Standard 4A

Scheduling Reflection
We will be working on our schedule for next year shortly, but we have not yet begun that
process. I have participated in scheduling in the past at the high school/middle school
level.
I have seen scheduling done in two different ways. The first way was the scheduling was
handled exclusively between the guidance counselor and the high school principal, with
very little input from the teachers. Students were brought in an scheduled individually
and scheduled their classes and adjustments were made to the schedule as the process
unfolded. This schedule seemed to work well from a results viewpoint, but caused a lot of
stress on the staff, who wondered what their schedule would be. In a time of budget cuts,
and staff reductions, it caused a lot of worry among the staff. .
The second way was the staff was given their teaching hours. Second hour was scheduled
by the administration, as that hour was the hour we offered band and choir. They tried to
build a schedule that allowed for as many participants in band and choir as possible. Staff
then inserted their classes into their teaching slots. Students were brought in for arena
scheduling, starting with seniors to be first, all the way down to the incoming freshman
class. This schedule seemed very friendly for staff, the staff bought in and advocated very
heavily with students to take their classes. For some of our older students it worked out
very well, but as the scheduling went along, it was very difficult for all students to get
classes that they wanted to take. This created a lot of stress among students and parents
because they felt they werent getting off on the right foot in high school.
I see scheduling as a process that is multi-step. The first is obviously working with
administration to develop a plan for the FTE contracts in my building. Once the FTEs
are worked out, I can begin to build a schedule. In the middle/high school, scheduling
needs to be built around choir and band, which are the most popular classes in terms of
the number of students that take them. Once that process is taken care of, I would work
with staff to determine the what classes are offered, starting from the full year classes, to
semester classes, to quarter classes. Once we have decided what classes will be offered, I
would use skyward or the equivalent to allow students to choose their classes, prioritizing
them from most important to least important.. Students would use a matrix listing the
classes that are required in high school and the suggested year they are taken as a guide
for class selection. Once this part is finished, I would sit down with my guidance team to
schedule for the masses and then take on each individual case one at a time after that. I
do not believe there is one way to schedule, I may have a job in a school with an
established process for scheduling.
In the elementary, it would start with staff availability for specials, recess times, and
lunch. Generally in the elementary we have scheduled the older students for specials first
in the morning and then worked our way down the grade levels to the youngest ones in
the after noon. I do not have a preference for how it is done, rather I would work with the
teaching staff to see what their preferences are.