Waseca looking at change to semester schedule

At the September 3 work session, Waseca school board members heard from Area Learning Center teacher  Eric Mix about his work with  the pilot robotics program XRP through MSU Mankato.  Mix was eager to implement robotics back into the district as there has not been an advisor for the program since the retirement of teacher Bill Kuschel. Through XRP, students learn using various programs such as Blockley, a visual, logic-based introductory version of coding, then evolve to mini Python (precursor to Python). 

 

Mix described the robotics program as collaborative and somewhat competitive, depending on how the curriculum is designed, but also very approachable. Students not familiar with coding can have an easy first experience. “Our students and staff are going to learn coding,” Mix said. “We’re going to build and operate real robots and we’re also going to schematically design prototypes to 3D print.” Waseca is one of only 13 schools participating in the XRP program.

 

Director of Teaching and Learning Brooke McGuire spoke next about the transition from a trimester system to semesters. McGuire began by highlighting the drawbacks to the current trimesters including misalignment with college learning programs, alternative learning center schedules, and Owatonna Online. McGuire said that in keeping with the district’s mission statement of ensuring all students are prepared for their future, that is the ‘guiding focus’ when considering all advantages and disadvantages of each system. 

 

Advantages to a semester system include smoother credit transfer and dual enrollment, as well as a reduction in adjustment challenges as students transition into college and post-secondary structures. Semesters allow for more days in classes, simplified scheduling, and fewer transitions between terms. Junior high students would experience one more exploratory quarter class, while senior high students would not notice much difference as most of their classes last a full year. The board will make a final decision in the near future.

 

The last agenda item concerned facilities planning, or what Superintendent Eric Hudspith called “options in alignment with what we want the future of our buildings to look like.”