Taming the Master Schedule

Taming the Master Schedule

Patricia Clark CCASN – College & Career Academy Support Network/ U.C. Berkeley

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Welcome!

• Why a session on master scheduling

• Your facilitator

• Who are you?– Title – Context: Location– Context: Bell Schedule – Experience- Workshop Learning Goal

• Or:– Amount of torn hair?– Level of blood pressure?– Drinking problems?– OR scheduling bliss?

Master Scheduling

The process of matching philosophy and resources with requirements and

needs in a system which recognizes the readiness of individuals and which

increases the probability of success for all.

The Perfect Master Schedule

A schedule in which ALL students and teachers are successfully cohorted in their respective academies; where each academy team (or grade level academy team or upper/lower

division academy team) of teachers shares common planning time; and where every

student is supported to successfully complete a challenging, interdisciplinary program of study that results in her/him graduating college- and-

career-ready.

So... If you are the person/s or team who has ultimate responsibility for

the master schedule, what is one indicator that

you have done a good job?

The Counselors’

Hall…

…10 minutes after the

beginning of 1st period on the 1st day of

school.

Session Objectives

• To learn about Master Scheduling Guiding

Principles & Essential Elements

• To learn more about the Stages and Steps of the

Master Scheduling Process and related best

practices.

• To explore some successful Master Scheduling

solutions, especially with regard to Academies

Objectives

• To increase our own expertise, efficiency, and effectiveness in building a successful Master Schedule

• To acquire valuable master scheduling tools and resources

• To share our own scheduling best practices, challenges, and solutions

Why is scheduling so important?

Lack of connections Among subjects Among students Among teachers

The silo approach English Math Social studies Science

• Academies provide:– Subject connections (interdisciplinary program of study)

– Student connections (Academy “family”/ cohort)

– Teacher connections (community of practice/ common planning)

• Academies add:– WBL experiences– Links outside school– Links to the future – college and careers

Why is Scheduling so Important ?

• Fundamental need of Academies/ system of Academies

• Scheduling problems = most

frequent complaint of Academies

• If scheduling is poorly done, the

result is frustration for students, for

teachers, and for parents

Why is scheduling so challenging?

• Scheduling is an inherently complex process– Many factors to incorporate– “Constraints & Opportunities”

• Academies add new complexities:– Student “cohort” scheduling– Teacher common planning (support for

communities of practice) – (If possible) Coordination time for Academy

Leads

The Bottom Line

• Master Scheduling is complicated, however….

Bottom line: As you build the scheduling expertise of your master schedule team, implement a thoughtful and inclusive process, and utilize best practices, it is very possible to do master scheduling well.

Smaller Learning Community

“…an environment in which a core group of teachers and other adults within the school know the needs, interests, and aspirations of each student well, closely monitor his or her progress, and provide the academic and other support he or she needs to succeed.” (U.S. Education Department)

College & Career Academy

* Program of Study: College preparatory curriculum

organized around a career theme– Core academic classes– A sequence of career-technical courses

* Interdisciplinary teaching and learning

* Project-based approach & other forms of deeper

learning

* Small Learning Community - a team of teachers

working with a group of students over time (sense of family)

Scheduling with an Academy Lens

• Student recruitment/selection involves high expectations for all; heterogeneous grouping with each academy reflecting the diversity of school/district

• Cohort Scheduling• Common planning time/community of practice• Academy Coordination Time • Partnerships with Business, Postsecondary,

Government, and Community

Scheduling with an Academy Lens

• College and Career Readiness

• Work-based Learning (internships, practica)

• Student Support

The Stages of Master Scheduling

–Planning–Student Program of Study/Course

Recruitment & Selection –Tallies–Building the Master Schedule–Analysis and Adjustment–Assessment and Refinement

The Role of the District in Supporting Effective Scheduling

The Master Scheduling Cycle

Not really this complicated…

… but just as detailed

Stage 1: Planning

• Assemble a Master Schedule Team– An administrator who can make decisions

about courses to be offered and teacher assignments.

– A counselor who meets with students and knows graduation and college entrance requirements.

– Non-teaching staff to support student Academy/course selection and data entry

– Teachers from one or more Academy who have an interest in the success of personalized programs of study AND college and career readiness for all

– Other stakeholders (union rep, parent, student)

A Team Approach

• A master schedule team that is empowered to make decisions, but also involves all stakeholders in coming to consensus on scheduling principles and priorities.

Planning – Guiding Principles• Establish a set of Guiding Principles,

Priorities, and (possibly) non-negotiables:

• A commitment to a student-centered, learning-centered master schedule which supports achievement and equity.

• A commitment to a master schedule that supports interdisciplinary teaching and learning, including project-based learning and other forms of deeper learning.

• A commitment to a master schedule which is also teacher-centered, supporting time for communities of practice (common planning time)

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Planning – Guiding Principles

– A commitment to a schedule that ensures equal access to challenging curriculum, heterogeneous Academies, and flexibility for improved instruction.

– A master schedule building process that is open, inclusive, transparent, and collaborative.

•Example: Rigor – Relevance – Relationships – Results

Planning • Identify and address any scheduling

opportunities, needs, or constraints

• Dialogue/Communicate about the master schedule plan and process with faculty, staff & other stakeholders

• Administer Faculty Planning Survey

• Meet with Academy Leads/Teams, Department Heads, Academies and Departments Together

• Solicit Student Input

• Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Stage 1: Planning (continued)

• Develop and disseminate a Master Scheduling

Process and Timeline (who/what/when/as

measured by)

• Review/Update Curriculum and Courses (District-course approval process; course descriptions,

catalogue, course codes, ROC/ROP offerings, etc.)

• Engage stakeholders in Determining Academy

Program(s) of Study AND Course offerings

Step 1: Planning

• Develop Academy/program of study/course

selection/registration packet, process, and

timeline

Recommendations:

Involve students, parents, district representatives, and the

teachers’ union early in the process.

Create charts and other visual representatives.

Communicate possible changes, thoughts and decisions.

Sidebar: Some Academy Planning Considerations

• Will ALL students be in Academies?

• To what extent will each Academy have a distinct program of study (its own curriculum) ?

• SIZE MATTERS – – Optimum Size of an Academy– Optimum # of Academies Per School

Sidebar: Some Academy Planning Considerations

• Will Academies be 9-12? 10-12? Other parameters? (establishing course numbers or tags unique to each Academy)

• What specific courses (required, elective, or both) will students take inside the Academy? Outside the Academy?

• Will some classes (or course sections) be “global” – open to students from all Academies?

Sidebar: Some Academy Planning Considerations

• Will certain courses be offered in multiple Academies? OR in all Academies? (example: If World Cultures is offered in all Academies, there will likely be a need to establish a different course number or subscript for each Academy-specific World Cultures section.)

• Will some Academy courses be open to students from other Academies? (example: AP Biology in a Health Pathway; AP Physics in an Engineering Pathway, etc.)

Academy Considerations

• How will each Academy Teacher Team share a common planning period that enables the team to function as a community of practice? (entire team; lower division teacher team & upper division teacher team, grade-level team, etc.)

• Will there be a release period/ coordination period for the Academy lead teacher?

Stage 2: Academy/Program of Study and Course Selection

• Distribute Academy/Program of Study AND Course Selection/Registration packet

• Make presentations to students/parents

• Complete Academy recruitment and selection process

• Complete course registration process

Stage 2: Academy/Program of Study and Course Selection

(continued)

** Accuracy is critical

** Student/counselor/parent/ academy leads should edit/proof; check that each student is meeting graduation/college requirements

• Verification to student/parent (provides window for consultation and adjustment)

Academy/Program of Study/ Course Selection (& Tallies)

• Double check everything

• Finalize student academy/course tallies & lists

• Assure that each Academy reflects diversity of the school as a whole (use of data, policies)

• Determine final course offerings and the actual number of course sections to be offered (for each course, each department, each academy)

• Print final course tallies and conflict matrix

Enrollment History Attrition

District Projection School Projection CBEDS Count S1 Count End of Year CountYear 9 10 11 12 SpEd Total 9 10 11 12 SpEd Total 9 10 11 12 SpEd Total 9 10 11 12 SpEd Total 9 10 11 12 SpEd Total2009 515 522 506 574 78 2195 610 515 490 550 78 2243 617 505 488 543 78 2231 620 458 445 523 78 2124 599 441 422 487 78 2027 -204 9.1438822010 520 605 475 425 77 2102 560 600 455 440 77 2132 558 595 454 443 77 2127 548 580 427 434 77 2066 593 424 418 429 77 1941 -186 8.7447112011 493 519 533 384 78 2007 531 510 535 415 78 2069 530 509 533 409 78 2059 530 489 504 385 77 1985 520 477 492 375 69 1933 -126 6.1194752012 462 520 480 490 86 2038 520 550 485 485 80 2120 514 552 488 486 81 2121 509 527 464 459 81 2040 491 508 441 451 79 1970 -151 7.119283

Useful Data to TrackEnrollment History

District Projections

School Projections

CBEDS Counts*

End of Semester 1 Counts

End of Year

Counts

Difference between

CBEDS and End of Year

Counts

The Course Tally

Course Title Total Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12PE 9 529 522 7 0 0PE 10 466 2 464 0 0PE 11 188 0 3 185 0PE 12 90 1 0 0 89Aerobics 48 0 0 36 12Bowling 74 0 0 41 33Weight Training Basketball 54 1 2 29 22Weight Training Baseball 18 0 1 8 9Weight Training Football 35 0 0 14 21Weight Training Softball 12 0 3 3 6Weight Training Track 40 0 0 18 22Weight Training Volleyball 2 0 0 2 0Weight Training Fitness 21 8 1 4 8

Course Requst List and Tally

Tally & Section Allocation

No calculators needed!!

Tallies

• Determine resource needs and review assignments (solicit teacher/pathway/ department preferences; know possible FTE/budget changes; decide when to assign teachers and rooms to course sections, etc.) (tools include: course enrollments and requests report; staff projections; tallies)

• Prepare Schedule Board/s, section chips (if appropriate), and your “game plan” (order of placing sections

An Academy Sidebar

• TD

Determine…. • The courses that will be academy-

specific at each grade level (as appropriate)

• The percentage of the student day that will be spent in academy specific courses

• The number of teachers needed on each academy team to support academy student enrollment

Stage 3:Master Schedule Construction

• The extent of prior planning and the accuracy of student information has much to do with success of construction.

• Important Principles for Construction:– Equal access to challenging curriculum

for ALL students.– Heterogeneous Academies NOT

separate honors, special education, ELL sections, etc.

Stage 3: Master Schedule Construction (continued)

– Cohort scheduling of “pure” communities of students with TEAMS of teachers.

– Academy enrollment is guiding force for teacher selection and assignment.

– Academy cohorts MUST be scheduled early (or in conjunction with singletons) and their cohort integrity maintained throughout the process.

Cohort Scheduling Example for several Academies

Pathway A Pathway B Pathway C

Non-Academy Time Academy Time Non-Academy Time

Academy Time Academy Time Non-Academy Time

Academy Time Academy Time Academy Time

Academy Time Academy Time Academy Time

Academy Time Non-Academy Time Academy Time

Non-Academy Time Non-Academy Time Academy Time

Steps for Successful Construction

• Always refer back to priorities set forth by the school & the scheduling team.

• Following the PDSA cycle- Plan, Do, Study, Act. (Maintain scheduling history/ scheduling data over time.)

• Step 1- Have a large visual of the schedule available to all key stakeholders. (Magnetic OR foam boards work well)

Steps for Successful Construction

• Step 2- Analyze building and plan for close proximity of Academy classes.

• Step 3- Lay out Academy blocks, according to course tallies, at first without teacher names. Include common planning time for each academy teacher team.

Steps for Successful Construction

• Step 4- Place singleton courses and identify conflicts and other constraints (see “Dirty Dozen”)

that could potentially break down Academy “purity” for teachers and students. (doubletons,

triple-tons)

• Step 5- Make adjustments to Academy schedules and balance courses. (Conflict matrix is very helpful)

Steps in Successful Construction

• Step 6 - Follow process to gain teacher input on Academy (and Department) course assignment prior to placing teachers.

• Other considerations include: Parallel classes to facilitate movement

• Checks: student schedules, total sections per period; room usage- needs (computers, arts, etc.), teacher conflicts (# of preps, classes); other

Conflict Matrix

Course Conflict Matrix

French 2P 10Geometry 11Algebra 1P 3Algebra 2P 14Spanish 2P 12Accounting 23Electronics 1

Biology 1P – 132 requestsCourse Number of Requests

Conflict Matrix Considerations

• Academy Courses• Singletons• Doubletons• Tripletons• Conflict Totals Per Period• Hyper Dispersion

Do We Have Enough Seats?

Balanced!!

9TH 10TH 11TH 12TH

TOTAL EXTRAEXTRATOTAL EXTRAEXTRATOTAL EXTRAEXTRATOTAL EXTRAEXTRASEATS SEATSSECTSSEATS SEATS SECTSSEATS SEATSSECTSSEATS SEATS SECTS

133 329 156 170371 18 0.556 545 63 1.944 422 12 0.37 363 21 0.648386 33 1.019 532 50 1.543 435 25 0.772 374 32 0.988373 20 0.617 553 71 2.191 447 37 1.142 379 37 1.142374 21 0.648 541 59 1.821 438 28 0.864 370 28 0.864378 25 0.772 533 51 1.574 431 21 0.648 358 16 0.494369 16 0.494 517 35 1.08 443 33 1.019 378 36 1.111

Dealing with Constraints

“The Dirty Dozen” (see CASN Scheduling Guide or excerpts)

– Singleton courses - band, choir, orchestra, other electives

– Various course levels (AP, etc.)– Teacher credentials/certifications– Room assignments/usage – Multiple lunches– Student mobility– Enrollment Numbers - Section Allocation

Dealing with Constraints

• Building Layout

• Union Issues/ Pupil Contact Time/Teacher Preps

• Specialized student programs (Special Education,

English Language Learners, Academies)

KEEP IN MIND:

a) Academies provide options AND

b) EFFECTIVE MASTER SCHEDULING IS POSSIBLE.

Some answers during construction-Removing the Roadblocks for electives

• Creation of “Elective Lane”- Choosing to place all possible high enrollment elective courses into the exact same class period, while not having any core Academy classes scheduled during that time slot.

• Considerations of number of courses/teachers on each grade level Academy team

Removing Roadblocks related to Honors/ AP/Dual Enrollment

– Removing the differentiation in courses between honors and regular and contracting for honors grades within one course. (embedded honors, honors by

exhibition, etc.)

– Increasing Academy student access to AP and/or

dual enrollment; Increasing expectations that more

Academy students take rigorous course/s;

embedding pre-AP curriculum; adding AP

seminars/support classes.

1 Academy Core Academy Core

2 Academy Core Academy Core

3 Non Academy core course

Non Academy core course

4Math Lab/Elect. PE/elective

Reading Lab/ Elective

Seminar/ Practicum

Sample Pathway Schedule4 x 4

Successful Construction4x4 VPA Academy Schedule

1 VPA Art VPA Media

2 VPA Math VPA Social Science

3 AP course Science

4Government Internship/ Senior

Practicum/Dual Enrollment Economics t

Cohort Scheduling A-B Rotating Block

60

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Collaboration Time

Period 1 Period 2 Period 1 Period 2

Period 3 Period 4 Period 3 Period 4

Period 5 Period 6 Period 5 Period 6

Period 7 Period 8 Period 7 Period 8

Additional guiding principle to construction- Using Flexible Time

• The schedule provides access to improved instruction. The addition of the Flexible Block.

• An uninterrupted period in which a team of teachers instruct a “pure,” common set of pathway students.

• Power is in teacher autonomy and access to alternate student groupings.

• Always think: innovation for time with students

Flexible Block Grouping *Project/Skill/Strategy Grouping

Team A40 min. Social Studies

180 minutes

40 min.Science

40 min.English

60 min. *Project/Skill/Strategy Groups

Stage 4:Analysis and Adjustment

Run Scheduler- identify percentage of success

Important to shift student groups to balance numbers across Academies, BUT equal access and heterogeneous groupings must be maintained. (student choice=important)

Academy teacher teams can offer key input at this stage as to what would improve their ability to instruct and plan.

Stage 4: Analyze & Adjustment (continued)

• Balancing teams and maintaining purity changes how student conflicts are resolved.

• A student may need to take a particular class that is in another Academy’s program of study to fix a conflict rather than individual courses being changed. (issues involved)

• Important to visually identify class sections that include students from more than a single Academy.

Stage 4:Analysis and Adjustment

Students Pathway Attempted Scheduled Conflicts Reason Adjust. Made

225 VPA 225 205 20 AP BIO x

331 BUS.MARKET 331 311 20 SYMP. BAND x

115 COMMUNIC. 115 112 3 SPEECH 1 x

119 ENVIRON. SCI. 119 106 13 BAND+CHOIR x

83 PHILOSOPHY 83 72 11 SOC./PSYCH LI x

96 HUMAN SERV. 96 81 15 LATIN 2 x

139 TRAVEl/TOUR. 139 128 11 IINTRO TO MNG. x

Stage 4:Analysis and Adjustment

• The goals of the Analysis, Adjustment, & Distribution of Schedules:– To complete a final analysis– To distribute the schedules– To make any further adjustments as

needed

• Year to year tracking of scheduling conflicts, challenges, and solutions is important!

Stage 5: Assessment & Refinement

Do you remember the first year you taught?

That may be about where you are now

Do you remember your fifth or tenth year of teaching?

That is where you can get to

Internal Assessment

• Learning from those involved in the process– Administrators– Counselors– Academy Leads– Department Chairs– The scheduling team

• Plus looking at the results

Looking at the Results

Equity example:

How do you determine if your students have equal access to your academies?

External Assessment

Learning from those affected by the resultsStudentsParents/Supporting Adults Teachers/staff

Through:Focus groupsSurveysData

A cycle of improvement

• “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana– What principles and priorities were met?– What principles and priorities were not well

addressed?– How can you improve the process?

• Keep your eye on the goal, and celebrate progress

Beginning Questions to Answer How many academies? Grade levels involved?

Size//Student enrollment?

• How many courses will be Academy specific at each grade level?

• What percentage of the student day will be spent in Academy specific courses?

• How many Academy teachers will be needed to support Academy enrollment?

Beginning Questions to Answer

• How will you assure Academy teachers are trained to implement thematic, interdisciplinary curriculum and projects?

• How will you assure common planning time for Academy teaching teams/communities of practice?

Where will internships and community-based learning experiences be implemented or supported in the schedule? (Will there be a course in which these occur?)

Questions to Answer

• How does your student information system //scheduling system handle student tags/flags and course tags/flags//subscripts?

• Who is responsible for protecting academy purity (student cohorts) in the schedule?

• Who is responsible for assuring equity? (all students have access; each academy reflects diversity of the school/district as a whole; distribution of high quality teachers; etc.)

• Answer these, the schedule is EASY….

Next Steps – Planning for Action

Coming Soon –CCASN Interactive Master Scheduling Guide

• Focus on Effective Scheduling for Academies and Linked Learning Pathways

• How you, your District, site, and Academy might help….

• How you, your District, site, and Academy might benefit ….

Blessed are those who share.

Inviting your Brilliance and Wisdom

Your Exit Slip ...

Info on Scheduling Guide, Scheduling Dropbox - Staying in Touch

Patricia Clark 510.504.3826

[email protected] http://casn.berkeley.edu