One of the unique characteristics of ICCSD schools is the trimester structure. Over the years, faculty and students have expressed their opinions about the topic. Counselors from Liberty High School and North Central Junior High, which has recently instituted a semester structure, found different benefits and drawbacks to the switch.
Troy Bergmann (he/him), has been a counselor at Liberty High School since its opening in 2017. Bergmann revealed that the school district creates an agenda, to which schools then adapt a calendar system. The benefits of trimester calendars extend to student activities.
“The marching [band] season, for example, is during the first trimester during football season, then the trimester ends and they move into their concert symphonic wind ensemble. They just sort of move into those other bands,” Bergmann said.
This also applies to electives and classes like Performance P.E., which mirrors the sports season as well. It links to activities like volleyball, basketball, or wrestling, which allows students’ interests to be integrated into the academic calendar. The division of credits in trimester classes can also benefit students who may struggle in school.
“With the three grading periods, if you fail trimester one, but pass trimester two and three, you only have to recover one trimester’s credits instead of a whole semester,” Bergmann said.
Trimesters also prevent students from exploring their interests as much as they could under a semester schedule. The calendar’s brief intervals also place a greater workload on counselors as they navigate three schedule change cycles.
“Yes, it’s a very busy, very stressful time for us as well during those changes…I think a lot of counselors in the district would welcome the change [to semesters],” Bergmann said.
This academic year, North Central Junior High switched from trimesters to a semester system. Tim Sturgell (he/him), is a counselor at the middle school and provided more insight about the school board’s decision.
Sturgell believes the semester system, which is separated into quarters, is especially beneficial to students because it allows them to take more elective classes and “see the end” of a given quarter, which aids in academic motivation as they navigate changes.
“I believe it was to allow students to take more classes, to better align with upper education and break up longer time periods of school,” Sturgell said.
The district has also adapted its grading system to this change. Combined, the grading changes and increase in time that comes with semesters have given teachers the time to focus on the “nuts and bolts” of their subject, and students an additional nine weeks to explore their interests.
“It would possibly help spread out the workload and assessment structure. Or it could shorten certain aspects of classes or assessments. This would force teachers to restructure their classes and units, which could have a positive effect on student learning,” Sturgell said.
