Question for teachers??

[disfan609]

Hi, I have been a lurker on this board for years and when my boss gave me a homework assignment, I was hoping that I would be able to get an answer from a few people on this board.

I am a teacher at a middle school (7th and 8th grade)in NJ and we are searching for a new building schedule. We are currently a school in need of improvement because our state test scores are not high enough. We have been searching for a new building schedule for a few years now and have not been able to find one that fits. Here are some details about the school

1) Approx 500-600 students
2) 1/3 of the population is special ed
3) we currently have an 8 period day (7 academic and the 8th is band/chorus or study hall)
4) We rotate our class periods
5) We teach in teams, not departments
6) each class period is 42 minutes long
7) overall lowest scores are in Math, Struggling the most is Special ed math

If any teachers or administrators would be willing to share a basic building schedule that has been successful, it would be greatly appreciated. I am extremely interested to learn what works for other schools. Thank you very much!

 

[J3nn78]

My school (K-6) is on a 6 day rotating schedule. Our middle and high school are also on a 6 day schedule. We have blocks (double periods-80 minutes) for math and for language arts. I am not sure of the logistics and what your needs are, but we went to this kind of schedule so that we could fit in our block scheduling. I do know that the biggest hurdle to overcome was planning on the special ed component-making sure the students had their IEPs met, without having to hire extra staff.

 

[golfgal]

Hi, I have been a lurker on this board for years and when my boss gave me a homework assignment, I was hoping that I would be able to get an answer from a few people on this board.

I am a teacher at a middle school (7th and 8th grade)in NJ and we are searching for a new building schedule. We are currently a school in need of improvement because our state test scores are not high enough. We have been searching for a new building schedule for a few years now and have not been able to find one that fits. Here are some details about the school

1) Approx 500-600 students
2) 1/3 of the population is special ed
3) we currently have an 8 period day (7 academic and the 8th is band/chorus or study hall)
4) We rotate our class periods
5) We teach in teams, not departments
6) each class period is 42 minutes long
7) overall lowest scores are in Math, Struggling the most is Special ed math

If any teachers or administrators would be willing to share a basic building schedule that has been successful, it would be greatly appreciated. I am extremely interested to learn what works for other schools. Thank you very much!

That schedule is very similar to what our middle school had but they are changing. I think that in your case your schedule isn't the issue, your 1/3 of the special ed kids are the issue with your test scores-our so I would guess since they have to take the same tests as everyone else.

I have to say at a parent, I loved the every other day block schedule in middle school. I wish we had it in the high school too.

Our middle school just conducted a survey of other middle schools in the area and most are doing a 6-7 period day with 50ish minute classes (54 minutes is what I think our middle school is going to). They are doing away with the block scheduling but are continuing with the team teaching. I think our middle school has about 1500 kids. The change in the schedule is projected to save about $400,000/year per middle school in our district (8 of them), which is a large part of why they are changing.

One thing our middle school did that they are also changing is that they didn't allow enough kids into the advanced math classes. I still don't know how kids were put into those classes because the selection process didn't seem to follow any pattern. They are opening up the advanced math to more students now.

The progression for our math for the advanced students would be to take geometry in 9th grade, advanced algebra in 10th. The non-advanced math kids take algebra in 9th grade, geometry in 10th and advanced algebra in 11th. The school offers a geometry program in the summer for kids that do well in algebra in 9th grade so they can move to advanced algebra in 10th grade. This is one way the have made up for what happens in middle school. Last summer they had 100 kids in the program so that is when the middle school finally woke up and changed that.

Even with that, we still have 95% of the kids pass the math portion of the state testing.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

I like the modified block schedule...

it was like students take 8 classes, 4 classes on A day, and 4 classes on B day (80 minutes). Then Friday all 8 classes for half the time. However, parents started having fits and complaining becase of everybody giving tests on Friday.

Block scheduling is pretty good where the students have the 8 classes, (4 on A and B day), just alternating back and forth.

The problem seems to be with this... as well as any type of schedule is homeroom time thrown in the middle of the day which turns into an exercise in babysitting/zoo keeping.

 

[golfgal]

I like the modified block schedule...

it was like students take 8 classes, 4 classes on A day, and 4 classes on B day (80 minutes). Then Friday all 8 classes for half the time. However, parents started having fits and complaining becase of everybody giving tests on Friday.

Block scheduling is pretty good where the students have the 8 classes, (4 on A and B day), just alternating back and forth.

The problem seems to be with this... as well as any type of schedule is homeroom time thrown in the middle of the day which turns into an exercise in babysitting/zoo keeping.

Our middle school starts with a homeroom for the first 10 minutes or so and then moves into the block schedule.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

A 10 minute homeroom sounds good, seems like administrators have this picture of a home room being this educational utopia where the 30 students (who have nothing to do) sit in their seats and quietly do some kind of work, read (something educational, NOT magazines), and NEVER ask to go to the bathroom etc... for half an hour.

 

[SKINUT]

I also work at a middle school in NJ- south jersey. Three years ago we went to block scheduling. We have a 6 day schedule; days one, two, three and four, five, six. Our kids are broken into two cores per grade for organization purposes. On days 1, 2, 3, one grade core is in PE, while the 2nd core of the same grade are in Specials. On days 4, 5, 6, they switch. The kids get 84 minutes of LAL and Math everyday, all year. They either get SS for the first two marking periods in an 84 minute block, then Science for the last two marking periods...or visa versa. Lunch is staggered into the 3rd block of the day. For the most part it works pretty well. There is a lot less movement in the building which helps cut down on discipline issues. Scheduling is easier as well as there are only 4 places to go per day. Teachers seem to like being able to ease into a lesson, teach it, let kids practice it in the classroom, and close it in 84 minutes as opposed to feeling rushed in 42 mins. I thought the kids and parents would have a more difficult time getting adjusted, but I have to say it worked out pretty well.

 

[disfan609]

thank you for all of your replies. This is the exact info I was looking for. Our district is afraid that 7th and 8th grade is too young for block scheduling so they have been leaning away from it. However, from the looks of the above posts, the block scheduling might seem to work.

* FYI - our school is a district factor group B school

Another question, is your music program included during the academic day or is it an after school activity? This seems to be a huge dilemma in our building.


Thanks again!

 

[golfgal]

thank you for all of your replies. This is the exact info I was looking for. Our district is afraid that 7th and 8th grade is too young for block scheduling so they have been leaning away from it. However, from the looks of the above posts, the block scheduling might seem to work.

* FYI - our school is a district factor group B school

Another question, is your music program included during the academic day or is it an after school activity? This seems to be a huge dilemma in our building.


Thanks again!

During the day but we have a HUGE music program in our district (we have 6 band teachers in our middle school alone). Participation rates will drop if you make music a before/after school activity and that is NOT good. There have been study after study after study about the importance of music education on kids improving their overall learning, ESPECIALLY math skills.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

Band/Choir is taught during the regular instructional day as a class... however they require a lot of after school/weekend/summer practicing and events

 

[abdmom]

Hi, I have been a lurker on this board for years and when my boss gave me a homework assignment, I was hoping that I would be able to get an answer from a few people on this board.

I am a teacher at a middle school (7th and 8th grade)in NJ and we are searching for a new building schedule. We are currently a school in need of improvement because our state test scores are not high enough. We have been searching for a new building schedule for a few years now and have not been able to find one that fits. Here are some details about the school

1) Approx 500-600 students
2) 1/3 of the population is special ed
3) we currently have an 8 period day (7 academic and the 8th is band/chorus or study hall)
4) We rotate our class periods
5) We teach in teams, not departments
6) each class period is 42 minutes long
7) overall lowest scores are in Math, Struggling the most is Special ed math

If any teachers or administrators would be willing to share a basic building schedule that has been successful, it would be greatly appreciated. I am extremely interested to learn what works for other schools. Thank you very much!

I've designed schedules for a couple of different schools and have taught middle school. The one thing that jumps out at me is the 42 minute period. That's not nearly long enough to soak in the new skills that math requires. It's not long enough for middle school kids to sit down and focus. It's also not long enough for teachers to provide individual attention. You need longer periods - at least some of the time.

My favorite length of periods is one hour. That's the schedule I currently have. 50 minutes is OK. I find 1 1/2 hours too long, especially if it's in the afternoon.

Remember that not every subject must be taught every day. You may decide that math and english are more important than, say, P.E. and music.

Good luck!

 

[MM27]

thank you for all of your replies. This is the exact info I was looking for. Our district is afraid that 7th and 8th grade is too young for block scheduling so they have been leaning away from it. However, from the looks of the above posts, the block scheduling might seem to work.

* FYI - our school is a district factor group B school

Another question, is your music program included during the academic day or is it an after school activity? This seems to be a huge dilemma in our building.

Thanks again!

I only teach 4th grade, but this is also a huge issue in my school. I hate when kids leave my math class so they can go to instrumental music or chorus. It makes no sense when you have a school that hasn't met AYP and kids are allowed to miss instructional time. It's been a constant issue that we've debated within the school. My school used to have a juggling club that was during the school day. I put my foot down on that one. I refused to have students leave my class to go juggle.

As we get closer and closer to teacher evaluations being based on student performance, this needs to be looked at again. We can't teach kids that are not in the room.

 

[Cindy B]

I'm a 7th /8th grade teacher in a district factor A school in S. Jersey.

My schedule is the following:

830-840 homeroom

After homeroom, students have a 90 minute instructional block in language arts/math. (Depends on the classroom)

Then the students have a 55 minute period of either social studies or science (which rotates)

Then another 55 minute period of either social studies /science

Lunch

half hour of literacy block

then a 90 minute instructional block in either language arts or math

Special

dismissal.

 

[disfan609]

Thank you all so much!

I ask about the music program b/c we seem to have the same issue as a poster above listed. Students are removed from academic classes for lessons and we are required to find the time to catch them up. Our program is very small compared to the one described. We have approx 40 kids in the choir and between 40 and 60 in the band. (I don't have exact numbers) We also have an 8th period that is used for band/choir and study hall. Some teachers in our building have been fighting to have this "time" during the day to extend the length of math instruction as well as for science lab time.

We are a south Jersey school as well! It is very interesting to see how other schools schedule their classes. Thanks again!

 

[disykat]

My district is highly academic and only has 6 periods a day in both junior high and high school.

While personally I wish my own kids had more time for electives, I do think the longer periods add to academic progress. (We basically get one elective a year - for my kids that has been band and they do zero hour, on-line classes and summer school to meet some of their basic requirements if they want to pick up more electives.)

 

[kbeverina]

Our middle school had about 900 students. There were 7 classes, including 1 elective (band, chorus, drama, etc). They are also taught in teams.

Four of the academic classes are taught on semester blocks. So the first semester you might have English and Science for extended periods and the other three classes 50 minutes each. Second semester would be Math and Government or Geography, depending on the grade level, for the extended period and the other three classes. Home Room is only 10 minutes at the beginning of the day for attendance and announcements.

The teachers seem to like the schedule--the core academic classes get the extended periods and classes like band and PE go all year long.

In high school we have modified block scheduling. Most classes are 4x4. First semester, 4 classes every day. Second semester, 4 different classes every day. Most kids really like only having 4 classes to deal with and then getting a new schedule mid-year. Plus they have more electives since they get 8 classes a year.

Some classes are "XY". A class like band or an AP class you would want to take the whole year, so if you take one of those you have to choose another XY class to pair it with. So, for example, my daughter takes band all year on X days and PE all year on Y days. My son has AP Government X days and AP English Y days. They have a lot of classes that are offered both 4x4 block and XY so it's never been a problem finding another XY class to go with something you want to take.

I love the block scheduling--it's been a good system for my kids and I was happy when they went to that in middle school. Good luck!

 

[jam217]

I teach at a middle school with 1,200 students. We had a schedule similar to yours and switched to a new one several years ago. We still run on a 6 day cycle but now four of the days have seven academic periods (we call these A Days) and two of the days have seven periods plus an Activity Period at the beginning of the day for clubs, class meetings or catch up work (these are B Days). We also switched from four to six marking periods.

Our biggest change was moving chorus and band from Activity Period at the end of the day to a regularly scheduled class in their exploratory blocks. Students who sign up for chorus have it twice a year as an exploratory class plus a few after school rehearsals. But for the most part they are rehearsing during the school day. There is also a class for band. Students are also pulled out of classes for separate lessons.

By only have Activity Period two times a cycle, we were able to increase academic time on other days.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

You've gotten a lot of good ideas. I don't really have much to add since the middle school I work at has 7 periods a day of 50 minutes each, so it's similar to yours.

I did want to add that for homeroom, they made 1st period 10 minutes longer and the first period then, by default, becomes the homeroom class. The first ten minutes are used for attendance, announcements, the pledge, etc. The reasoning for blending HR and 1st was the school realized that most of the discipline problems happen during passing periods. By making 1st period homeroom, then there is 1 less passing period.