The county's long-criticized middle school schedule will finally be overhauled next year with a change from a four to a six-period day, school officials said in a proposal unveiled last week.

The new schedule will have periods 58 minutes long, instead of the 86 minutes that critics said are too long for the attention span of middle school students. And it will leave more time for elective classes like art and music.

"It certainly looks like a win for students," said Eric Sullivan, chairman of the countywide Citizen Advisory Committee, a parent group that advises the Board of Education and that last year slammed county schools...