4R Board approves ‘Zero Hour’ class

The Aurora 4R School Board approved the introduction of a “Zero Hour” class Monday as part of the high school master schedule, prompting a lengthy conversation about the growing list of options for students to consider.
High School Principal Doug Kittle explained the schedule change during Monday’s regular monthly meeting, which he said was prompted in part by a concern with coaching schedule demands, as well as the benefits of summer weight-lifting programs that may be lost if student athletes don’t have an opportunity to continue throughout the school year.
“If you look at who is doing our 9-12 coaching we’re wearing some guys really, really thin,” Kittle said. “I’m really concerned about the longevity in the profession when they turn around and they have zero break from working with student athletes. We’re fortunate because right now they have the energy to do it. If we can make this change to where the 90 minutes they’re spending from 7:30 to 9 working with athletes is time that they don’t have to spend after practice for nine months, I think it’s a great move.”
The “Zero Hour” schedule change, which was offered to students registering for the 2024 fall semester, allows student-athletes to take a weight-lifting class from 7:30 to 9:07 a.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, with Wednesday’s class meeting from 7:30 to 8:55 and Friday’s from 8:30 to 9:07. In addition, Kittle explained that by opening up some fourth block classes, some kids may have additional academic opportunities.
“I see it as being a win-win and our course numbers are reflecting that as well across the board for registration numbers,” he said. “Just on class sizes some of our dual-credit classes instead of 22 to 24 they’re sitting at about 15 to 17. That’s the first feedback I got from some of those teachers, that this has been good.”
Kittle noted that the school’s band and choir instructors, two of whom attended the meeting, are nervous, thinking they are going to lose students who opt to take weight classes in the early morning hour instead of band and choir, though he said fine arts students have the option of taking weights later in the day as well.
“I think the way it was presented to the student body is that if you do fine arts, there is room for you to get what you need,” he said. “But we have such a large percentage of students that are not affected by early morning fine arts.”
Jason Frew, the district’s vocal instructor, voiced his concern, noting that if he was given the choice of taking a sports-oriented weight class or doing a fine arts activity before school when he was an eighth grader or a freshman he knows what he would have done. 
“I’ve benefitted from both,” he said. “But if it wasn’t for what I experienced in high school I wouldn’t have even considered music. There has not been a lot of communication overall, but it’s always been that the mornings have been the only time we are able to do our extracurriculars. We’re just concerned that this is another thing that is getting put on (the early morning activities) and while we don’t have this conflict right now, if we’re saying it’s going to be that much more okay to have a basketball practice or a wrestling practice or a football practice in the mornings, how is that going to affect the viewpoint of the next Jack Allen or Aaron Marlatt or Ryan Marlatt or Carter Pursley or Jeremy Oswald. They were incredibly successful athletically, but also incredibly successful musically. How many of those kids are we going to miss out on fine arts-wise if we continue to put stuff into the mornings when we only have a short amount of time in the first place?”
Frew, who said the high school choir varies in size from 115 to 140 students while Dan Sodomka reported band enrollment at approximately 90, went on to share concern that students wanting to participate in both sports and fine arts might have trouble deciding what they should choose. 
“If a sport decides to have a morning practice, then either our kids feel very conflicted about who am I going to disappoint … or do we say we are going to do whatever it takes to keep you in this program?” he said. “Again, I’m a huge sports person. I learned so much from sports, but I also learned so much from my fine arts stuff and I want to be able to have the kids that want to do both have the option of it and not feel like they have to choose. If it was me as a freshman or an eighth grader, I know exactly what I would have chosen. I would have chosen sports because that’s what I grew up with, but my entire life has been different because I was given the opportunity” to pursue fine arts.
Board member Tessa Stevens said she appreciated Frew’s concern.
“What if it becomes an expectation by the coaches that these kids get involved in the 7:30 class at the detriment of band?” she said. “Having a child who does both I think, especially as a freshman, it would be hard to say none of my friends are doing this, or am I going to gravitate toward needing to feel like I need to do this 7:30 weight class because that’s what all the athletes are doing.”
Board member Brock Wyatt said AHS asks a lot of its student body, and the last thing he wants is for kids to suffer because of this change.
“Whether they want to do weights or decide not to, they shouldn’t’ be penalized on either side,” he said. “We’re super proud of our kids and we want that to continue. We need to continue to communicate with the idea that we’re in this for the kids.” 
Wyatt also asked Kittle if the “Zero Hour” change would impact core academic courses in a positive way.
“Yes, it will open up opportunities for kids to take either full block or skinnies (47-minute classes) during that fourth block,” he answered. 
After a lengthy discussion, the board voted to approve the “Zero Hour” change by a 5-1 vote, with Cyndi Muilenburg casting a no vote.
In other action, the board:
* approved the cancellation of Lance Sorensen’s employment contract;
* approved a $77,000 contract with Cloudburst Sprinklers out of Grand Island for a sprinkler and seeding project on the east playgrounds at the elementary school. Principal Mark Standage reported that the parent-teacher board approved spending $35,000 toward the project, with funds left over from other projects also earmarked for the playground improvements;
* amended the contract for Jenny Wyatt from .4 to .9 FTE in order to help with some of the counseling duties previously handled by Barb Bonifas, who resigned last month. Brock Wyatt abstained from the vote; 
* approved the district’s beverage contract with Coca-Cola, with one of the main deciding factors over a Pepsi proposal being that Coke employees would stock the vending machines and concession areas;
* approved a retirement resolution honoring Susie Bish for her 17 years of service to the district;
* approved a retirement resolution honoring Barb Hansen for her 19 years of service to the district;
* approved classified staffing adjustments, which included the departure of 4 paraprofessionals.