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Fitting everything in...

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Making time in the school day to emphasize academics, tutor students who need extra help, schedule common planning times for teams, or meet a wide variety of other needs is a challenge all principals face. Our Principal Files principals share how they have made time for these things and more.

Creating a schedule that maximizes instructional time, provides time to meet the needs of the schools students, and makes time for staff to meet and plan is a task that Principal Marguerite McNeely likens to a Rubiks Cube. In order to put together minutes needed to achieve school-wide goals, I just keep turning the schedule said McNeely.

By turning schedule, then turning it some more, McNeely has made time at Hayden R. Lawrence Middle School in Deville, Louisiana, to create special tutoring programs for students who need extra help or enrichment and to achieve many other priorities.

From time to time, McNeely has even resorted to setting up alternating-month schedules in order to provide all teams with added planning time.

McNeely squeezes time from some unusual places in order to achieve her purposes. For example, to support the goal of improving math instruction, she includes a brain teaser in each days morning announcements. Correct responses are rewarded with front-of-the-line lunch passes.

Instead of blocking time for reading or math instruction, McNeely prefers an approach where all teachers focus on a specific unit or theme and connect their curriculum to that theme. Another school-wide directive aimed at improving achievement requires language arts teachers to integrate technology into their lessons at least once a week; all other content-area teachers must integrate technology at least twice a grading period.

In addition, the entire school engages in 15 minutes of silent-reading time that is built into the first period of the day.

All teachers are expected to structure tests to model standardized tests the students take each year, added McNeely. Doing that has helped us make major gains.

When it comes to planning the flow of the school day at the O.C. Allen School in Aurora, Illinois, principal Karen Mink starts by scheduling PE and music times.

Small Schools
Adapt Schedules Too
S&S Middle School in Sadler, Texas, has a unique schedule that works because of the schools small size. Since the school has a small staff, the PE teacher also teaches academic classes; and all the academic teachers teach electives.

We have a unique schedule that I have not seen elsewhere, explained Principal Lee Yeager. Our small staff and size enables us to schedule all of our core academic classes before lunch.

Ask any principal or teacher and they will tell you that it is more difficult to get the attention of middle school students in the afternoon than it is in the morning. So we have all of our electives and PE classes in the afternoons and all of our academic classes in the mornings.

It works very well for us, he added.

I start by scheduling those specials for the primary grades in the afternoon, Mink told Education World. That way, the primary grades have at least 90 minutes of uninterrupted time in the morning for teaching literacy.

Whenever possible, Mink tries to schedule specials so two teachers in the same grade level are free at the same time so they can meet to plan.

On a quarterly basis, Mink and her assistant principal set aside a half-day block of time so teachers can meet by grade level. The assistant principal and I plan an activity for the students, she explained. Outdoor activities and quiz shows are among the most popular activities.

The teachers really appreciate the time, said Mink, adding that once a year, we request enough subs so each grade level has a half day to plan together and review data.

Making time for these things in a school of 900 students is quite a challenge. It takes a lot of playing around with time, but I believe the payoff is very valuable and the teachers sure seem to appreciate it.

MATH IN THE MORNING

At Harriet Gifford Elementary School in Elgin, Illinois, Principal Joe Corcoran examines every part of the day in a search for time to accomplish goals and improve achievement. For example, as principal of a Title I school Corcoran has a large number of students who are bussed in early each day for a breakfast program. The kids often eat their breakfasts in the first 15 minutes, so Corcoran eyed those 30 minutes of free time before the school day officially gets underway as a huge opportunity to gain some instructional time for a population that could benefit from it.

Each day, I take a group of 30 students to our computer lab for 30 minutes, explained Corcoran. The students work with math programs such as FASTT Math, which builds math fact fluency, and online subscription resources such as SkillsTutor (Houghton Mifflin), Everyday Mathematics Games (McGraw-Hill), and Kids College (Learning Through Sports).

In the beginning of the year, Corcoran takes the same 30 kids to the lab each day. I do that so I can monitor their progress, he explained. As the year winds down, some kids interest or need might wane, so there is always some other kid who wants to join us. There's never an empty seat.

Once in awhile -- and the kids never know when -- Corcoran surprises the students with a special challenge and reward. I make a big deal out of this by delivering the reward to the winners classrooms, he said.

Programs such as FASTT Math are effective, says Corcoran. The evidence is in the results, he says. The program tracks which facts are secure and focuses on the ones that are not. Graphs and charts are generated for teacher and parent use.

A Time for
Everything
Time is critical, and we have to juggle it since we cannot add time to the school day, said Les Potter, principal at Silver Sands Middle School in Port Orange, Florida.

The Silver Sands schedule provides time for a wide variety of purposes and to achieve many school-wide goals. Following are just a few of the way in which time had been used to great advantage:

Fifteen minutes of the first period of every school day is a read-for-enjoyment time. Sometimes students are reading a book assigned by the reading coach; other times students are free reading.

Test-taking skills are actively taught as part of the curriculum in core subject areas.

A 45-minute lunch period gifts teachers 15 minutes more time than required by contract. That lunch period builds into it time for tutoring students who are not meeting expectations. We dont allow students to fail, explained Potter.

A students physical health is right up there in importance with his/her academic health. All students have a daily 45-minute PE class.

Twenty early-release days are built into the calendar. Students leave an hour early and teachers use the time for planning, grading, and other responsibilities.

By having students come to the computer lab in the morning, they are engaged in meaningful activities and gaining additional practice time. I am extending their learning day and they don't even realize it because they are having fun.

Another advantage is that some of these kids might be the ones causing problems outside on the playground or in line. They dont often cause problems in the lab, because they know they will lose their privileges and that other students are waiting to take their places.

This time also gives me a chance to connect with kids everyday in a positive light.

Another way in which Corcoran has made time is to block-schedule students art, music, and PE times. The art, music, and PE teachers rotate students between the classes so classroom teachers have an uninterrupted block of planning time.

The first year we did this block schedule, our teachers were skeptical, said Corcoran. Having all three of those classes [art, music, and PE] back to back meant there would be other days with no breaks. But they have found the planning time so valuable that when we took a vote whether or not to continue this schedule for a second year, the vote was 19-1 in favor of keeping it. It was a mind-shift for teachers, but they really saw the value.

Having a block of planning time each week enables the schools literacy coach and Corcoran to join in with teams. In addition, ELL classes are part of the block-schedule plan, so those teachers can plan with the regular classroom teachers too.

Carving additional minutes out of a day is tricky, said Corcoran, but teachers really appreciate the time it makes for them to plan together.

ADJUSTING THE
HIGH SCHOOL DAY
TO MEET STUDENTS NEEDS, SCHOOL-WIDE GOALS

In Maryland, students must pass four high-stakes tests [high school assessments] in order to qualify for a diploma. When the staff of Saint Michaels Middle/High School (Saint Michaels, Maryland) considered the impact of that requirement, they determined that they needed to adapt their block schedule to increase the amount of time students spent in subjects that were directly tested: Algebra/Data Analysis, English, Biology, and Government. The solution they came up with was a hybrid-block schedule in which each of those subjects is taught in 60-minute periods for the full school year.

The previous schedule was a 4 x 4 block with 90-minute classes that lasted a semester. That meant there would be semesters when students might not have an Algebra class or a Science class. Under the hybrid-block, year-long 60-minute classes were initiated for

Grade 9 -- Algebra 1, English 1, Physical Science;

Grade 10 -- English 2, Biology, U.S. History; and

Grade 11 Government.
The remaining classes remained on the block schedule.

Upward Bound
After School
When Bonita Henderson retired from school administration last year, she knew she would stay connected to kids. Along came a new position working with the Upward Bound program at Cincinnati State Technical & Community College. As part of the program, she tutors students at two high schools three days a week. On Tuesday, the students in the program attend informative seminars organized by employees of nearby companies such as Toyota and Proctor & Gamble.

Extending the school day in this way helps focus students on preparing for college and knowing what to expect, Henderson explained.

In July, Henderson and others in the program will take 110 students on a one-week tour of colleges. This year's tour will focus on colleges in the Chicago area.

"This is my dream job," she told Education World.

Set up time "blocks" when everyone in the grade/school is focused on one area of the curriculum (reading, math, language arts)?

Find a scheduling solution that enables common planning times for teams?

Introduce tutorial programs for students who need extra help?

Introduce a daily school-wide activity via the intercom or another method to achieve a school-wide goal?

Create special programs to build test-taking skills?

Make time for all students to get into the computer lab on a regular basis for activities that build skills?

Schedule a more efficient cafeteria/lunch time so kids aren't rushed through meals?

Plan recess/playground times to ensure that kids get needed exercise?

Make sure kids have time in the day for silent-reading/reading for enjoyment?

Principal Contributors to This Article
The following members of Education Worlds Principal Files team shared their thoughts about making time in the school day to meet school-wide goals and improve student achievement.

Alan Beam, principal, Holton (Kansas) High School

Ember Conley, principal, Montezuma-Cortez High School, Cortez, Colorado

Joe Corcoran, principal, Harriet Gifford Elementary School, Elgin, Illinois

Frank J. Hagen, principal, Saint Michaels Middle/High School, St. Michaels, Maryland

Bonita Henderson, assistant principal (retired), Cincinnati (Ohio) Public Schools

Marguerite McNeely, principal, Hayden R. Lawrence Middle School, Deville, Louisiana

Karen Mink, principal, O.C. Allen School, Aurora, Illinois

Dr. Les Potter, principal, Silver Sands Middle School, Port Orange, Florida

Dr. Lee Yeager, principal, S & S Middle School, Sadler, Texas

To explore other practical articles in the Principal Files series, go to our Principal Files Archive.
Click here to learn how you might contribute to a future "Principal Files" article.

Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World®
Copyright © 2009 Education World

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Fitting Everything in Requires Creative Scheduling | Education World

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Making time in the school day to emphasize academics, tutor students who need extra help, schedule common planning times for teams, or meet a wide variety of other needs is a challenge all principals face. Our Principal Files principals share how they have made time for these things and more.

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This master schedule tool from Education Resource Strategies allows principals to prioritize their school's resources and think about what they want students and teachers to experience.

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Sample considerations checklist

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Power of Innovation

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Scheduling is a valuable but untapped resource for school improvement. Through our work in schools across the country, we have seen again and again how a well-crafted schedule can

result in more effective use of time, space, and resources (human as well as material);

help solve problems related to the delivery of instruction; and

assist in establishing desired programs and instructional practices.

We believe that Deming was right when he said that it is more often the structure of an organization than the inadequacies of the people who work within it that causes problems (Bonstingl 1992). The examples we'll discuss only hint at the power of scheduling to improve schools. But, first, let's review some problems that scheduling can help alleviate.

Three Issues All Schools Face

Although scheduling varies from elementary school through high school, three areas of concern span all levels.

1. Providing Quality Time

Fragmented instructional time is an issue at all levels. In elementary school, a variety of practices contribute to this problem. For example, haphazardly scheduled pullout programs (for ESL or special education, for example) disrupt classroom instruction; and because the schedules of specialists (for music and art, for example) are created for periods of varying length, core teachers must plan instruction around the remaining chopped-up time. In addition, when special programs classes meet just once a week for a short period, students receive piecemeal instruction.

At the middle and high school levels, fragmentation occurs in a different way. Students traveling through a six-, seven-, or eight-period day encounter the same number of pieces of unconnected curriculum each day, with little opportunity for in-depth study. In middle schools, this problem may have been exacerbated by exploratory programs, which in many schools have evolved from risk-free explorations to full academic courses with tests, grades, and homework.

Recently we worked with a district where students spent four periods daily in English, mathematics, social studies, and science, and two periods in six-week exploratory "wheels." In other words, students saw 4 core teachers and 12 exploratory teachers during the year. Is having so many teachers per day and per year consistent with what we know about middle school students?

2. Creating a School Climate

The daily schedule can have a great effect on a school's climate. At the elementary level, discipline problems can result from the way small-group reading and math instruction is scheduled. Many teachers continue to divide their classes into reading, language arts, and math groups, which meet separately with the teacher while other students complete worksheets or work in learning centers. All too often, teachers must interrupt small-group instruction to address discipline problems that arise in the back of the room.

In middle and high schools, traditional schedules create at least four situations that may contribute to the number of discipline problems.

Many disciplinary referrals result from scheduled transitions, when large numbers of students spill into hallways, lunchrooms, and commons areas, or congregate in locker rooms and bathrooms. If students are not sent to the office directly, the problems often carry over into the classroom, where teachers must deal with them before beginning instruction.

The assembly-line, traditional period schedule contributes to the depersonalizing nature of high schools. When teachers are responsible for 100-180 students daily, and students must answer to six, seven, or eight teachers a day, it is nearly impossible to develop close relationships, which may help reduce discipline problems.

Short instructional periods may also contribute to a negative classroom climate. When students who misbehave do not respond to a quick correction, many teachers send them to the office. With only 40- to 55-minute class periods, these teachers view any time taken away from classwork as unacceptable.

The middle school schedule, in particular, often makes teaming efforts difficult. Students in seven-period schools often are enrolled in three non-core classes, while the four-teacher teams-one teacher each from English, math, science, and social studies-are assigned five classes daily. Thus, during many periods of the day, 20 percent of the students are "off core." As a result, teams must remain in a period schedule, and the team structure, which usually facilitates disciplinary control, is weakened.

3. Providing Varying Learning Time

Perhaps the most critical (and unresolved) time allocation issue that schools face is the indisputable fact that some students need more time to learn than others. In secondary schools, reliance on the Carnegie unit has made all students "Prisoners of Time" (National Education Commission on Time and Learning 1994). High schools, and to a lesser extent middle schools, experience this problem, especially in late January. After receiving their first-semester grades, some students conclude that they will not pass the subject regardless of their performance during the second semester. Believing they have nothing to gain by doing the work, some of these students act out and skip classes. In a way, we have created a system to handle students who need more time to learn: we give them F s and make them repeat the course during summer school or the next academic year!

On the other end of the spectrum, possibilities for acceleration in U.S. schools are very limited. Most districts, however, offer one celebrated occasion for advancement. At the end of 7th grade in middle and junior high schools, teachers must decide whether or not a student should enroll in algebra during the 8th grade. This inflexible system forces instructors to make premature decisions about a student's potential in mathematics. If the school schedule were not as rigid, perhaps educators could make the decision to accelerate students at more appropriate times.

In elementary school, our usual reaction to the need for different amounts of time for learning is to provide individual assignments to those who learn quickly, and to regroup, slow down, and provide pull-out programs for those who need more time. The problems with these accommodations are that (1) sometimes the activities provided for those who learn quickly are thrown together haphazardly (Renzulli 1986), and (2) students placed in the lower groups fall farther behind. In addition, students in pullout programs often are stigmatized by their participation in them.

Scheduling as a Solution

Redesigning the school schedule can help address each of these three issues. We begin with the elementary school.

Elementary School Scheduling

A number of elementary schools across the country have adopted parallel block scheduling to reduce instructional fragmentation, improve discipline, and provide regularly scheduled, yet flexible, opportunities for extended learning enrichment (Canady 1988, 1990; Canady and Reina 1993). Figure 1 illustrates part of such a schedule, designed for four base teachers and an extension center.

Figure 1. A Parallel Block Elementary School Schedule for Four Base Teachers and an Extension Center

Teachers A and B work with their homeroom classes for an uninterrupted 100 minutes to begin the time block shown. They can use this time for language arts and social studies or perhaps for a whole class reading lesson. Teachers A and B may team together for this block if desired.

During the next 50 minutes, Teacher A works with Reading-Writing Group 1; Teacher B instructs Group 3. Teaching about half of the class, the base teacher conducts a reading group, or a writers' workshop, or perhaps conferences with individual students. Discipline is improved because independent groups are no longer in the back of the room. The extension teacher picks up Reading-Writing Group 2 from Teacher A and Group 4 from Teacher B and escorts these students to the extension center.

At the end of this 50-minute period, the extension center teacher returns Reading-Writing Groups 2 and 4 to their classrooms and picks up Groups 1 and 3 for their extension time. The rest of the school day is devoted to math, science, music, the arts, and physical education. Sleepy Hollow Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia, has operated a similar schedule for the past four years.

In the extension center, students who need more time to learn receive assistance through reteaching and reinforcement, and they have opportunities for practice. Any pullouts for special services-special education, English as a second language, gifted and talented, or Chapter 1-are provided during extension center time. Students who have mastered basic concepts work on enrichment activities.

The extension center position can be staffed in different ways. Increasing homeroom size frees up regular teaching staff. An alternative is to staff the center with Chapter 1, English-as-a-second-language, gifted and talented, or special education teachers. Still other options are to use the computer lab or a foreign language program as the extension center or to rotate library/media, guidance, and reading enrichment professionals for a specific period of time (three weeks, for example).

Other Tips for Elementary Schools

Schedule all specialists for equal periods of instruction on a rotating schedule during the same time block each day. Consider four- or six-day cycles, rather than the unwieldy and unfair Monday through Friday schedule.

Rotate shared itinerant specialists who travel to different schools on a nine-week or semester basis, rather than two days a week here and two days a week there.

Schedule recess time contiguous to another class change such as for lunch or specials' classes to reduce time lost to movement.

Avoid short periods of time such as 15-minutes between lunch and specials. These often are wasted.

Middle School Scheduling Models

We'll look at three models at the middle school level.

The four-block schedule. One schedule being used with increasing frequency across the country greatly reduces fragmented instruction. In the four-block schedule, students spend one block of the day (about 90 minutes) in language arts, a second block in mathematics, and a third block in either social studies or science. The block of social studies/science is rotated every other day, every other unit, by semester, or on some other basis. Students spend the fourth block of the day in physical education, music, and/or exploratory courses, which meet for 90 minutes every other day. They attend only three academic courses daily.

Language arts and mathematics teachers teach three groups every day for the entire year; social studies and science teachers work with three groups per day, but with six groups for the year; and physical education, exploratory, and elective teachers work with only three groups per day. With this scheduling plan, both teachers and students experience less stress and fragmentation.

The four-block middle school schedule significantly reduces the daily number of class changes, thereby reducing discipline problems. Examples of schools operating this schedule during the 1994-95 year include: Newberry Middle School in Newberry, South Carolina; Goochland Middle School in Goochland, Virginia; and Wilbur Wright Middle School in Dayton, Ohio. Districts that operate the 4 × 4 semester block high school schedule may find this plan a logical transition for middle schools.

The 75-75-30 plan (Canady and Rettig 1993). W. Marshall Sellman School in the Madeira School District in Cincinnati, Ohio, implemented this unique 180-day school calendar for the 1994-95 school year. According to teachers, students, and parents, the program was a great success.

Under the Sellman plan, the school follows a fairly typical middle school team block schedule for the first 150 days. Courses end after two 75-day terms, and students begin their final six weeks of school enrolled in specialized courses, created and designed by teachers. Such specialized courses provide (1) additional learning time for students who have yet to master grade-level objectives, and (2) academically enriching activities for all students. Course titles at the Sellman School include Principles of Mathematics, Team-Accelerated Instruction, Water Science, Inventioneering, Mock Trial, and Fun with Poetry.

The concept-progress model. This approach is another attempt to address students' differing needs for learning time (Canady and Rettig 1992, Canady 1989). Several elementary and middle schools across the country are using it to provide mathematics instruction to heterogenous groups. Figure 2 illustrates one version of this plan.

Figure 2. A Concept/Progress Middle School Model for a Six-Day Cycle with 50- to 60-Minute Periods per Day

Math teachers A, B, and C present the basic concepts of a mathematical topic to their entire classes two days of every six-day cycle. Math Teacher A's Concept Math Group meets on Days 1 and 2 of the six-day cycle. During concept math time, the teacher focuses on grade-level instruction, ideally using cooperative learning, providing direct instruction, and, when needed, illustrating with manipulatives. The teacher does not test and grade students in concept groups.

After working with their whole groups, Teachers A, B, and C divide students into two Progress Math Groups-temporary, flexible, homogeneous groupings of students, based on their understanding of the basic ideas taught in the Concept Math Group. Math Teacher A instructs Progress Math Group 1 on Days 3 and 4, and Group 4 on Days 5 and 6. (Note that Progress Math Groups 1 and 4 equal Teacher A's Concept Math Group.) Teachers monitor and adjust instruction during this time, providing enrichment and additional assistance as needed; however, Progress Math Groups remain on the same topic. For example, if teachers have planned to work on long division for 18 days, Progress Math Group 2 might focus on dividing two digits into three digits, while Progress Math Group 5 might be dividing three digits into four. Note, however, that all groups work in long division for the number of days determined by the pacing guide that teachers developed at the beginning of the school year. Students are graded based on their progress within the topic.

In the computer lab, similar adjustments are made in the selection of software for each group. The concept-progress model is just one way of designing the school schedule to serve students with varying instructional needs by providing

whole-group instruction without the pressure of testing and grading;

small groups so that teachers can monitor and adjust instruction without having to teach one group while policing another group; and

both extended learning and enrichment time on an individual student basis.

Other Middle School Scheduling Tips

Many middle schools can benefit from operating on some of the more popular high school block scheduling models, such as the Day 1/Day 2 schedule. Students have fewer classes daily, and fewer class changes are necessary.

Consider adding a nontraditional core teacher to the interdisciplinary team. At Glasgow Middle School in Fairfax County, Virginia, a foreign language teacher is now on each 8th grade interdisciplinary team. At other schools, related arts teachers are on teams on a rotating basis. For example, an art teacher might be the fifth person on a team for nine weeks of art, followed by nine weeks of computer technology, nine weeks of teen living, and nine weeks of drama. Being part of the team increases the likelihood that the content of these exploratory subjects will be integrated with the core.

Another way of reorganizing the 180-day calendar, which is similar to the 75-75-30 Plan, is the 35-(5)-35-(15)-35-(5)-35-(15) Plan. Each semester students attend regular classes for 35 days and have 5 days for reteaching and/or enrichment. Then they continue regular classes for 35 days and end the semester with 15 days for extended learning time or enrichment/electives (See Canady and Rettig 1995, Chapter 5).

High School Scheduling Models

During the past 10 years, high schools across the country have begun to implement block schedules to address curriculum fragmentation. Many schools operate alternate-day schedules, the 4 X 4 semester plan, and many variations (For a detailed treatment of these plans see Canady and Rettig 1995). Each plan can also have a positive effect on school discipline. Here are two examples.

A trimester plan with daily periods for extended learning. In the fall of 1994, Parry McCluer High School in Buena Vista, Virginia, used a trimester schedule with extended classes for enhanced learning (Canady and Rettig 1995, Chapter 4). In such a plan, students enroll in two classes per trimester; each class meets for two hours in the morning and reconvenes for an additional 45 minutes of extended learning time each afternoon. Nearly all students require this additional time for learning; however, a few have been permitted to contract out of the extended learning time for advanced study with another faculty member. An equally small number of students require more time than can be allocated each trimester to complete course objectives. If these students have worked hard and simply need more time, they may be granted an "Incomplete," which they can make up during extended learning time of the next trimester.

A schedule that provides algebra for all students. In one school district-where 40 percent of the students enrolled in first-year algebra failed the course, and where approximately one-third of the students who had passed the course the previous year failed the state proficiency examination-we designed the following schedule to provide varying learning time for students in Algebra I.

As shown in Figure 3, four sections of Algebra I are scheduled in the same period or block, and the curriculum is divided into four distinct segments. During Quarter 1, all students begin together as heterogeneous groups with teachers A, B, C, and D. After completing Quarter 1, students who need more learning time are regrouped into a separate section, which repeats Part 1 with Teacher D during Quarter 2. Teachers A, B, and C continue Part 2 of the course with students who, at the time, are performing successfully. At the end of each quarter, teachers determine whether a regrouping is necessary. When a group must repeat one of the four parts of the course, we recommend using a different teaching approach-for example, having that teacher reteach the group using a software package in the computer lab or having one of the other four teachers reteach that part of the course.

Figure 3. A Middle School Schedule That Provides Varying Learning Times for Students Taking Algebra I

Figure 3 shows some students finishing the course in four quarters, and some in five, six, seven, or even eight quarters. Variable learning time is provided for students, and no student is forced to sit through a repeat of the entire class. The same idea shown in Figure 3 can be designed for English, particularly for grade 9 students, by basing the parts of the course on an identified sequence of writing and reading skills.

Other High School Scheduling Tips

Schools may periodically alter the regular schedule so that each class meets for a full day on a rotating basis. For example, in a six-period school (on a six-day cycle), teachers would meet with each of their five classes for a full day and then have a full day off for planning or professional development.

Some schools have scheduled one long lunch period rather than two or three short periods. During this extended time the library, gym, computer lab, and outdoor recreational areas are opened for student use. Teachers schedule office hours for extra help; club meetings and other activities also may be held. Several serving sites are necessary to accommodate students purchasing lunch.

Harnessing the Power of Scheduling

We've looked at ways that some elementary, middle, and high schools have redesigned their schedules to reduce curriculum fragmentation, discipline problems, and student failure. We need to move beyond individual school models of scheduling, however, and toward districtwide plans. Ultimately, we envision students progressing from school to school in a seamless design. Such a plan may even enable 5th and 8th grade teachers, for example, on an every-other-year basis, to continue with their students during their first year in middle or high school.

Only in the last decade have educators begun to capitalize on the potential of scheduling to improve schools. With open minds and equal doses of creativity and technical expertise, school administrators, teachers, parents, and students can harness this power.

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The Power of Innovative Scheduling - ASCD

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Scheduling is a valuable but untapped resource for school improvement. Through our work in schools across the country, we have seen again and again how a well-crafted schedule can result in more effective use of time, space, and resources (human as well as material); improve instructional climate; h

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departmentalizing

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Integration

In most elementary schools, when students are learning math, it's separate from science. When they're learning language arts, it's separate from social studies. In the upper grades at Ralston, however, students learn how two subjects are connected.

Through departmentalization, their teachers specialize in two subjects, as well as teach those subjects in the same lesson. When the students learn math, they will then be able to apply that to what they learn in science. When they learn language arts, they will be able to apply that to what they learn in social studies.

"It makes me feel more involved," reflects Pablo, a sixth-grade student. "You have the chance to learn more about the real world."

How It's Done

To recognize the benefits of Ralston Elementary's departmentalization practice, it's necessary to understand how the school is structured:

Kindergarten and first-grade students learn in regular elementary classrooms, with one teacher for all subjects.

Second- and third-grade students have three teachers, each responsible for a separate subject: math, reading, and writing. This is departmentalization. For example, all students learn math from the same math teacher.

In grades four through six, there are two teachers per grade level. One teaches math and science, and the other teaches language arts and social studies. This is departmentalization plus subject integration.

Start Small: Implement Departmentalization Across One Grade

Three years ago, Ralston piloted departmentalization at the second-grade level. The teachers wanted to deepen their content knowledge, which departmentalization allows, and they also wanted the ability to quickly iterate their lessons to better meet students where they are.

What Departmentalization Looks Like in Second Grade

There are three classrooms at the second-grade level.

Students have one teacher for each of the core subjects: reading, writing, and math.

Each core subject is a 75-minute block.

Each teacher also teaches social studies and science for their homeroom class.

Students rotate to each of the three teachers for their three content areas.

Expand Implementation Slowly Across Other Grade Levels

After Ralston's successful semester pilot using departmentalization for their second-grade students, other teams began to show interest. Principal Dawn Odean, instructional coach Anne DiCola, and the teachers discussed what departmentalization would look like in other grade levels and how they might facilitate that.

They began by looking at units of study. Instead of approaching content in the traditional way -- teaching math by itself, teaching science by itself -- they looked at how math, science, social studies, and language arts interacted, and how the students could apply their math learning to their science learning, and apply their reading and critical thinking skills to help them better understand social studies concepts. Through departmentalization, Ralston teachers teach only two subjects, making those subjects easier to integrate.

"One of the things we found," recalls Odean, "was that [departmentalization] really helps integrate curriculum and provide opportunities for students to apply and transfer -- so we could really see mastery."

Today, Ralston uses departmentalization in grades two through six. They keep kindergarten and first grade in the traditional setting, with one teacher for all subjects, as they want to focus on making students feel comfortable and building strong relationships in a new school environment.

What Departmentalization Looks Like in Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Grade

There are two classrooms at each grade level.

One teacher teaches science and math as one class, and one teacher teaches social studies and language arts as one class.

Each teacher sees all grade-level students every day.

Students rotate between two class periods of two hours and 15 minutes each.

Reflect on and Refine Your Lesson Plans

An added bonus of departmentalization is the idea that teachers are teaching the same lesson multiple times, which gives them an opportunity to quickly iterate based on student feedback.

"[The teachers] do their lessons three times a day in their content area," explains Odean. "If they were in a normal elementary school it would take them three years to do a lesson three times. [With this approach] they can reflect, shift and adjust, shift and adjust again, and make it be the best that it can be."

Integration In Action

While teachers practicing departmentalization specialize in specific subject areas, integration in the upper grades is the practice of weaving content from one of their subject areas to the other.

By applying their learning from one subject to another, the students begin to see its relevance. For example, by learning computational skills and measurements in math, Ralston sixth-grade students were able to measure the slope in the drain in their school parking lot, giving them ownership in fixing the school's water overflow and ice problem, and showing them that their learning is connected to the real world.

"We wanted to do something that would tie into one of our three big spheres of science," explains Jon Bromfield, sixth-grade math and science teacher. "Hydrosphere is a perfect connection for measuring the slope of the parking lot because it connects to watershed and how our friend gravity is always pulling things down. You couldn't ask for a better laboratory."

In their sixth-grade social studies and language arts class, while doing a simulation on the Maya, students take breaks for research, close reading of articles (from secondary sources to primary documents written in the 1500s), and analyzing their own artistic replicas of primary documents.

By departmentalizing and integrating two subjects, Ralston teachers guide their students in transferring their skills. They have more time to plan and intentionally integrate their lessons.

Create Integrated Lesson Plans

Departmentalization at Ralston has spurred upper elementary teachers to create integrated lesson plans. Laura Hinijos, a sixth-grade language arts and social studies teacher, offers three tips from what she has learned:

Be transparent. Some days, she says, students ask her if they'll do reading in class. To be more transparent, she could say, "We're doing social studies today, and here are the literacy skills that we're using."

Create structure. Some days, she outlines defined reading and writing time. Other days, their focus is on a social studies concept, and her students use their language arts skills to learn and better understand the ideas discussed.

Be responsive. It's important to have structure in place, she notes, but that structure is responsive to what needs to happen in the classroom. "If we need more time on a project and more time collaborating, then some of those other structures shift, which is the beauty of having that almost two-and-a-half-hour block. I have that ability to shift what's happening during those two and a half hours."

Look at Concepts Across Grade Level

Ralston Elementary integrates concepts across subjects. Each grade level has one specific concept that ties across all their classes.

In kindergarten, they looked at the concept of change. "They're looking at change in science," describes Odean, "and they can talk about those things in reading and writing, and in math as well. Some of that integration is done at the more basic level at the primary grades."

Hinijos focused on risk as a concept in her sixth-grade social studies and language arts class, and she talked with Bromfield about how he could incorporate risk into his math and science class at the beginning of his geosphere unit. They brainstormed questions such as:

What are the risks that we take, or don't take, with our natural resources?

How does that affect our geosphere?

Integrate Expectations

Ralston's teachers share students across grade levels and create common expectations. With departmentalization and integration, explains Hinijos, "it's more of a sixth-grade decision versus an 'in my classroom' decision."

Create shared expectations.

Both sixth-grade teachers share the kids and share that responsibility of creating unity among both classes. They talked about their expectations and agreed to always be on the same page. "We've worked really hard on making sure we have those commonalities as far as shared expectations for the kids," Hinijos points out, "so it's not like whiplash for the kids. . . 'This is what Miss Hinijos expects.' 'This is what Mr. Bromfield expects.'"

Create a homework agreement.

They also created shared agreements around homework. If one of them has their students working on a large project, the other one won't be assigning a lot of homework. "We're trying to be responsive to what the students need," elaborates Hinijos, "but also respectful of what students can handle, and making sure they're getting a common line of communication from both of us."

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Integrating Subjects in Elementary School | Edutopia

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Integration In most elementary schools, when students are learning math, it's separate from science. When they're learning language arts, it's separate from social studies. In the upper grades at Ralston, however, students learn how two subjects are connected. Through departmentalization, their teachers specialize in two subjects, as well as teach those subjects in the same lesson.

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Master Schedule Example

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departmentalizing

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At Sharpstein Elementary School, 2nd graders are getting used to a routine that most American children don't learn for four more years: Several times a day, they line up and switch classrooms and teachers by subject.

They spend the morning with one teacher for reading and writing, breaking in the middle for music, library, or physical education classes. After lunch, they head to another room for math and science. Then students return to their original teacher for social studies. Sharpstein's 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders have similar schedules.

The school in Walla Walla, Wash., is one of a small but growing number that are adapting for elementary schools a practice that has long defined middle and high schools: departmentalization. Also known as specializing or "platooning," the model has been used in limited ways in the lower grades for years, with children leaving their main classrooms for math or reading instruction. It grew in popularity after the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act increased pressure on schools to raise test scores.

Now, as the Common Core State Standards require new kinds of skills from younger children, some schools are expanding the model by asking teachers to drop their traditional roles as generalists and serve instead as experts in one or two content areas. Most commonly, they're trying it in grades 3-5, but some are doing it with pupils as early as kindergarten.

Some schools provide one teacher for math and science instruction, and another for literacy and social studies, so students work with only two teachers a day. Others split the subjects even further, rotating students among four instructors.

Schools that have embraced this shift are betting on a double yield: Students will learn more from teachers steeped in a given subject, school leaders hope, and teachers will be renewed and excited by diving more deeply into the subjects they love.

But the approach has trade-offs. Chief among them is the risk that the youngest children lose the close teacher bonds and developmentally appropriate kinds of learning they need. Elementary teachers, accustomed to spending many hours daily with the same den of children, might have as little as an hour with them, and take on two or three times as many students in exchange.

For those and other reasons, the departmentalization of elementary schools has not become widespread. But the practice is sparking renewed interest, and uptake, in scattered districts across the country.

Focusing on Content

As a regional superintendent in the District of Columbia schools in 2010, Amanda Alexander oversaw the move to a variety of departmentalized models by her 12 elementary schools. Over the next three years, their gains in test scores outpaced those of the school system overall. Ms. Alexander saw similar progress in 2008 as a principal when she used the model in her school.

Now, as the deputy chief of schools for the 45,000-student district, she sees interest bubbling up from a handful of other principals in the district.

"People are starting to rethink the idea," said Ms. Alexander. "The common core has definitely had an influence on the thinking of those school leaders."

Many Denver elementary schools have platooned for years, but there's been an uptick of interest lately, said Susana Cordova, the district's chief academic officer. One sign of that interest: More elementary teachers are requesting professional development in a single content area, she said.

"They're saying that if they participate in one content area and learn it deeply, as opposed to learning the [common-core] changes in language arts and math at the same time, it helps them get better more quickly," she said.

As a teacher and principal in Massachusetts, Mark Higgins saw academic standards grow more demanding over the last decade. A few years ago, as the principal of Witchcraft Heights Elementary School in Salem, he concluded that his teachers needed more support with the shifting expectations, so he provided systematic training, some of it in conjunction with his feeder middle school.

Fifth graders at Witchcraft Heights now rotate through three teachers daily; 4th graders have two teachers. The staff is considering extending the model to 3rd grade.

Fifth grade teacher Kathleen Marchetti is responsible for social studies and English/language arts, while a colleague handles math and science. She said she loves the new model.

"Our curriculum was becoming almost like middle school; there was so much to cover in each subject, that after planning my week out, I wasn't having enough time to plan creative things to do, or go into anything deeply," she said. "Now I get to do stuff I wouldn't get time to do in [a] self-contained [classroom]."

The flip side is that Ms. Marchetti now has more students. When Witchcraft Heights first switched, she went from having 24 students to 75. That was "a lot more essays to grade," she said. But the addition of another teacher eased her workload.

"Now I just have 40 essays," Ms. Marchetti said. But even still, "I stay later than I used to."

The Palm Beach County school system, in Florida, was a something of a laboratory for departmentalization. The 187,000-student district required it of all 109 elementary schools for grades 3-5 in the 2009-10 school year. But when that requirement was eliminated the following year, some schools stuck with it and some didn't, said Debbie Battles, the district's director of elementary curriculum.

As an elementary principal in 2009-10, Ms. Battles concluded that with departmentalization, it's important to create cross-disciplinary teams so teachers know how their students are doing across the curriculum. She now advises schools to that effect if they inquire about the model.

Given the common core's expectation that teachers of all subjects teach literacy, those teams are especially important, Ms. Battles said.

Deepening teachers' content knowledge requires an intense focus on professional development. Rocketship Education, which runs nine charter schools in California and Wisconsin, has used the platoon model since the network was launched in 2006. Students rotate to four different teachers-sometimes changing rooms, sometimes changing stations within a large, multi-teacher classroom.

To help steep teachers in their disciplines, the network provides 250 hours a year of professional development, plus in-class coaching during the year, said Lynn Liao, the network's chief programs officer.

Since Rocketship schools serve primarily low-income children with weaker skills, it's particularly important to have a way to help teachers go "from good to great more quickly," Ms. Liao said. And many of the charter network's teachers are relatively new to teaching, so the heavy serving of professional development helps them get up to speed more quickly, she said.

'Protected Time' for Subjects

At Blue Ridge Elementary School in Walla Walla, Principal Kim Doepker is in her fourth year of platooning. She recently took calls from principals in Arizona and Michigan who are interested in doing it, too.

Reorganizing the school in a way that developed-and then took advantage of-her teachers' content expertise has been a key part of Ms. Doepker's strategy for improving achievement. It was also a "good fit" for a dual-language-immersion school like hers, she said, since students were already changing teachers for classes in English and in Spanish.

"I asked myself what we could do to work smarter, know our content, and focus on our planning, and this has really been wonderful," she said.

Ian Yale, the principal of Columbia Elementary School in Burbank, Wash., whose school was a model for Ms. Doepker and her team, said one of the best aspects of departmentalizing is that each subject gets "protected" time. His 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, who have experienced the approach for eight years, get an hour a day in science with teachers who are experts in that subject, he said.

The model requires Mr. Yale to invest more money in deepening teachers' content knowledge, he said, but he saves on curriculum materials.

"I don't need 90 books when only 30 kids are coming into the room, so my dollars go farther," he said.

At Walla Walla's Sharpstein Elementary, Principal Matt Bona added a twist to his departmentalizing model: "looping," in which teachers keep the same students for two years. A pair of 2nd and 3rd grade teachers-one who focuses on math, another on literacy, social studies, and science-shares students, switching off during the day. The same is true for the 4th and 5th grades.

The combination of content specialization and looping is particularly helpful to the school's English-learners as they develop language skills, and it also benefits all students by allowing them to build relationships with their teachers over two years, Mr. Bona said.

Sharpstein parent Karri Bruce said she appreciated that Mr. Bona held a series of discussions with parents as he considered the change. In those meetings, some parents worried that with multiple teachers, their children wouldn't "be known" as well, and that a potential problem could slip through the cracks. Some parents felt, too, that departmentalization could rush children-and their parents-into a middle school model before they were ready, Ms. Bruce said in an email.

"I personally feel that with decisions like this, you gain some things and you lose some things," she wrote. "My children will have the same teachers for a two-year block. I like that level of continuity. But you also have a larger communication circle for your child, which can be tedious at times."

Her 3rd grade son, though, enjoys "the variety and the change of scenery" of going to different teachers, Ms. Bruce said. "While it's taken me a while to get used to this new schedule, I don't think he ever missed a beat."

Even fans of platooning, though, often are wary of using it with children younger than 3rd grade.

Ms. Alexander, in the District of Columbia, said she would advise schools to stick with 3rd grade and higher.

Ms. Doepker, of Walla Walla's Blue Ridge Elementary, acknowledged that "we do have some kiddos who don't do well with transitions." To address that problem, she "hand selected" children that struggled the most with the switches and grouped them with one teacher all day.

Preserve Play, Exploration

Donna Snyder, who oversees "whole-child programs" for ASCD, a professional-development organization in Alexandria, Va., said even children in 3rd grade "really need that go-to person" at the center of a self-contained classroom. Changing classrooms risks undermining the feeling of security that facilitates learning in the early years, she said.

Self-contained classrooms and departmentalized models can both work, as long as the teaching approach is age-appropriate, said Daphna Bassok, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education, who co-wrote a recent paper exploring the increasing academic emphasis in kindergarten.

"Kids are capable of a lot, and they're curious, and more flexible, than we give them credit for," she said. "But all of it comes down to how it's done. There isn't a problem with more of an academic focus if it's handled in a way that keeps in mind what 5-year-olds are like and how they function. You have to be sure to preserve play, exploration, social interaction."

Mary Riner, a parent in the District of Columbia, said she is glad her children went to a departmentalized elementary school. It offered them sufficiently challenging content instruction, she said, and prepared them better for changing classes in middle school.

"In the younger grades, no way could I ever give up that iconic kindergarten teacher in her rocking chair reading a story," Ms. Riner said. "But as they get older, they need more knowledge, more depth, someone who really knows their stuff."

Published in Print: February 19, 2014, as 'Platooning' on Rise in Early Grades

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'Platooning' on the Rise in Early Grades

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At Sharpstein Elementary School, 2nd graders are getting used to a routine that most American children don't learn for four more years: Several times a day, they line up and switch classrooms and teachers by subject. They spend the morning with one teacher for reading and writing, breaking in the middle for music, library, or physical education classes.

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considerations

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9 period day

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Sitting at lunch, a group of fourth grade teachers share their frustration at the expectation of their district for each of the fourth grade students to leave the grade with equal understanding of the curriculum. Each teacher offers suggestions about a remedy for a problem that is noted by all: teaching in isolation. One teacher suggests that they discuss the possibility of having a discussion with their administration to establish a common plan time in their schedule.

As determined by the fourth grade teachers, elementary teachers need a collegial meeting time to discuss student achievement, behavior, and needs. Through these discussions, teachers create plans to address these issues. Potentially, these meetings bring together all teachers of a grade level or all teachers involved in an ungraded or multi-age cohort. To provide this professional opportunity, all students in the grade level or cohort group are assigned to art, music, physical education, or other classes at the same time.
Typical agenda items include the following topics:

data analysis

grouping and regrouping

flexibility

intervention

focus on Common Core State Standards

interdisciplinary experiences

social-emotional development

The data provided to teachers require analysis that affects instructional targets and strategies. Examples of data include scores on local, state, or national assessments; benchmark assessments given periodically throughout the school year; and formative assessment observations made during daily instruction. After data analysis, teachers discuss varied instructional strategies to effectively differentiate the teaching and learning processes.

Grouping and regrouping may result from discussions derived from data analysis. The grouping or regrouping may occur within a classroom to address particular projects or differentiated learning. Beyond the classroom proper, students may be reassigned to another class section to address either academic or social-emotional needs. How this occurs may differ between grades K-5 and grades 6-8.

In addition to grouping and regrouping students, teachers have other opportunities for flexibility: alter the sequence of the core subjects; arrange large group instruction or assemblies at convenient times; identify the teacher of social studies and teacher of science where age appropriate; extend instructional time in a given core subject when necessary; plan or schedule group guidance activities; and begin to implement individualized student assignments during the intervention period.

Intervention relies on the data analyzed by teachers of a particular student. These data arise from all forms of assessment as well as classroom observations of behaviors and social-emotional needs. Typically, interventions can be remediation or enrichment.

Tier 1 intervention occurs routinely in all classrooms and is enhanced by contiguous time periods in reading/language arts and mathematics. During the intervention period, Tier 2 offers additional support or enrichment on a fluid and dynamic basis. In some schools, additional resource personnel are available to provide Tier 2 and Tier 3 support. During an intervention period, a student support team may complement the efforts of the classroom teachers.

The common planning period provides teachers with the opportunity to work together to implement Common Core State Standards. During these discussions, teachers may further refine curriculum, plan delivery models, formulate formative and summative assessments, and prepare for external testing.

As an integral part of Common Core State Standards, interdisciplinary instruction plays a major role in the learning process. Long-term memory is enhanced by these interdisciplinary experiences due to the manner in which they connect with what is known about the brain and how people learn. In grades 5-8, common planning time sets the stage to unify efforts of teachers who are specialists in specific content areas, reinforces skill development, and allows applications to real life.

Routinely, K-5, K-6, or K-8 teachers are trained in responding to the social -emotional needs of their students. Common planning time, however, provides a special opportunity to look at developmental needs of subsets of the school population, adjust instruction to student needs, and focus collaboratively on situations that may be the exception to the norm. Common planning time can only be effective if all teachers of a grade level have their planning periods at the same time.
The following steps aid the creation of common plan time. Step 1: Recognize the importance of the Mission/Vision statement

Serves as the target or guide for any curricular or organizational decisions

Influences the outcome of common planning time decisions

Step 2: Gain faculty support for common planning time Step 3: Begin the blueprint for the grid

Note Table 1 that presents a blueprint for the organization of a K-6 school. This can be modified for K-5 or K-8.

List each section of each grade level in this blueprint.

Establish the length of each instructional module according to state and local guidelines.

Consider consecutive blocks for extended-time instruction in reading/language arts and math.

Adjust grid for multi-age or ungraded groupings.

Step 4: Place lunch (L) on blueprint of grid (See Table 1.) Table 1: Blueprint Step 5: Form specials (S) team

All specials teachers teach the same grade at the same time (PE 1, PE 2, art, and music for 4 sections per grade).

All specials teachers in this model are full-time teachers in this building.

The number of specials teachers available should equal the number of sections in a grade or a cohort.

In a K-8 building, more than one full-time teacher may be needed in each specials area.

Step 6: Place specials (S) on the blueprint for each grade level. (See Table 1.) Step 7: Create rotations that establish a pattern for each teaching section so that students have equitable opportunities for specials instruction. Table 2: Rotations for 4 Sections Designated by 01, 02, 03, 04 Table 3: Rotations for 3 Sections Designated by 01, 02,03 Step 8: Place intervention (I) period on grid for each grade level. (See Table 1.) Step 9: Place reading/language arts, math, social studies/ science on the grid. (See Table 4.) Table 4: Grid of Teachers Assignments Table 5: Grade Schedule of Specials and Intervention Team Teachers Step 10: Implement professional development to focus on schedule
Topics might include Common Core State Standards, planning for the intervention period, specific role for intervention period specialists, appropriate teaching strategies for extended time periods, as well as grouping and regrouping in class and during intervention periods.

To summarize, school administrators and classroom teachers recognize the value of common planning time in a K-5, K-6, or K-8 setting. By following the ten-step approach, a schedule can be created to facilitate this opportunity. Beyond the mechanics of the schedule, teachers need training to effectively use common planning time as they seek to improve student achievement. A periodic self-evaluation aids teachers in fulfilling their professional responsibilities.
Authors: Elliot Y. Merenbloom and Barbara A. Kalina
Barbara and Elliot are educational consultants who specialize in school organization, curriculum delivery, team approaches to instruction, and effective teaching strategies for variable-length time periods. They are the authors of Making Creative Schedules Work in Middle and High Schools and Creative Scheduling for Diverse Populations in Middle and High School (Corwin Press). Elliot was a counselor, principal, director of middle school instruction, and area director in Baltimore County (Maryland) Public Schools. Barbara was a classroom teacher at Rotolo Middle School in Batavia, Illinois, served on the Illinois State Board of Education committees for writing and reading, and a LA department head and team leader. Barbara is an active board member for the Association of Illinois Middle-Grade Schools.

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Building the K-5, K-6, or K-8 Schedule to Include Common Planning Time - Merenbloom Seminars & Consulting

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Sitting at lunch, a group of fourth grade teachers share their frustration at the expectation of their district for each of the fourth grade students to leave the grade with equal understanding of the curriculum. Each teacher offers suggestions about a remedy for a problem that is noted by all: teaching in isolation.