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CHEDULE June, 2012

What’s the Big Deal?

• Why do we talk about master schedule ?

– How time is spent – How we utilize staff – How we are able to respond to student needs

Background Information

• • • • • • • • • • Middle School 6-8th (8:55a-4p) 680-700 students Title 1 20% ELL (Spanish) High mobility 7 periods (55-75 min) 35min lunch Common grade level planning during exploratory 2, 7-8 person teams per GL 2 Intervention Support staff 3-5 periods 6/8 Exploratory staff 1 period 3 Special Ed staff 1 period • • • • • • • • • • • High School 9-12 th (8:15a-3:15p) 890-900+ students Title 1 ~18-20% ELL High mobility 4X4 block ~40% incoming students lack skills to be successful in Eng1 and Alg1 2, 4 person teams in NGA 1 reading intervention- 45 min for two periods 1 Special Ed staff - 45 min 1 period Essentials of Reading and Math classes HSAP prep courses

Steps for Scheduling

• Collect student data on current and incoming students – – – CBM/Diagnostics/District Assessments/Course Failures/EWS/Historical Data Start well before proposed budgets and schedules are due • • March/April for 8 th April/May for 5 th graders graders Determine those who are in need of further screenings

Steps for Scheduling

• • Based on data collection determine student needs Develop consensus among stakeholders surrounding need for Intervention/Enrichment (I/E) courses • • • • • Staff meetings Parent meetings Student meetings Committee/task force Communication plan

Steps for Scheduling

• • Map out available interventions and match to student needs – Inventory current materials available throughout departments and analyze for: • Research/evidence – • • • • Content Skills addressed Instructional methodology Engagement Plan for “plugging holes” in intervention options • WWC, BEE, Local research – – Plan for continuity with elementary and high school feeders • In highly mobile areas may consider intervention continuity between middle schools and high schools Determine if placement tests need to be given • General placements based on less than proficient scores on state assessments are not the best way to schedule students Determine course credit codes for intervention sections – Students cannot go into credit deficit due to intervention classes

Steps for Scheduling

• Use data collected regarding student needs to determine the types of interventions that will be offered and number of sections needed – – – Try to create homogeneous groups based on your populations’ learning needs • Program publisher information may be too broad for effectiveness at secondary level (Fuchs, Fuchs & Compton 2010) E.G. RW Consider the amount of time (minutes) required for interventions to be effectively delivered with fidelity per session and if this matches time available Consider the amount of time (sessions/days/weeks) required for interventions to be fully implemented • General pacing/curriculum guides can be developed with guidelines for re-teaching and extensions to support core instruction

Steps for Scheduling

– – – – – Consider number of students per group • More intense needs= smaller group Develop plan for those who may need more intense supports • Who/when/how Develop plan for those who may need multi-semester support Determine number of materials to be utilized and costs • Consumable vs. recyclable – Technology can support long-term consumption costs Investigate sources for funding • District sources • • Budget Grants • • PTSA Community partnerships

Steps for Scheduling

• • Determine number of students who will need multiple interventions – Will dictate how many additional intervention sections need to be offered during Exploratory or use of intervention time e.g. skinnies Determine the number of students who will need one intervention and impact on schedule – Use of full block for intervention or half of block for intervention and half for math/algebra English/ELA review, re-teach, pre-teach

Steps for Scheduling- where the magic happens!!

• Determine common time for intervention/ re teach/enrichment to allow for maximum staff availability- may require creativity – Beware of certain periods – – Consider where time can be stolen:5-7 min shaved off of 7 period day or 8-10 min off of 4 period blocks, reduce time for lunch, reduce transition times between periods (easier if students clustered in grade-level areas of building) use of A/B schedules, structured active lunch, skinnies Consider adding time to school day

Steps for Scheduling- where the magic happens!! • Determine staffing – Develop roster of ideal available staff with specialization in: • Literacy • • ELL Math – • Special Education • Specific instructional strategies/programs Develop roster of staff who are interested/available and willing to teach intervention courses but may need additional support/training • Determine plan for supporting those staff

Steps for Scheduling

• Determine designated “master scheduler” who has big picture view of the school, school counselor for scheduling intervention students and additional schedule committee members to review and problem-solve – At middle school level master scheduler typically principal or assistant principal – – At high school level master scheduler typically assistant principal School counselors must understand logistics of interventions and implications for current schedule structure • (A/B, Block) • • Caps on number of students per section Points in time after which students cannot be added to sections

Steps for Scheduling

1. Hand schedule students in need of two interventions (reading and math) first 2. Hand schedule students in need of a single intervention 3. Schedule remaining students

Steps for Scheduling

• • • Plan for new students at start of school year or those who enter after the semester has begun – Screening – Intervention placement decisions • Create communication protocol • Create waitlist for those who arrive late in semester Prior to end of semester use student outcome and waitlist data to determine how many and what types of intervention sections will be needed for next semester – Determine how to support those who were not successful in interventions • Smaller or more specifically designed intervention sections – Rearrange teachers to best meet needs of students in upcoming semester Repeat step 1 -review end-of semester data for current students and plan for next year interventions and gather incoming student data – Use information related to student response to interventions to inform next year’s scheduling

Steps for Scheduling

• Progress Monitoring/Program Evaluation – Consider built-in time for progress monitoring weekly or bi-weekly • Determine expected outcomes: – Knowledge – – Behavior Skills – – • • Determine how to best measure outcomes – CBM/Grades/Attendance/ODRS/EWS/Credits/Formative Assessment – Frequency/Data Collection Tools/Methods/Individuals Involved Determine methods/tools/frequency for assessing fidelity of implementation Develop questions to answer regarding impact of I/E period • What is the impact of I/E period on students level of: achievement/attendance/behavior/etc Determine methods and data sources to answer the questions

S AMPLE S CHEDULES

Scheduling Resources

• School Scheduling Associates – Templates and examples http://www.schoolschedulingassociates.com/ cds.php

Contact Information

Amber Brundage [email protected]