Like most high schools, Frederick High has one schedule it uses for school days 75% of the time and several different schedules to account for special class sessions, weather events, state testing, and school assemblies. Each schedule ensures that students have enough time to learn, move between classes, and eat lunch. Students are signaled to move between classes with a bell tone — there is also a warning chime two minutes before classes start to help students avoid being tardy.
Regular School Day
Like all SVVSD high schools, Frederick High is on a rotating block schedule where days of school alternate between four “A Day” classes and four “B Day” classes. These classes are 90 minutes long (with the exception of the A2/B6 block, which is five minutes longer to account for daily announcements).
Between each class is a five-minute passing period for students to get from one class to another. Each student also has a 30-minute lunch — students attend the first lunch session if their A3/B7 class is in the English wing, Social Studies wing, or Performing Arts wing, while students attend the second lunch session if their A3/B7 class is in the Math wing, Science wing, or Athletics wing.
Innovation Center Schedule
Frederick students have the option of attending off-campus Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes at the district Innovation Center (33 Quail Rd., Longmont) or at the Career Elevation and Technology Center (1200 S. Sunset St., Longmont).
Innovation Center classes are 70 to 85 minutes. To get to the Innovation Center from Frederick High, students may drive themselves (or have their parents drive them), or they may take a district bus. Students may have to miss the very start or very end of their Frederick High classes to make the CTE bus and may miss the very start or very end of their CTE classes to make the bus back to Frederick High.
CETC only has two class sessions: a morning session from 8:10 AM to 10:58 AM and an afternoon session from 11:32 AM to 2:20 PM. Like the Innovation Center, the district provides buses to CETC (use the Block A1/B5 and A3/B7 departure times and A2/B6 and A4/B8 arrival at FHS times in the above schedule). Students can also opt to drive themselves, though a CETC parking pass is required.
Late Start Wednesdays
On the first Wednesday of almost every full month of school, the start of the school day starts two-and-a-half hours later than usual. Teachers use this time for professional development while students have the option to sleep in a little longer.
On these days, all classes are 55 minutes long. Classes start at 10:15 AM and end at 2:45 PM. If a student takes a bus to school, they should be at their stop two-and-a-half hours later than usual. There are no off-campus classes on Late Start Days.
The only months to not have a late start are October (as it is the official count month) and January (to account for winter break).
Advisory Wednesdays
Every Wednesday that is not a Late Start or State Testing Day is an Advisory Day. Every student is assigned a faculty advisor in the building, and each Wednesday, students meet with their Advisory class for 55 minutes. During this class, students engage in social-emotional learning, set and review academic goals, and take care of important school business like ICAP requirements and student elections.
On Advisory Days, all classes other than Advisory are reduced to 80 minutes. Passing periods are still five minutes long and lunch is still 30 minutes. School begins and ends at the same time as a normal day.
State Testing Schedules
Four times a year, Frederick High participates in school-wide state-mandated testing: once in October for the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT), once in February as a practice test, and twice in April — one day for the SAT and one day for the PSAT9 and PSAT10. While other important testing occurs throughout the year, all of it is done without a change to the bell schedule.
On these testing days, students will report to their Advisory by 7:45 AM. Their Advisory may not be in the same room as usual (since not all classrooms are ideal testing sites), so room numbers will be posted outside the main office.
Students actively testing that day will be released at 10:35 AM with buses home arriving at 10:45 AM. The only exception to this is with students that have been given extended time: these students test until 11:45 AM and can board a bus home at 12:00 PM. There will be a grab-and-go lunch served that day.
Students who are not testing that day will have asynchronous classwork in Schoology.
Inclement Weather Schedules
When weather conditions make it so that in-person learning would be dangerous, the school district declares an inclement weather day, commonly called a snow day. All buildings in the district, including Frederick High, are closed for the day.
While the school building is shut down, learning is still expected to happen at home on snow days through the online web meeting platform WebEx. Teachers will post a WebEx link to their Schoology pages, and students are expected to log onto WebEx and attend brief classes with their teachers for two hours before using the rest of the day to work on their studies independently. Attendance is taken for these classes.
In situations like a loss of internet or power where students cannot access their synchronous online learning, they are able to be excused for their absence. Just like a normal in-person school day, parents can contact the Frederick High office at (303) 833-3533 and excuse the student’s absence for any reason.
Sometimes, weather and road conditions are acutely bad in the night and early morning but will clear up after the sun rises. Instead of moving the entire school day online, the district may declare a “two-hour delay.” The start of the school day for Frederick High students moves from 7:45 AM to 9:45 AM and classes are shortened to 62 minutes. Students on bus routes will be picked up two hours later than their normal pickup time.
Assembly Schedules
Occasionally, Frederick High changes its schedule to celebrate its student body and have a bit of fun. These schoolwide celebrations are known as assemblies even though not all are traditional assembly events with the entire student body packing into the gymnasium or auditorium — some assemblies are held in classrooms where the school connects to an activity via live feed.
On days with assemblies, the school day follows an assembly schedule with the assembly held at the end of the school day. There are two schedules based on the length of the assembly: a 25-minute assembly schedule (short) and a 45-minute assembly schedule (full). On a short assembly schedule, classes are 85 minutes long, while classes are only 80 minutes long on a full assembly schedule.
Assemblies require mandatory participation from the entire student body, as these events are intended to strengthen the Frederick High community. Attendance is expected of all staff and students on campus at the time of the assembly.