Seattle School District officials said current enrollment at West Seattle High should remain about the same after it transitions from a four to a six period schedule, based on an initial analysis.

At a second community forum last week, chief academic officer Carla Santorno came armed with projections for what the school community should expect during the highly controversial schedule switch. The district was criticized for not providing enough information about enrollment after a decision was made last month to discontinue the school's 13-year-old bock schedule.

Parents and students said they would appeal the decision with Seattle's superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, but the district later determined that it was an executive decision not subject to appeal.

Santorno and Brad Bernatek, interim manager of research, evaluation and assessment for the district, addressed several concerns from the last community meeting. Since the credit systems are different under the two schedules, students and parents were worried that junior students would not be able to graduate on time.

Bernatek presented "tentative" mock schedules for students on graduation track and college prep schedules. He said there would be opportunities for both core subjects as well as electives because credit requirements decrease as students move from a four to a six-period day.

"It's important to us that students are very clear and secure that their schedule's won't be disrupted and that they will be able to take what they need to graduate and for the college of their choice," said Santorno.

Westside's class of 2012 will be the first to spend its entire career on the six-period day.

There was also concern that special needs and bilingual classes would be disrupted. Bernatek said the district is working on the "fundamental assumption" that the number of teachers and classrooms for those populations would not be impacted.

Several factors will influence building capacity under a six-period system. Maximum class size will decrease from 35 to 30 and most core classes will go from one semester to two semester classes, potentially reducing enrollment.

But teacher prep time will be reduced by 30 minutes, increasing instructional time and room utilization, which could increase enrollment. Current enrollment levels are "likely sustainable," but it will require more work to determine, Bernatek said.

A part-time counselor will be hired to review the transcript of every junior student to begin planning for senior year, said Santorno. The district has also hired John Thorpe, a former central director of curriculum and instruction, to create a master schedule for next year by Dec. 1.

Continuity of core subjects, especially in math, was a primary factor in the decision to end the four-period day, said Santorno. Some students would end up with gaps of six months to a year between some courses.

A schedule developed by the staff that would have students completing three years of math in two years was "just too aggressive" for the average student, said Santorno.

It's also the only one of 10 Seattle public high schools to use the block schedule, which is another reason Santorno wants to change it. As the district moves toward a common curriculum, the four-period day requires too many modifications for staff, technology and scheduling, she said.

The schedule has been debated publicly for about two years. Two audits, one internal and another external, were conducted on the schedule. Both came back with mixed results.

Finally, a steering committee comprised of staff and parents was formed last spring, but it couldn't reach a compromise after six months.

Supporters of the four-period day say having four, 85-minute class periods, instead of six, 55-minute classes, allows more teacher-student personalization and better opportunity for in-depth learning in classes like science.

Critics don't like that classes are on average larger than with six periods and have fewer hours of instruction per credit. A six-period day is also supposed to increase instructional time by 29 percent per credit.

Students can take eight classes in one year with four periods instead of six, but they spend about 23 percent less time in the classroom. Classes that are completed in a year at other high schools last an entire semester at West Seattle.

The school will start on a six-period schedule in 2008-09, but Santorno has not ruled out a modified version of the traditional schedule with some blocked classes.

Most who spoke at last week's meeting were pro four-period day. Some said they felt disconnected from the process and decision to change it. One parent said she would contact a lawyer to sue the district.

A West Seattle High teacher passed out a pamphlet lauding the four-period schedule.

"There's always going to be members of the community that will not agree with this decision, regardless," said Santorno. "We know there are people that like the four-period day, but we believe at this point in time (six periods) is the best way to go."

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com