Proposed Flexibility Schedule

ODD NUMBER WEEKS 2015 / 2016:

Sept 2-4; Sept 14-18; Sept 28-Oct 2; Oct 13-16; Oct 26-30; Nov 9-13; Nov 23-26; Dec 7-10; Jan 4-8

EVEN NUMBER WEEKS 2015 / 2016:

Sept 8-11; Sept 21-24; Oct 5-8; Oct 19-22; Nov 2-5; Nov 16-20; Nov 30-Dec 4; Dec 14-18; Jan 11-15

TECHNICAL CHANGES:
ACADEMIC COACH = Formerly called Leadership Teacher; purpose is to monitor student attendance trends
and provide intervention, print off progress reports to direct students to appropriate F.A.C.E. Time
location, coordinate with teachers / Learning Services team regarding student interventions. On weeks
where the Monday is a long weekend, students are still required to check in with their AC before
transitioning to F.A.C.E. Time.
F.A.C.E. TIME = Falcon Academic Competencies Enhancement Time; after a one month period of prescribed
training, students work with their teachers, Academic Coach, and Learning Services team to create a
learning plan in which they select where and when they will access the support they require. During
these F.A.C.E. Time sessions, academic assistance is provide to students, as well as times to foster further
growth and mastery of the curriculum.
F.A.C.E. TIME (CORE & NON-CORE) = All learning spaces are available for students to access. This
includes the non-core spaces such as CTS, PE, Art, Welding, etc.
F.A.C.E. TIME (Core Only) = spaces in CTS, PE, Art, Welding, etc. are not available. Instead, these
teachers are in the computer labs, loft, cafeteria, or other teachers classrooms providing support and
assistance. I.e. Reschny has experience with teaching Math, so he might be working in a Math room.
Lacerte is a former English teacher, so she might be in English.
Rather than making the periods weird combinations of minutes (i.e. 77) just to meet the contract
requirements of teachable time, consider shortening the teaching semester to accommodate. In other
words, rather than teaching right up to the first day of exams, have classes end a day early to allow for
students to get extra F.A.C.E. Time and staff to prepare their exams. You might also consider having a
F.A.C.E. Time day just before the English / Social Part A Diploma (or on the day of) to allow students
time to prepare.
The fixed schedule (non-tumbling) is not working. The classes that are currently only offered in the
afternoon are weak; both students and teachers are exhausted and unfocused and rather than only being
three out of five days a week, now it is every day. There is logic behind having a more fixed schedule to
accommodate our RAP and working students but there are other solutions. Most employers schedule
two-weeks out. As long as they have ample notice, a weekly rotating schedule (such as the one
proposed) could work. Again, we need to consider why we are building our timetable around a small
portion of our population and yet expecting ALL learners to be successful? (See further comments
below).
CULTURAL CHANGES THAT MUST OCCUR FOR PLAN TO BE SUCCESSFUL:
Whether we want to admit it or not, our school focuses on remediation rather than enrichment. We
teach to the middle- / bottom-end of classes and have received the recognition of the community / town
as such. We need to utilize F.A.C.E Time to enrich our high end learners which will ultimately pull of the
standards of the school as well as our Diploma results. The fear of putting F.A.C.E. Time at the
beginning of the day, rather than the middle, is that students wont show up. Even if only our high-end
students came, over time, if the F.A.C.E. Time is directive, enhanced, and strategically planned, the word
would get out that by missing this time it is having an effect on overall achievement. Eventually the
middle learners would utilize this time as well. We will likely never get out bottom-end students to
commit to F.A.C.E. Time but that is why we have Learning Support blocks and RTI strategies in place.
We cannot improve our school culture by simply focusing on one or two groups of learners; we have to
do so by exploring, developing, and celebrating ALL learners.

 Less time at lunch as there are more breaks structured into the day and students do not need the time to
get help / caught up as a result of F.A.C.E. Time. Therefore, a conscious effort to value F.A.C.E. Time
must be made. This means that extra help, rewrites, missed exams, etc. should only be facilitated during
this time so that students can see the value of attending rather than just showing up on their own at
lunch or after school.
The first month of every semester (September and February), is targeted, teacher-directed time.

Mondays Academic Coaching period, for instance, would extend the full 50 minutes and could be
utilized to teach core values, study skills, stress management, etc. This time could also be used to
meet about IPPs.
Tuesday & Thursdays F.A.C.E. Time (Core & Non-Core) could be utilized to foster life-long
learning by having teachers and students showcase a non-school related skill or learning like knitting,
film club, creative writing course, Sudoku puzzle championship, etc.
Wednesday & Fridays F.A.C.E. Time (Core Only) could be used as competencies enrichment time
(i.e. how to answer comprehension questions correctly, how to fill out lab reports, how to research
effectively, library orientations, Student Union, etc.).

Students can be carded by their teachers. The following list outlines a possible system of implementation:

Red = Mandatory invitation to see a particular teacher or subject for tutoring or credit recovery.
Yellow = Recommend to see a particular teacher or subject for tutoring or enrichment.
Green = Flexible learner who can determine area of needs.

Carded student are informed by their Academic Coach during the Monday AC / F.A.C.E. Time; teachers
should notify the AC prior to. Student deliver the card to their appropriate teacher upon arrival, at
which time the teacher may then remove the card or re-card the student based on progress or need. The
use of these cards could be a way to track where students are supposed to be during a particular period.
If students are not able to have spares in grade 11 and two spares in grade 12, we might consider that
some students may just use F.A.C.E. Time to sleep in and / or socialize; which is fine when not during
the mandatory months (September & February) and as long as students are in good standings. We need
to allow students choice and flexibilityand sometimes they just need the time to refocus.
Possible consideration of each core department rotating through a collaboration period where they are
unavailable assistance / enrichment. I.e. Tuesday = Science meets, Wednesday = English, Thursday =
Math, and Friday = Social.
SOURCES & MORE INFORMATION:
Length of periods, lunch, and intervention times closely mirror Sir Winston Churchill and Western
Canada High School, which have similar start and end times as our school. For a full comparison of
schools in the Flexibility model: http://goo.gl/lgB0RW
F.A.C.E. Time is modeled on Harry Ainlays HALO (Harry Ainlay Learning Opportunity), although they
include a few more details which could be included in our plan (including planned staff collaboration
times, exam rooms, and structured support for Math and ESL, for instance). For more information
check out the following link: http://goo.gl/M6XOEl