Letter to SDUSD Board re: 4x4 Schedules

The following was emailed to SDUSD Board Members on September 29, 2025, ahead of the September 30 Board Meeting.

SDUSD School Board Members,

I am writing to express the concerns and frustrations that educators have with the recent discussions around transitioning high schools to a 4×4 schedule.

As SDEA union educators, we strongly believe that important decisions about the instructional program at our schools are best made by those closest to those decisions – families, staff and students. This is why our members have fought so hard for nearly 30 years to strengthen Site Governance Teams at every school and why our union contract requires that sites deciding to shift from a traditional 6-period day schedule must do so from the ground up with the support of a supermajority of staff.

As educators, we realize that a 4×4 schedule has been implemented successfully at many of our schools. A key component of this success is our collective commitment to fully implement this model that is generated through our critical voice in the decision-making process. A failure to recognize this will lead to animosity and division that will detract from our core mission of providing the best possible education for our students.

This is also why our bargaining team proposed in March to strengthen protections in the contract around moving to block schedules. Our proposal brings all voices of school communities to the table for this decision. We have yet to receive a response from the District, and our members are concerned that the School Board is taking a top-down approach to 4×4 schedules that runs counter to our shared goal of advancing democracy in our schools.

The decision to move to 4×4 schedules at high schools should be a site-based process that gives us the opportunity to have open and honest discussions on how to best address the needs of our school communities together. This means that some schools may ultimately elect to remain on a 6-period day, but it will result in more cohesive teams that will drive better outcomes for the students we serve.

Kyle Weinberg
SDEA President