Small Middle School Staff Comments: Modified Block Schedule 1/25/11 (35 answered question; 30 skipped question)

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1 1. It seems like the most viable option under the circumstances. 1:48 PM Please consider having Period(s) 3/7 as the Horizontal Planning and Team Planning Period for 7th grade. This would help our students to remain focused and not lose instructional time transitioning to and from lunch. It breaks the week up into two pieces. Meeting on Wednesdays allows for checking to make sure the students are caught up, understand concepts, etc... I think a block schedule is great for going into more depth for lessons and allowing more creative and hands-on activities. I also like having a C day where all of the classes meet, so students don't forget everything over the weekend. Having Wednesday as the C day, would allow the rest of the schedule to continue to be A/B even when there's a Monday or Friday holiday or staff day. For example: M=1/10=A day T=1/11=B day W=1/12=C day T=1/13=A day F=1/14=B day M=1/17=holiday T=1/18=A day W=1/19=C day T=1/20= B day F= 1/21 = A day M=1/24 = B day etc... Many students seem to miss Monday or Friday due to out of town trips so having the C day on Wednesday would also help to see all of the students. Plus, individual teacher tutorials are usually held after school on Wednesday so that could be a reminder to students to attend. Thanks for asking for input! 12:17 PM 11:43 AM 10:55 AM 10:51 AM

2 th grade concern: Would it be possible to make the 3rd and 7th period the common planning time for 7th grade so that core classes would not be split by lunch. We feel that instructional time will be lost in core classes due to students starting class, going to lunch and then finishing class. excellent for ELA and additional instructional time. Will we designate meeting times per period--to be consistent? The plan seems fine. If it means that fewer teachers will be made redundant then it is a better plan. I am just wondering how it will affect staffing. Does block scheduling mean more teachers will be needed? I love it. I will be a great way to meet the needs of students, especially in Science. Question about planning times - one off period a day? Will the time be split for team and horizontal, or will half the period be meeting, and half be planning/prep? Will we still have teams? That would be best. I would love to see us adopt this. When lessons require manipulatives, it takes time to set up and put up. If a lesson includes going outdoors or changing clothes a period less that 50 minutes isn't long enough. I am a big fan of block scheduling. There are many things you can complete in one class period and it gives the students time to learn, absorb and review material. There is time for direct teaching and an activity to help the students understand what they were just taught and put it into context. I really like the idea of seeing all kids one day a week. If it is a Monday, it will help set the goal/course of the week with the expectations outlined from the beginning. I am a big believe in TRACK. Four days a week is sufficient for the purposes as long as the teachers are actively engaged with the kids and helping guide them to better decision and actions. 10:38 AM 9:52 AM 9:10 AM 8:45 AM 8:44 AM 8:36 AM 7:57 AM

3 Is there a thought to double-blocking math for TAKS failures? Regular math class as well as TAKS math class? Same with reading. Again, back to the fact that there would be time to teach the basic and then review in a real world senerio or activity. The fact tha there are so many low math kids that are not getting intense math review is a worry to me - as in reading as well I can see advantages for having C day in the middle or the end of the week. I think I would like to have a discussion about it to decide the best possible time. Monday'sare the best days to tell the students what they are doing the rest of the week. I support the Modified Block schedule but I hope that some classes can be seen daily. (check Covington's schedule) Pep-rallys and special events should be on C-day. Either Wed or Friday for C-day. To be honest, I don't fully understand how block scheduling works. If I am seeing all of my classes on only on day per week I would want it to either be Monday so I can get everyone set up for the week, or Friday so any tests I give are given to all students on the same day. I think that the C day would be most beneficial at the end of the week. For ELA - this schedule would keep the students on track with the longer "chunks" during the week for completion of projects, writing, reading, and responding. It would allow Fridays for testing, sustained reading, and discussions. Concern #1 - I do understand the issues regarding attendance and placing TRACK at the beginning of the day, but I still think there are advantages to having TRACK in the morning. For example, the announcements can be made in the morning and it seems like a logical time for announcements that may impact or pertain to that day. If TRACK is at varying time throughout the day according to grade level, could we still have televised announcements during TRACK? How will that work? Concern #2 - I am concerned about the possibility of having another schedule next year that gives an entire grade level of academic teachers the same conference/ planning period as it so confining and leaves us with unbalanced classes. I am not sure how it would work 7:55 AM 7:54 AM 7:53 AM 7:48 AM 7:46 AM 7:41 AM

4 with block, but it was a better schedule when the entire grade level wasn't off at once. I know that a teacher NEEDS to have common planning time with horizontal team members & academic team, but not necessarily as an entire grade level. Again, I am not sure how this would look with block (or if it is even possible), but the schedule this year was one of the worst I have seen since I have been here at CSMS. 19. I think it looks great! 7:36 AM I would like it to be considered to have 8 classes every day. Daily repetition is critical for learning and retention. If we do go to a modified block, I would like it to be considered to block some of the fine arts with PE so they could have classes every day. I'm indifferent to either schedule. My main focus is doing what is best for the kids. However the dust settles, is how I will conform my lessons and teaching strategies. Teachers need to get trainning on the length of the periods. It might be challenging to go from a 45 min. period to a 90 min. period. I really like being able to keep common horizontal planning and teaming. I also like the idea of having TRACK in the afternoon. We did this at a building I was in previously and I thought it was a better time than in the morning. I think covering all necessary content will be difficult with only seeing students every other day. The long classes will help, but I worry about overloading students with too much information in a class because I am trying to fit everything in. One concern I have is that the students think they have an extra day to do assignments and a lot of times, forget to do the assignment. I prefer Monday because it's the start of the week and it gives us an opportunity to organize the students for the week. 7:34 AM 7:28 AM 7:21 AM 7:19 AM 7:18 AM 7:18 AM 26. The 6th and 8th grade schedules are structured cleanly; the 7th grade

5 schedule seems choppier. In order to maximize instructional effectiveness, please make the 3/7 block the 7th grade core horizontal planning (so that all 7th grade students are in electives during 3/7). Otherwise I am concerned that the 3/7 class is awkwardly split (coming back after lunch for 30 minutes to finish class) and there will be LESS INSTRUCTIONAL TIME in this block than the other three blocks due to having multiple transitions during this one class period. Block scheduling offers more productive class time for students. Assignments can be completed in class following a lesson, where the teacher is available to answer questions. This also minimizes the need for homework. I think with the way the situation is currently headed, this is one of the better proposals I've seen. On weeks with a Monday holiday, I would propose not having the C schedule, to avoid the possibility of having students on a Thursday and not seeing them until the following Wednesday. I think we could get more accomplished for instruction time and group work with the block scheduling. I think I am for it. With the full day on Friday, you are able to wrap up your weekly lessons or assess students on what they learned. Not sure how the C day would work. I have been on a block schedule with just A and B days and I liked it. Less wasted transition time, students seem to adapt well. Am glad that you are proposing an advisory time in the afternoon rather than morning. Students more apt to do homework then. Thanks for keeping the Team concept! I think the C days should be at the beginning of the week to be sure each class is addressed and goals are set for the week. I like C day of all classes meeting on Fridays. It gives the kids a review of the material covered over the week and a chance to remind the students of due dates for the following week. If A days are Mondays 7:18 AM 7:09 AM 7:04 AM 7:02 AM 6:54 AM 6:53 AM 6:45 AM 6:43 AM 6:42 AM

6 and Wednesday and B days are Tuesdays and Thursdays, it reduces confusion about which day is what. If there is a four day week, we could slide everything and lose the C day. 35. I am fine with modified block. I prefer Friday as the full day but I am flexible as long as it is some form of ABABC. I need to see my students at least 3 times a week to be effective. 6:39 AM