Last November, Mr. Andrew Korman spoke at the student council meeting, presenting the Teachers in Academic Support Centers (TASC) Block. The program was originally created by Conval High School in 2012 to promote learning enrichment, mentoring, and advising, according to their school’s website 

Mr. Korman stated that the Portsmouth High School (PHS) staff wanted to “build more time” into student’s schedule. A staff committee came up with TASC, a built-in 40 minute fifth block or flex period. “It would be used to meet with teachers if you missed class or need help. For example, you struggle with math, want to complete an art project, or need to retake a test. It serves as an alternative to missing lunch.”

Generally, the students sign up for scheduled time with teachers or teachers select students they need more time with to finish up work. The new PHS schedule was approved in April with the TASC block.

With the start time change and the addition of the TASC block, next year’s school day will be as follows:

Block 1- 8:20-9:41

Block 2- 9:48-11:09

TASC- 11:16-11:56

Lunch- 11:56-12:31

Block 3- 12:31-1:52

Block 4- 1:59-3:20

Blocks 1-4 will be 81 minutes long, with 7 minute passing periods between blocks 1 and 2, block 2 and TASC, and blocks 3 and 4. The TASC block is 40 minutes long, and lunch will be 35 minutes.

The change in the start time is rooted in about 20 years of research showing that “a certain age group is just wired and it is very hard for them to go to sleep before a certain time” Principal Lyons explained. Starting school an hour later will hopefully align a student’s daily routine with their biological sleep schedule. Oyster River High School recently made the change for the 2016-2017 school year and saw higher attendance as a result. Mrs. Lyons said that she hopes to see similar results.

“I would love to see a reduction in anxiety,” Mrs. Lyons stated, “the implementation of the later start time and the TASC block is like the perfect storm to allow things to happen within the school day. If a student needs to meet with a teacher for whatever the reason, that can be done within the school day without the student missing something else because that causes angst.” The TASC block is another step in the process of building consistency across the various departments at PHS. It will ensure that students who might be falling behind are able to meet the expectations of the course and any students exceeding expectations will have to opportunity to dive deeper into the curriculum if they choose to.

Questions and Concerns about the TASC block

• How does the scheduling work?

According the the Student Council meeting minutes for April 4th, students will go to their advising teacher during TASC block on Monday (or the first day of that week) and use the software to choose which teachers they will be spending their TASC blocks with for the rest of the week. If a student is absent on the Monday, they can schedule with their advisor on the first school day they return.

• What if I want to make a change to the schedule at the last minute?

The minutes for the April meeting say that a student can make changes in their TASC schedule up until the TASC block begins. Students cannot change their schedule in the middle of TASC.

• How does a teacher TASC me in and what does that mean for me?

A primary concern at the April meeting was the ability for teachers to request students, which requires the student to be in that teacher’s class during the requested TASC block. “That surprised me and I thought it was a great point” Mrs. Lyons commented. She said that the school has put in a threshold that if a student falls below a C- in a class, that teacher is allowed to TASC them once or twice a week for extra help. “Even if you’re an athlete and you missed class and the teacher says ‘you need to come in to make up this quiz’ it’s still up to the student to make the time to do that,” Mrs. Lyons explained. This prevents teachers from using the TASC block for an extra class and keeps the program self-driven.

• What about the students who don’t need extra help or to make up work or to start homework?

“These students have a lot of opportunities. From ‘this is a teacher that I like and I know their room is a safe space’, to ‘I’d like to explore more in a certain subject’,” Mrs. Lyons said. There will be a list available to all students of enrichment programs they can choose to participate in if there is space in that teacher’s room.

Any additional questions or concerns can be discussed with PHS staff members or administration.