parents to take action before it is too late.
“I’m of the opinion that once you lose a right, you never get it back,” he said. “Contact your school board members and contact the administration building and superintendent. Let them know that [the seven period schedule] would seriously change the culture and the environment. […] [With] a seven period day and the reduced number of electives, I can see people choosing not to come to Fairview—there’s nothing special about us anymore.”
Contact information for the BVSD school board may be found on the BVSD website, and Superintendent Rob Anderson may be contacted at [email protected].
The next board meeting will be held on 1/28 at 6500 East Arapahoe Road, Boulder, CO 80303 at 5:00 PM. Those wishing to speak at school board meetings must register using the district’s form by noon on the day of the meeting. Speakers are allocated two minutes and may deliver their remarks in person or online through Google Meet.
