Weston Ranch High School could go the way of Manteca High and go on block scheduling in August next year when the school year 2015-2016 begins.

Approval to expand the block scheduling model to Weston Ranch comes before the Manteca Unified Board of Trustees at their next regular meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. in the district board room at 2271 West Louise, corner Airport Way.

Like Manteca High, Weston Ranch voted to develop a committee of teachers to investigate the block scheduling model by researching and doing a study on the district’s block scheduling program along with that of other districts. After the conclusions were presented to staff and teachers of Weston Ranch, they voted in favor of implementing the clock schedule model beginning in August 2015.

The same process was followed at Manteca High, with their request for block scheduling approved unanimously by the board during their October meeting.

If Weston Ranch is approved by the board next week, East Union High remains the last campus to follow suit. However, it was announced at the October meeting that the Lancers are expected to also ditch the traditional schedule in favor of block scheduling, with talks already afoot toward that goal.

“Block (system) is definitely the way to go,” Life Skills and Health teacher Amy Gross commented after the board meeting in October. She was talking based on her years of experience with both the traditional and block scheduling. Prior to transferring to Manteca High, she taught for 18 years at Sierra High where block schedule has been the norm for many years.

Block scheduling gives students more opportunity to enroll in Advance Placement classes, as well as more time to spend with their teachers because the students will only have four classes at a time at longer hours with their teachers – from 55 minutes to 90 minutes each time - she pointed out.

Manteca High’s teachers, staff, parents and students overwhelming voted in favor of block schedule – 64 percent said yes, and 25 percent resonded, “I don’t care.”