Schedules snafu = classroom chaos

School has been in session for three weeks, but students at the Marie Curie School for Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions in Kingsbridge are still without individual schedules and are being pushed into classes they don’t belong in.

“I’m supposed to be in trigonometry and some other people in my class are supposed to be in algebra,” Katherine Gayle, a tenth grader, said of her mixed up math class.

“I’m kind of frustrated because the AP [Advanced Placement] class is mixed up with the normal class,” said an eleventh grader who wished to remain anonymous.

“Our classes are mixed up,” another student said. “Some kids do AP work and some do Global,” he said, adding that he’s currently in a Spanish class that he already passed.

A former employee who still speaks to current Marie Curie educators and wished to remain anonymous said officials at the school decided to change the way they do scheduling this year. He said the school used to divide children into large groups — or cohorts — that would move together throughout the day. However, that method often grouped children who didn’t belong together and made the hallways crowded because large groups had to switch all at once. When the school tried to individualize schedules it created “complete chaos,” he said.

“Kids are just going to a lot of study halls, some students have fake schedules. That’s criminal. The incompetence there is criminal,” the source said.

Principal Rodney Fisher sent a “Weekend Update” to staff members on Sept. 26 that described the problem.

“Our tenth and eleventh graders still have not received their schedules since the committee are still attempting to meet their academic needs,” the e-mail said. “I will meet with the committee tomorrow morning to get a precise update as to where we are and I will make some difficult yet effective decisions that will move the process and meet the majority of our students’ needs. I will not give a timeline as to when students will get their schedules since I have set two previous dates and the schedules were not completed; I would like to apologize for my inaccuracy.”