Scheduling Help for Career Academies and SLCs

Scheduling Help for Scheduling Help for Career Academies and Career Academies and

SLCsSLCs

Welcome!

Who are we?– Charlie Dayton– Tracy Hanna– CASN

Who are you?– Title?– Geography?– Experience?

Or:– Torn out hair?– High blood pressure?– Drinking problems?

What do we have to offer?

Magical Solutions? Perfect Remedies?– No

Well?– A new guide, an online tutorial– Information from experts around the country– Best practices that have worked elsewhere– An annual schedule of who needs to do what,

when

The Agenda

We explain the five stages You ask related questions We share our collective wisdom You put a few ideas into practice We explain how to obtain The Guide You stumble out of the room in a haze of

confusion

Session Objectives

Increase your knowledge and understanding of the critical importance of the master schedule in implementing SLCs/ Academies.

Learn more about the Stages and Steps of the Master Scheduling Process, related best practices, and how to get more information.

Critique your own school’s processes, looking at challenges as well as best practices.

Why is scheduling so important?

Lack of connections– Among subjects– Among students– Among teachers

The silo approach– English– Math– Social Studies– Science

SLCs provide:– Subject connections– Student connections– Teacher connections

Plus (in Academies):– Links outside school– Links to the future

Why is scheduling so difficult?

It is an inherently complex process– Many factors to incorporate (see the Dirty Dozen)– As you probably know all too well, if you’ve tried

to do this

SLCs/Academies add new complexities– Student “cohort” scheduling– Teacher common planning time– Shared leadership and involvement

Constraints and Conflicts

“Outside” requirements Staffing allocations Collective bargaining

agreements Credit requirements Space constraints Time constraints

Singletons/doubletons Special

populations/programs Teacher preferences/needs Software capabilities Making deadlines SLC & Academy Needs!

SLC & Academy Needs

Shared Leadership Linked Classes Common Teacher Prep Time Balancing Across SLCs Looping Advisories

Who Should Be Involved

Traditional Method: – A single administrator or counselor, often working

behind a closed (and occasionally locked) door– Students and teachers receive their schedule

during the summer or right before school starts

Recommended Method:– Master Schedule Team– Multiple stakeholders are involved in all aspects

of creating the master schedule

Master Schedule Team

Open system with a team environment to build capacity and collaboration

Counselors, teachers, administrators, classified staff, even students involved

At least two people with computer/database expertise, or ability to learn how to manipulate programs

District Role

Districts should provide staffing information/ teacher allotments earlier in the year (by the spring, not the summer)

Attempts to economize by cutting such allotments based on false projections almost always backfire, causing everyone grief and hurting the quality of teaching staffs

Put This to Use!

With two to three people not from your school,discuss the following: Constraints & Best Practices

– What are your top 3 constraints in scheduling?– What are best practices at your school that address

these constraints? The Who

– Who currently designs the master schedule at your school?

– What other key stakeholders should be involved?

The 5 Stages in Master Scheduling

Planning Student course selection Master schedule construction Analysis, adjustment, and distribution of

schedules Fine tuning and re-adjustment

Stage 1 (August - December)

Planning & Preliminary/Initial Tasks

(months 1-5)– Assemble and develop scheduling team– Team involves stakeholders– Team develops materials and calendar for creating

the master schedule

Stage 2(January - March)

Student Course Selection/Course Tallies (months 6-8)– Students and families informed of course selection– Students register for next year’s courses– Team evaluates course tallies, negotiates with

administration and the district

Stage 3(March - May)

Master Schedule Construction

(months 8-10)– Team establishes rules for course scheduling and

analyzes constraints and SLC/Academy needs– Computer runs begin, with final adjustments

made by hand– Team invites stakeholders to view master

schedule

Sample Bell Schedule

Period 1

Period 2

Period 3

Period 4

Period 5

Period 6

English Prep Cohort 1

Cohort 2

Cohort 3

Cohort 4

Cohort 5

Social St.

Prep Cohort 2

Cohort 3

Cohort 4

Cohort 5

Cohort 1

Math Prep Cohort 3

Cohort 4

Cohort 5

Cohort 1

Cohort 2

Science Prep Cohort 4

Cohort 5

Cohort 1

Cohort 2

Cohort 3

Stage 4 (May - July)

Analysis, Adjustment & Distribution of Schedules (months 10-12)– Master schedule is analyzed by team and

stakeholders– SLC/Academy teachers analyze individual

student schedules– Class schedules passed out and adjustments

made by hand as needed

Put This to Use!

With those from your school*, discuss thefollowing questions and make a plan: Scheduling Process

– Which steps does your scheduling process already use?

– Which steps would you need to add? Lessons Learned

– What are the 3 most important things you learned?– How will you share/implement these upon your

return home?

*If there is no one from your school, jump into another group.

Stage 5 (August - September)

Fine Tuning & Readjustment (months 13-14)– Team and stakeholders analyze process– Team reformed and process begins again

Do you remember your 1st year of teaching?– That’s what you’re going through now

Do you remember your 5th or 10th year?– That’s where you can get to

Internal Assessment

Learning from those involved in the process– Administrators– Counselors– SLC Leads– The scheduling team

Plus looking at the results

External Assessment

Learning from those affected by the process– Students– Parents– The rest of the teachers

Through:– Focus groups– Surveys– Data

A cycle of improvement

He who fails to study history is condemned to repeat it– What principles and priorities were met?– What ones weren’t?– How can you improve the process?

Keep your eye on the goal, and celebrate the improvements

Additional Information Available in the Guide

Software Matrix Alternative Bell Schedules Glossary of Terms

How to Get the Guide

Written Guide:– http://casn.berkeley.edu (Resources Tab)– www.naf.org (Members only)

PowerPoint and Handouts– http://casn.berkeley.edu

Tutorials– http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sslc/tutorials/

IT’S (almost) ALL FREE!

Staying in Touch

Charlie Dayton

charlesdayton@earthlink.net

Tracy Hanna

thanna@berkeley.edu

CASN_News-subscribe@yahoogroups.com