Proposed changes to San Diego Unified School District high school schedules drew pushback at a September board meeting, leading to a scaled-back plan this week. But the pitch for a block class schedule appears to be going over well with representatives of the district’s schools in La Jolla.
The proposal was presented at the La Jolla Cluster Association’s Oct. 16 meeting, the first of the 2025-26 school year. Jennifer Roberson, the district’s head of instruction, shared details about the potential change from six classes per day year-round to a “4×4” schedule of four classes per day each semester.
Three high schools — Mira Mesa, Madison and Canyon Hills — are set to move to a block class schedule starting next fall.
The five other schools now on a six-period schedule will have the opportunity to decide whether a 4×4 model works best for them. La Jolla High School is one of them.
Under the 4×4 plan, schools willing to modify their schedules would typically go to four classes a day across two semesters. Classes would increase from roughly 57 minutes long to 89.
The three schools that are changing had been looking at a hybrid 4×4 schedule that would let some classes, such as Advanced Placement, be year-long, according to Deputy Superintendent Nicole DeWitt.
The growing number of courses that San Diego Unified students must take to graduate high school has been a driving factor in the proposed changes, and initially, the school board hoped to move all schools to a 4×4 schedule by 2030.
After gathering feedback, the district decided to take a more measured approach.
“We had an internal conversation with the board and as executive leaders,” Roberson said at the La Jolla cluster meeting. “And we said ‘We’re moving too fast, so let’s slow things down and work with the three schools’ communities that have demonstrated they’re ready to move forward in this direction.’
“We’re going to be engaging with the five remaining school communities on what schedule best fits [their] needs …in order to ensure that all of our students are graduating both college- and career-ready.”
Changing high school schedules to 4×4 will allow more focus and opportunities for students to take more classes throughout their school careers, Roberson said. Other benefits, she added, are having fewer daily transitions and fostering stronger teacher-student relationships.
When asked about potential disadvantages, Roberson said officials hear from educators who can be reluctant to adjust lesson plans.
Though there is flexibility in how a block schedule can be implemented, SDUSD board President Cody Petterson, whose District C includes La Jolla, advocated for it.
“We definitely think this is in the long-term interest of our students,” Petterson said. “But it needs to be a conversation that’s authentic to the site.”
Members of the La Jolla Cluster Association meet Oct. 16 at Muirlands Middle School. (Noah Lyons)
Megan DeMott, the Cluster Association’s parent chair, said she “really supports” the change, citing its flexibility and saying it levels the playing field with other high schools such as Canyon Crest, Coronado and others.
“I know it might be difficult for the educators who are accustomed to their teaching and certain schedules, but I do see this — especially for our La Jolla cluster — as being really advantageous.”
Parent Kathy Williams shared feedback from a cluster representative who was unable to attend the meeting, saying all parents who had been spoken to support the change if teachers are OK with it. The group also expressed frustration with the district deferring the start of some 4×4 block scheduling, saying a survey would capture “all the voices, both loud and quiet.”
Roberson said she would be happy to have further conversations about the possible schedule change at La Jolla High and return at a future cluster meeting.
LJHS Principal Chuck Podhorsky did not comment.
Next meeting: The La Jolla Cluster Association’s next quarterly meeting is at 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, at the Muirlands Middle School library, 1056 Nautilus St. For more information, visit lajollacluster.com.
— San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Jemma Stephenson contributed to this report. ♦