Scheduling The Middle Level School

This book investigates school schedules by examining the use of time at the middle level and discussing strategies that schools may use to provide greater flexibility to the school day. Eleven specific scheduling models are presented and described. Complementing the models is a discussion of the factors that propel a school's investigation of alternative schedules. The manual views time as a resource and discusses ways to empower teachers to use time to make decisions. It also considers the role that adolescence plays in schedules and presents tips on how to schedule activities with this in mind. The text examines the importance of scheduling, outlines some scheduling myths, and explores the "block-time" schedule at length, considering its advantages and disadvantages for administrators, teachers, and students. Some block-time models are provided. Other kinds of schedules that are considered include alternate day, rotating, and dropped schedules. The booklet explores ways to get started on scheduling reform, offering details on planning steps, whether or not to use a computer, simulations, building the schedule, the uses of singletons and doubletons, staffing decisions, and selecting staff members. The text concludes with strategies for manipulating the schedule by challenging regularities, focusing on students, and starting small. (RJM)

This essential resource provides strategies for the effective and equitable distribution of available FTEs throughout the district, while helping you work through the many critical questions and decisions involved in the scheduling process.

With over 150 sample schedules, this book shows how scheduling strategies can enhance your school's capacity to offer exploratory courses, interdisciplinary teaching teams, teacher-based guidance programs, and other programs and practices which are responsive to the needs of early adolescents.

Middle level school reform has recently been placed center stage in an effort to improve student achievement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implications of block scheduling on a middle level school and whether its implementation increased student achievement. The three questions guiding the research and analysis were as follows: 1) did block scheduling support increased student achievement; 2) did the increased instructional time provide a platform for teachers to change instructional practices; and 3) did block scheduling provide an avenue to promote teacher collaboration? Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from state standardized tests and teacher surveys in order to evaluate the impact of block scheduling. The analysis of state testing results showed increased student achievement for all demographic groups once block scheduling was implemented. Teacher responses to the survey were consistent with the literature review and generally positive. Based on these results, although no direct cause and effect relationship exists between block scheduling and student achievement, the data clearly shows an environment was created through block scheduling for teachers to influence student achievement.

The Educational Leader’s Guide for School Scheduling: Strategies Addressing Grades K–12 is the first publication to address creative scheduling at all levels: K–5 or 6, K–8, middle, and high schools. This essential resource provides strategies for the effective and equitable distribution of available FTEs throughout the district, while helping you work through the many critical questions and decisions involved in the scheduling process. Based on the authors' decades of experience in expressing the voice of classroom teachers and building administrators in the art of scheduling, each chapter addresses key schedule development issues, providing a step-by-step sequence, multiple tables, templates, and example schedules. Follow the models in this book to master the skills of producing an efficient organizational plan for your school!

School administrators must constantly evaluate and refine school scheduling for optimum student and teacher performance. This book is for school administrators who need appropriate management techniques for scheduling students into classes. All parts of the puzzle are presented so the administrator can make wise choices about configuring the school day. Discusses a variety of scheduling formats—traditional, block, and team models—but no one type is advocated. Essential for new principals or administrators planning to change scheduling formats, and principals moving between elementary and secondary levels.

This practical, user-friendly resource provides a step-by-step process for restructuring blocks of learning time to improve student-teacher relationships and promote more positive learning experiences.