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Arena scheduling was okay but it wasn't perfect - neither is the new

way but we have to try new things and adjust as we go.  I am also for making the lives of Heather and Elana less stressful so if they have a good system then lets stick with it for a couple more years.  It seems that the resource room students (behavior issues) were the ones that got lumped together in the same math class.  Maybe the way those students courses are entered could be adjusted a little better.

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I like the idea of being able to filter the students and make sure that they know exactly what the class consists of.

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I also have concerns about how well I'd be able to filter students out, especially students I don't know. I don't particularly like the idea of taking another teacher's opinion on kids before I even know them. However, I do think that the arena style would work better/easier for some teachers, which would then separate those kids a little more naturally. I'd personally prefer, if we change things, to essentially let other teachers separate the students for me with the ones I don't already know. I do agree that we do need something different than students picking exactly when and being with their friends all day. I think they need to be separated from their friends for some or more of the day, even if they still work okay together. There's only one way to find out if it works!

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I like the fact that people who are posting are thinking about pros and cons for what is best for students. It is a tough decision on the balance between student choice and "mixing" class combinations up. Come Wednesday afternoon we will decide. Again thanks

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         Up for trying                                              I did really like the thought of giving students ownership of their schedules, but it has really made for some difficult classes this year.  I'm up for trying something different to try to fix the problem.  

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         Up for trying                                              I did really like the thought of giving students ownership of their schedules, but it has really made for some difficult classes this year.  I'm up for trying something different to try to fix the problem.  

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I'm nervous I wouldn't have the courage to look some students in the eye (who I've never met before) and tell them that I don't think they should be in the same class together. It's a pretty major character judgement to say that to a person without knowing them. I can see parents potentially getting upset or students holding grudges.

In an ideal world, I would love to be able to hand pick my classes. I just don't know if this is the right way. However, if we did make the new change, teachers would at least have the option of making some restrictions while others could just sign off on most requests that come by.

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I can see both sides of it. I really liked when students wrote down the classes they needed/wanted and the schedule was built around the demand and what fit where. If that isn't an option anymore, then arena scheduling would be a good idea. I really don't see us saying "no" very often because if we are talking to them face to face and setting our expectations or having them give us a valid reason why they want to be in a particular section, then we can in a way, strike a deal with them.

If we did do the arena scheduling, it would be worth our time to have a meeting with all staff so that we can learn the names of students who shouldn't be in the same class. We could probably get names from Mary Harding at KMS for the freshmen.  It wouldn't be perfect, but it is worth a try to see if it could solve some of the classroom management problems that seem to be occurring.

One last concern I have is that we have many students who are in the same classes all day long as their best friends. This isn't healthy because it promotes deeper cliques.

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It has come up a couple times maybe to keep it as is, but make sure students are aware that there may be changes to their schedules and it's not guaranteed they'll get the schedule exactly as they want. Would there be a way we could see the schedules shortly after they were made and if we notice any less than ideal combinations Elana and Heather could go back in to change them around? I don't know how simple that would be or if it would be a bigger pain.

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I agree with the early say no comment to in coming freshmen. IF we did go with the prefilter we would get that info from the mid school.

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I think that letting students pick their classes, but definitely not their class periods, is a good option.  Can adjust schedules if a class winds up with students who shouldn't be together.  

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I think that letting students pick their classes, but definitely not their class periods, is a good option.  Can adjust schedules if a class winds up with students who shouldn't be together.  

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I don't want to take even more time away from instruction to complete arena scheduling.

As a teacher of mostly freshmen, how do I pre-filter them when I don't know them?

We run the risk of starting a new school year off on the wrong foot with the kids we say "no" to.

I wish we could go back to the "old days" when kids registered themselves, but they couldn't pick which periods

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Students know how to out smart the random generator. I was told all you have to do is take a picture of your schedule send it to your buddy who fills out the exact same schedule and BANG! We got all our classes together. Haha jokes on your random generator. We can fix this problem by taking the time to greet and regiater our students.