Botetourt County school administrators want to gather the best teaching skills from the school system's most experienced instructors to use as a learning tool for newer teachers.

It's part of a plan called Taking Stock that was unveiled Thursday to the Botetourt County School Board. The program will examine successful teaching methods and create a comprehensive training manual of instructional tools and guidelines that will be implemented throughout the county's K-12 schools.

John Busher, Botetourt's assistant superintendent of schools, said the number of experienced teachers in the county who are retiring is on the rise, so it's important to collect their tested teaching methods before they leave the profession.

"You look at our staff like any other division. Those are baby boomers, and in the next four or five years, guess where they're going: out the door," he said. "So what Taking Stock is, is while we still have them, let's identify what instructional practices ... are more highly effective."

Teachers will be introduced to the program when the school year begins Aug. 20. Much of the year will be spent with teachers and principals defining what teaching methods are the most effective and collecting them to form a computerized guide.

"It will end up being the core, the heart of what we do," Busher told school board members Thursday night.

"We're defining our expectation level" for teachers and administrators, said Superintendent Tony Brads, adding that teaching methods found to be ineffective will be discarded.

"If it doesn't help our kids, we shouldn't be doing it," he said.

Also at Thursday's meeting, Brads presented the findings of a recent survey completed by students and teachers regarding block scheduling. The new class format was unveiled last year at the county's two high schools, Lord Botetourt and James River.

Instead of a traditional, seven-period school day, the two schools schedule classes on a modified four-by-four block schedule. Students take four 90-minute-long courses each day for the first semester, then take another four courses the second semester.

About 730 students who completed the survey -- about half of the student body of the two schools combined -- gave the new schedule good reviews. Their responses indicate that the reduced number of classes made homework less stressful and that students felt they were more successful in their classes, Brads said.

A majority of teachers also praised the new schedule. Parents will get a chance later this month to complete the survey, Brads said.

Those results are expected to be compiled and presented to the school board in October.