Flex Scheduling Moves From Office to Classroom

RALEIGH, N.C. — To offer students more flexibility in scheduling their classes, Enloe High School next fall will extend its class day both in the morning and afternoon.

The magnet high school east of downtown Raleigh is the only school in Wake County that offers eight classes a day, and it will push that pioneering status further next fall by adding two more periods. Instead of starting classes at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 2:15 p.m., Enloe will offer students a chance to come to school as early as 6:40 a.m. or have their last class at 2:22 p.m.

"I see it as something that will evolve over time," Principal Beth Cochran said, adding that the arrangement probably will look different in three years from what begins next fall.

Offering extra classes will allow struggling students to catch up and graduate on time, Cochran said. It will also allow stronger students to take advanced placement classes they wouldn't normally get to take, she said.

Parents said they like the idea of a longer school day.

"It's better for students. The more choices they have, the better, and that's what Enloe is all about," parent Pam Davis said.

"It's good for them and us as a family -- more flexibility," parent Mita Basak said.

But Cochran said the new schedule could cause problems for students who ride school buses. School administrators are waiting to see how many students take the extra classes before lining up transportation alternatives.

"For students, that really depend on buses, it will be harder. I don't like that, but that's a challenge we'll have to look at," she said.