Amy Bender Webb
Mission Statement
“Our mission is to repeal the practice of compressing year-long courses into a one semester format, because semesterized teaching is detrimental to our children’s educational experience.”
What is C.A.S.E.?
Citizens of Albemarle Supporting Education is a citizens’ network dedicated to improving accountability and performance in Albemarle County Public Schools. This group was founded to educate the Albemarle community about the 4×4 schedule and semesterization using peer reviewed research. C.A.S.E. seeks to increase transparency and to improve community involvement in local educational policy.
A conversation I had this past weekend with a local high school teacher and friend has convinced me that this system is detrimental to the quality of education in Albemarle. My freshman daughter has complained about the 4x4 repeatedly, especially as regards keeping up with her English classwork. But it turns out the teachers, our most valuable resource, are also overwhelmed keeping up with the instructional pace and workload created by this system. In some topics (for example English) the semester scheduling simply does not allow sufficient time for the students to digest and the teachers to cover the curriculum. Let me know your thoughts: Is anybody out there in favor of the 4x4 for any reason other than "it saves money" ?
