Fountain Hills unveils new consolidation schedule: trimesters, advisory and reteach

District administrators presented a comprehensive schedule redesign on May 9 that will accompany the consolidation of campuses, proposing trimesters at the secondary level and a restructured elementary model with team rooms and expanded intervention/enrichment time.

Chris Alexander and school leaders explained the high school plan: three 60-day trimesters (fall, winter, spring) with 70-minute class periods, daily 20-minute advisory, and built-in reteach/ACT/ASPIRE prep blocks. The trimester model reduces the number of concurrent classes students take at one time (students take five classes per term instead of six), increases consistency in period lengths, and provides teachers with a daily 70-minute prep period. Administrators said the model should allow more flexibility for students to retake or recover credit without additional staffing needs and could increase per-year credit opportunities.

Middle-school schedules will mirror many secondary ideas: fewer classes per term, electives rotated on 60-day windows, and reteach/enrichment scheduled into the day. Elementary schedules (McDowell) were described as reorganized learning sessions with staggered intervention/enrichment blocks and a pilot of a Next Education Workforce model in fourth and fifth grade that uses teams of teachers and distributed expertise.

Administration told the board that ADE had reviewed the instructional-hour calculations and that the proposed schedules meet or exceed state minimums. Transportation and bus routing were discussed at length; administrators said they had attempted multiple revisions to avoid mixing very young students with older grades on the same buses.

Why it matters: The schedule redesign is central to the district's consolidation strategy. It affects instructional time, teacher workload, transportation logistics, credit accumulation and student supports.

Next steps: Administration will finalize bell schedules, provide class/elective lists for board review, and continue staff and parent communications and training before the August start date.