South Carroll Adds ‘FLEX Mod’ to School Schedule

South Carroll High School is adding a new component to its schedule starting with the new school year Tuesday, giving students the chance for individualized instruction and assistance.

The new FLEX mod will give approximately 40 minutes a day of instruction time to students who don’t understand the content in a particular class or do not score satisfactorily on assessments.

During this time, students will be able to return to their classroom teacher to get small group or one-on-one assistance to catch up on assignments and material.

"FLEX mod will be extremely helpful for students who have been absent from school to make up missed work because they have access to their actual classroom teacher," said South Carroll principal Eric King in a letter to students and their parents.

"The FLEX mod has been successful at several other Carroll County High Schools and we are confident that it will be a major benefit to our students."

FLEX will meet four days a week at South Carroll, and one day a week students will stay with their advisors for their advisory lessons. Students will have the opportunity to request to return to a particular teacher, although they can only request to meet with one teacher per day. Teachers will also have the ability to request to meet with their students.

During the FLEX mod periods, students will report to their advisory room for check in. After a late bell rings, students will be sent to locations based on passes received and will remain in the newly assigned area for the duration of the FLEX mod. A student attendance tracker system will be in place to document students’ whereabouts.

If a student does not have work or materials to work on, he will be required to work on enrichment materials provided by the teachers.

"Students will not be allowed to play cards or other games, sleep, socialize with other students or hang out, eat, drink, use their cell phones or listen to iPods without teacher permission," said King. "They will also not be given passes to go to their locker or other locations during this time."

"The South Carroll Student Government Association is very much in favor of the FLEX mod, and several hundred of our students signed petitions in favor of the FLEX concept last school year," said King.