CALAIS — Tension is rising between teachers and administrators at Calais Middle/High School over a scheduling proposal that teachers say is being developed in secret.
“I’d like to talk about next year’s schedule, please,” English teacher Lori Ellis said from the back of the room at the end of Wednesday’s Calais School Committee meeting, raising the issue for future discussion.
Ellis sat at a library table with math teacher Anne Scott and day treatment coordinator Sue Carter, who oppose what they describe as an emerging proposal to shift from the current alternating‑day block schedule to a seven‑period day.
Scott called the process “a lack of transparency.”
The three said staff members were recently surveyed about the potential change, which would alter how students move through their school day. Their biggest concern, they said, is that students and parents were not included in the survey.
“Why is this such a big secret?” Ellis asked.
Principal Dean Preston confirmed to Monitor Local that the scheduling switch is being assessed and carefully considered, though no decision has been made.
“This is really not much of a story,” Preston said, “nor is it about a one‑time change or a narrative.”
He described the survey as a routine practice used to reflect on school systems and processes and identify areas for improvement.
This year, a potential schedule change is part of that review. Preston said the administration is in the information‑ and feedback‑gathering phase.
“As part of this process, we are examining several key factors,” Preston said, including total instructional time and how teachers use that time, student contact opportunities in each schedule, impact studies and teacher training and readiness within each model.
“We’re going to do what’s best,” he said. “What’s best for us, and what’s best for the kids.”
Preston confirmed that parents and students have not been officially contacted about the potential change, adding that the timeline is tight because any adjustments must be finalized for the next school year.
Preston did not say whether he intends to survey parents and students or how he will notify them once a decision is made. But Ellis’ request for the School Committee to take up the topic at a future meeting could give parents an opportunity to weigh in sooner rather than later.
“The kids are asking questions,” Scott said, despite the lack of a formal announcement.
CMHS students now take four 70‑minute classes a day on an alternating schedule. While the school day would keep its 7:35 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. timeframe, Ellis said, class lengths would change. Instead of eight classes spread over two days, students would take seven classes every day.
The current schedule allows for certain student privileges, including the senior leave program. Eligible seniors can arrive late — at the start of the second block — if their first block is study hall, giving them time for morning work or other obligations. Likewise, seniors in good standing who have second block study hall can leave early for the day.
A schedule change could also affect St. Croix Regional Technical Center and other community education partners that work with CMHS students. The college currently offers dual‑credit electives in 70‑minute blocks, aligned with the school’s existing structure.
Preston said alignment with intervention support, Blue Devil Block programs, and other current activities is also being taken into account.
At the heart of the issue, teachers say, are the students. Scott, the CMHS math teacher, noted that a shorter‑period schedule may benefit students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other forms of neurodivergence who struggle with sitting through longer class blocks.
Concerns raised by Ellis, Scott and Carter also extended to broader regional impacts, including how an increase in homework — prompted by reduced instructional time — could affect students who work jobs or participate in after‑school sports.
“It’s lots of change, with not a lot of stakeholders informed of the process,” Ellis said. “That’s the concern we’d like to have discussed.”
The next School Committee meeting is scheduled for May 13.
Melissa S. Razdrih is a Community Reporting Fellow receiving training through the Journalism New England Career Lab to do civic reporting that provides people in towns across New England with the information they need to be engaged in their community.
