scheduling help for career academies and slcs
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Scheduling Help for Career Academies and SLCs. Who are we? Charlie Dayton Tracy Hanna CASN. Who are you ? Title? Geography? Experience? Or: Torn out hair? High blood pressure? Drinking problems?. Welcome!. What do we have to offer?. Magical Solutions? Perfect Remedies? No Well? - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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!