To start the 2026 to 2027 school year, Mt. Vernon High School will be shifting from a block four to a block eight schedule. This will result in many new opportunities for students and differences in the way school is structures
During the current 2025 to 2026 school year, students at Mt. Vernon go to the same four periods every day for a semester. During the second semester, their schedule is filled with four new classes. On block eight, students will alternate their regular classes every other day. On one day, they will have blocks 1, 3, 5, and 7, while on the next they will have 2, 4, 6, and 8. Current semester-long classes will last year long while formerly quarter-long classes will be one semester.
Mrs. Tharp, the principal of Mt. Vernon High School, helped clarify some of these schedule changes. One change she mentioned was for choir and band. Currently, choir and band meet every day for the entire year. In block 8, choir and band students will still have the class all year, but will take it every other day instead of every day.
According to Mrs. Tharp, students may also choose to take two choir or two band classes, so they could take a musical education class daily. For choir and band students, the option of taking the class every other day opens up their schedule and provides them with more opportunities to take additional classes.
Career Exploration, formerly known as ICE, as well as vocational classes will keep the same schedule they are currently on.
One of the main questions students have asked about block 8 is how it will work for doubling up. Currently, in some subject areas, such as mathematics, classes can be taken in the same year as their prerequisites.
One solution Mrs. Tharp explained was to take classes that do not require each other as prerequisites in the same year. She provided the examples of Algebra I and Geometry, where neither is required to take the other.
Students will also learn how to approach homework in block 8. With classes happening every other day, students will be able to have an extra day to get their homework done.
Mrs. Tharp mentioned how this is especially helpful for students with heavy extracurriculars, such as those in marching band or sports, because they will be able to work around their late nights to get their work done. It will also teach students time management which will help them prepare for the future.
Block 8 is built to prepare students for the future. Block 4 does not account for future school years the way Block 8 does. In Block 4, there can be huge gaps between sequential classes.
In Block 8, knowledge is built on top of itself over time so more is retained. This can easily lead to higher test scores and less time needing to be spent reviewing. That way, more time can be spent actually learning. In that way, Block 8 is like college, and that will further prepare students for the future.
Mt. Vernon has been on Block 4 since 1997, so it is hard to make a change. However, as Mrs. Tharp said, “we have outgrown the [Block 4] schedule.”
As a school, Mt. Vernon has already been adjusting to a Block 8 schedule. A few AP classes already exist on a Block 8 model, meeting every other day for the entire year.