4J middle school parents, teachers concerned about reduction in electives

Performing arts class has been Elsa Henry’s favorite period of her seventh-grade day. For the past semester, she got to do improv, play acting games and even got a lead role in the theater-focused course’s production of “Bad Auditions by Bad Actors”.

She also loves playing percussion in her Monroe Middle School band class. Katrina Henry, Elsa’s mom, said her daughter plans to audition for the jazz band next year and join the marching band in high school.

But next year, Elsa may have to choose between band and performing arts, if the Eugene School District board goes ahead with the district’s planned reduction of one period of middle school electives. And Elsa’s involvement with Monroe’s Spanish immersion program means one of her elective semesters is currently filled with a required class.

“I anticipate that it will be such a hard choice,” Katrina Henry said. “These things that they get to do at this young age, they do start to shape who they become. And I love that she’s getting to do band and performing arts.”

A plan to cut an elective period off the 4J middle school schedule is part of Superintendent Miriam Mickelson’s $30 million budget reduction plan for next school year. Eliminating the period would result in $3.08 million in staffing savings.

Teachers and parents are concerned about the limitations a six-period day would introduce, particularly on special education and language immersion students. The district is still planning how to remedy those inequities. The school board will vote Feb. 4 on the district’s final proposed cuts.

Why the district is considering the switch

Middle school students in 4J have had a seven-period day for a year and a half. With the overdue implementation of Oregon’s middle school physical education requirement, 4J middle schools switched from a six-period schedule to seven in 2024.

The middle school day includes five core classes: Language arts, social studies, math, science and P.E. and health. The two remaining periods are filled with two electives and one, slightly shorter period designated as an “advisory” period used as a flexible time for meeting with affinity groups, getting academic support and social-emotional learning. Each regular period is 43 minutes and 38 minutes on early-release Wednesdays.

Sebastian Bolden, director of secondary schools, said the schedule change to six periods would not only be a way to reduce staff, it would allow for deeper learning with longer, 50-minute periods and fewer transitions.

In a staff survey, Bolden said 67.8% of educators preferred a six-period day. Class sizes would not be affected with the change.

“There were extremely passionate perspectives from both sides,” Bolden said. “The majority felt like the additional workload of adding another potential prep — so maybe they’re teaching a different content area, as well as another group of students every day, or they’re picking up an elective — so workload and burnout was the number one concern for staff.”

How it affects students

While reducing an elective period could require difficult decisions for all middle school students, some students would see their options further limited.

Special education students and some language immersion students have required classes during an elective period. Music classes are also often year-long commitments, meaning a student in band class would not be able to sign up for a Spanish class or vice versa.

MJ Faris, band and choir director at the Arts and Technology Academy, spoke about the conundrum during public comment at a recent board meeting. They said that according to the staff survey, faculty at schools with higher populations of students from low-income families were more in favor of the seven-period day to allow more access to electives.

“The students who would be the most vulnerable to the loss of elective access are students facing poverty, disability, discrimination and other hardships,” Faris said. “For many students, public school is their only access point in arts education, and that’s being threatened to be cut in half or worse.”

School board member Jenny Jonak asked whether students who get special education services could attend their special education class during flex period. Bolden said they will consider it, but it would be a trade-off with offering access to flex-period activities for special education students.

On a district webpage about potential middle school schedule changes, district officials presented other ideas they are considering, such as an A/B schedule and an “elective wheel” that would rotate elective course offerings by quarter or semester.