Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein and several other notable characters in history are all credited with saying some variation of the phrase, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Regardless of who said it, fortunately, that won’t be the case any longer at Rock Hill Middle School.

The district has decided to switch to a block scheduling system that is designed to allow more focused educational efforts that are essentially intended to boost test scores.

The new schedule calls for four 80-minute class periods that have built-in intervention time for students who are struggling with a subject.

While the district has made progress in recent years, there were several areas where the district was still falling behind. Administrators have done their homework on what other schools have done and believe this will make a big difference in the near future.

Will it work? No one knows for sure but past studies have shown that it will.

Perhaps most importantly, these changes show that the district is working to address this important issue.

It isn’t enough to simply identify the problem but then sit back and hope for change. True progress often requires aggressive action and the willingness to look at situations from an outsider’s perspective.

Middle school principal Mick Hairston, his staff and the district’s leadership has done that.

Ultimately, the district’s report card on this change will be tied to those brought home by its students.