28 Jul Learning In Blocks of Time
High school stress #257: short classes. One minute you’re deep in the mysteries of photosynthesis and the next you’re frantically shoving biology notes into your backpack while your brain tries to switch to Shakespeare. Sound familiar? What if we told you there’s another way, one where you can actually finish your thoughts AND remember what you learned yesterday? Welcome to SET High, a free public high school where learning isn’t a sprint through seven different subjects, but a deep dive into what actually matters to YOU!
Our WASC accredited California Distinguished School operates on a modified 4×4 modified block schedule. A popular alternative to the traditional 7-8 period school day, this schedule offers numerous benefits for both students and teachers.
Block Scheduling = Uninterrupted Focus
Our students only take five classes at a time and a full year of material is covered in one semester. Students get 73 minutes of instruction time instead of 45-50 each class. This allows students to be active participants and delve deeper into the material, ask more questions, and spend more time collaborating with classmates and their passions.
Less Stress, More Success: With fewer classes juggling for attention in your brain, you can actually remember what you learned in first period by the time you get to lunch. No more mental gymnastics trying to switch between seven different subjects every 45 minutes.
Project Paradise: Ever started an awesome experiment only to hear “clean up time” before you even got to the good part? Our extended periods mean you can actually finish what you start, whether it’s coding your dream app or perfecting that guitar phrasing.
Time to Actually Think: What if you had time to process what you’re learning instead of just memorizing it? Block scheduling gives your brain permission to make connections, ask “but why?” and actually understand concepts instead of just surviving them.
Teacher Superpowers Activated: Teachers benefit from our block schedule too. They have more time to plan their unique and amazing array of classes, strategize with colleagues, and offer one-on-one time with students. Instead of having a stream of students coming and going in a short period of time, teachers spend time developing relationships.
Real Learning Happens: Because of a longer class period, teachers can further a student’s engagement by setting up a tailored ChatGPT session or finding supplemental materials that are related. When inspiration strikes, there’s actually time to explore it instead of rushing to the next bell!
Lab Experiments That Actually Work: Ever tried to conduct a chemistry experiment in 45 minutes? By the time you set up, something explodes (hopefully intentionally), and you clean up, there’s zero time to understand what just happened. With block scheduling, you can set up, experiment, analyze results, AND have an “aha!” moment all in one class, be it chemistry, engineering, or maybe a little forensic biology.
Creative Projects Get to Breathe: Writing a short story? Painting a masterpiece? Building a robot? Creative work needs time to marinate in your brain. Block scheduling gives you space to brainstorm, create, revise, and perfect without feeling like you’re always rushing to beat the clock.
Socratic Seminars & Deep Discussions: Those amazing classroom debates about ethics, literature, or current events? They need more than 20 minutes to get good. Block scheduling lets conversations evolve naturally – you might start discussing Romeo and Juliet and end up exploring modern relationship dynamics.
Test Prep Without the Panic: Cramming for a test in a short period is like trying to drink from a fire hose. Block scheduling allows for proper review sessions, practice tests, and those crucial “wait, can you explain that again?” moments without everyone stressing about the next bell.
“We like the block schedule because students have fewer classes that they are taking simultaneously so it helps them focus, and it gives us more time during class to fit in projects,” said Dr. Neil McCurdy, SET High Principal. “In a typical school schedule, the classes are so short that the students would be cleaning up from their project shortly after getting started.”
Personalized and fulfilling learning is what sets SET High apart!
BONUS: More Time in Class = Math Success
Modified 4×4 Block Schedule: SET solves the math problem that a traditional block schedule may face. Typically in a 4×4 block schedule, students struggle with math after taking a semester off the subject. However, at SET High, we modified how our block scheduling works and require math every semester so it’s always fresh.
So Many Math Options: Our small public school teaches California’s UC A-G requirements needed to be accepted into a California state university. We’ve also added advanced classes like Calculus and Statistics. In addition, we offer Flex Math that helps students who need extra time in foundational classes like Algebra and Geometry to be successful. And you can always take more classes at the college level through our partnership with Mesa Community College.
“Most of our math classes are year-long so that students can get some extra soak time with math, but we do have a couple of acceleration points (Pre-Calc and Calculus, for example) where the student gets two years of math in one year,” explains Dr. McCurdy.
If you want to see for yourself how the modified 4×4 block can benefit your high school learning journey, we invite you to schedule a shadow day with us. Thoughtfully designing our school days is just one reason we’re a California Distinguished School– call (858) 874-4338 or email tours@sethigh.org for more information. Enrolling now!
About SET High
SET High offers each student individual attention from multi-talented, highly qualified teachers. Students at our twice-awarded California Distinguished School build a healthy camaraderie with classmates inside an intellectually rigorous environment that brings out their talents and personality, helping them develop their individual character and direction in life. With a wide variety of electives, flexible scheduling, dual enrollment college classes and more — our students regularly exceed their academic and personal expectations. Enroll now. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Find us at www.sethigh.org.