Whitefish High School students can not only look forward to a new building in the 2014-15 school year but also the possibility of longer class periods.

During a well-attended community tour Tuesday, people learned more about how the building design will transform student learning.

Part of the district’s plan to provide a relevant and rigorous education involves switching to block scheduling.

 A January school board decision to support district efforts in creating a block schedule was preceded by mixed opinions during an hourlong public comment session. Concerns arose primarily with staff and students involved in music who said music courses need to meet daily.

During Tuesday’s tour, parents and staffers in favor of the schedule change noted the extended time would allow for deeper study and opens up opportunities for meaningful research, discussion, labs, projects, debates and presentations.

“We need longer than 40 minutes,” Assistant Principal Jackie Fuller said.

Fuller said the district has discussed block scheduling since 2011. Trustee David Fern added that the district has talked with high schools such as Corvallis, Red Lodge and Big Sky that have block scheduling.

Currently students have seven, 48-minute classes a day. A block schedule would involve fewer 90-minute classes a day.

What the schedule would look like is under study, but likely would be a modified block schedule.

A modified block schedule could include one day that reverts to a traditional schedule where students have seven classes. Fuller explained that another option could be adding a few shorter periods daily in addition to 90-minute periods. Those shorter daily periods could include music.

A minimum of two alternative schedules is expected to be completed in March and a board recommendation made in April. If the board takes action, new student schedules would be available in May.

Whitefish High School parent Juliena Moore was with her son, ninth grader Matthew Hutchinson.

“I think it’s a good way to prepare them for college because it’s similar to what they’re going to do in college,” Moore said. “I think a longer class period is going to give them more opportunity to get a lot out of class and give teachers more opportunity to work with their students.”

Hutchinson added, “Basically the time now in classes, we barely have time for labs.”

“Yeah, you just get into it and class is over,” Moore said.

Moore added that she is looking forward to a modern building for students.

“It’s going to be really refreshing to see kids in a modern building that’s safe, it’s efficient, it seems like it’s well-organized,” Moore said.

One tour participant said she understood how block scheduling would be beneficial for some subjects, but was concerned about others, such as math, that might become stressful over 90 minutes.

Fuller responded that teachers are being trained to break up that time in engaging ways. According to Fuller it’s not about cramming as many concepts as possible in 90-minutes but rather going in-depth.

In a new second-floor science classroom, teacher Todd Spangler provided information on how the room will benefit learning. The room offers flexibility, safety, storage and better ventilation.

Since tables will be the same height as lab stations, tables can be moved to create large surfaces.

“We can fit them in between lab stations and have a huge workspace, which is great for physics when we’re rolling things around and crashing things together,” Spangler said.

A pulley installed on low ceiling beam will be advantageous for physics classes when teachers use pendulums, for example.

“It will also allow us to incorporate technology better. Our current setup is 30 or 40 years old,” Spangler said. “Another big deal is safety and storage, specifically chemical storage — that will be locked.”

The tour was the first time Muldown Elementary parents Josh and Jaci Akey walked through the new high school building. They attended with their children Anna, 9 and Wyatt, 7.

“The new technology combined with the new ways of teaching and flexible space — the school can expand to wherever education will go,” Josh Akey said.

He was also positive about block scheduling.

“I think it’s a good idea because it gives them a better chance to focus and to get into a project versus jumping from class to class,” Josh Akey said.

Among the classrooms and open work areas are rooms specifically for teacher collaboration. Fuller stressed how the building’s design encourages collaboration.

“There’s an expectation for students to collaborate. We also expect teachers will collaborate and they will have a space to do that,” Fuller said.

With collaboration between teachers comes partnerships between classrooms and across the curriculum, or interdisciplinary, instruction.

History and psychology teacher Jacqueline Gaertner and earth science teacher Eric Sawtelle have already spent a few years talking about ways of integrating classroom projects.

“We really believe this is powerful education in taking our curriculums — instead of learning in these little discrete areas — and making the connections and bringing them together, and just generating a lot of ideas of how we could do that in a way that could be most impactful with students,” Gaertner said.

Daniel Cameron, a junior at Whitefish and a student representative on the board, is looking forward to this concept.

“I think I’m especially looking forward to that kind of collaboration,” Cameron said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.