MOULTRIE — Come fall, high school students will attend not six classes but seven. This seven-period day, as it’s called, will open up more chances for students to get into the classes that they want or need.

“We can extend a day by about 10 minutes, reduce the class minutes from 55 to 50, go with the seven-period instructional day and give children the flexibility to be able earn more credits, to be able do more makeup, to be able to do special coursework, like preparing for the SAT,” Superintendent Leonard McCoy said. “Also for the first time ever, it’s going to open up the flexibility for kids to be able to choose more electives. Now, you don’t have to necessarily stick with ag or chorus or band. Now, you can do two out of the three. This really is a good thing.”

“I think that it was absolutely essential that we had to do something differently from the traditional six-period day. It’s not unique to us. It’s something that’s occurring in a fairly widespread way across Georgia ... ,” McCoy said.

Under the current six-period structure, a student can at best accrue 24 credits (six units per year for four years). As of next year, Georgia’s new graduation rule becomes more stringent, requiring 23 credits to earn a diploma. Students could make a few mistakes throughout their high school career and fail to get their diploma within four years.

With a seven-period day, students can earn up to seven units per year totaling 28 upon graduation — a buffer that would allow students to make up failed courses within the school day and still graduate with their class.

Also next year, the new Georgia Performance Standards will require an additional math support class each semester concurrently with Math I classes in the ninth and 10th grades and possibly in the 11th grade. Students facing the new, much more challenging math curriculum are expected to need extra support. The state also is requiring students to take four full units of science. This new requirement could result in hundreds of more students enrolled in science classes, McCoy said.

“Because of all the increased requirements, it was going to cause a few cutbacks there possibly,” Colquitt County High School (CCHS) Ninth Grade Assistant Principal Stephanie Terrell said. “But this seven-period day will allow our students to expand their knowledge into different areas. Currently, if a student wants to take band and choir and ag and home-ec, they have to choose, because there’s not enough slots in the day for students to take those classes. This way, those students will get to broaden their horizons and experience other areas that they would not have been able to experience.”

The move didn’t come without a year’s worth of research and consideration. CCHS administrators split up a list of 56 schools in Georgia currently using the seven-period schedule and discussed merits and challenges. Bell times and schedule matrices were obtained when possible. Several staff members visited schools and reported back with their findings.

Faculty has been kept up to date on the consideration.

“I was very pleased that our faculty received it very well,” Terrell said. “They had some questions about some logistics, which are things we will have to decide on as a faculty and work out. It’s just going to depend on everybody working together.”

Students this fall will not have to give up taking a course because of a conflict.

“A lot of our students want to do more than what’s available to them at that time. I know we have several students that want to do choir and home economics, but they want to show a cow or show a hog and to do that they have to be in ag and there’s not a spot in their schedule to do all three,” Terrell said.

Among possible course offerings CCHS administrators are considering for this fall are SAT-prep, math support (a state requirement), graduation test prep and, in the future, end-of-course test review.

Students who are preparing for college would be able to participate in band, choir and other electives, while taking Advanced Placement courses. The seven-period day will make a tremendous difference in opening up opportunities to explore additional courses in core subjects, fine arts, foreign languages, physical education and health, school officials said. In addition, the seven-period day would allow for more support classes and more individualized attention for special education students.

Students who participate in Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) programs along with their academic programs demonstrate higher levels of success, school officials said. The new class structure also allow students to participate in career building programs. In many cases, CTAE instructors said, students will continue to participate in school when they can succeed in a subject that interests them and see the relevance of their academic studies in their career choices.

Possible drawbacks include impact on FTE counts (full-time equivalent), staffing and planning issues, adding of academic electives and increase in teacher preparation and number of papers to grade. Teachers could have up to 25 more students. Also, there will be more class changes. Students will have another class they have to prepare for.

“Overall, I just think it’s going to be the best thing in the world,” Terrell said.

No scheduling is set yet for CCHS, she said. Some schools on the seven-period day have flexible scheduling, which is being considered, she said.

“We will look at different options for our school and see what fits for our faculty, staff and students. We want to make sure what we do is in the best interest of our students,” she said.