To ensure that a school operates at its best, it is essential to have a daily schedule. If the schedule is done right, it will ensure that all students can access the school day. After six years of building school calendars, I have developed a few strategies that make sure the school day runs smoothly. A well-designed schedule helps achieve school goals, covers required courses, gives teachers time, and meets students’ learning needs.
STEPS TO BUILDING A EFFECTIVE SCHEDULE
- The basics: to create the schedule in the summer. After that review the schedule from the previous school year and reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Start with the basics and build from there. These are the basics questions you should ask:
* How many school days are there?
* How many minutes are allotted for each period?
* How many lunch periods are there?
* Which courses are required by grade?
* How often do you need to attend required courses?
* Do you have courses that require block scheduling
* What are the school-system-wide requirements for this?
- These questions will help you understand the needs of teachers.
Some teachers gave their feedback. We have three lunch periods. The most coveted is the second, which falls in the middle. Based on how fast children eat and the other courses that might be scheduled, we assign that lunchtime carefully. The kindergarten eats their lunch in the last lunch period. A snack is included before lunch. They should probably eat in the first period. However, they tend to eat slowly so that if they don’t finish their lunch, they can be accompanied by the teachers in the cafeteria.
- Communication of the school schedule with parents has many benefits. Finally, communication with parents about the programs and courses offered by your school is crucial to parent-school partnerships. Parents can help with homework by communicating the course content, because among the students very popular searchings such as “help with my research paperâ€.Â
- Establishing school goals and scheduling priorities. In some schools every year, the school leaders or district leaders will choose a goal or focus. Math was one of the district priorities, so was changed the schedule so that each class had double-period blocks of math in the morning, twice per week. This scheduling change resulted in higher scores on math assessments.
- Recognize the different needs of each grade band: The schedules must be flexible to meet the goals of particular grades. Some school has K-2 grade spend one hour each day learning how to read. Grades 3 through 5 don’t have a period for phonics, so the extra time is used to teach writing skills and review basic grammar.
- Special needs and programming: Classroom teachers may provide additional support to students, including students with disabilities and students who require additional academic support. One teacher is responsible for pulling students from the classroom who are unable to give one-on-one support. I plan one hour per week. Teachers may be given time to meet with English language learners and other students who require individualized attention.
Schedules may need to be adjusted for special programming.Â
- Plan for covering teachers: Teachers can be absent from even the most well-planned schedule. It is crucial to set aside funds for substitute teachers in order to ensure that school runs smoothly. It is essential to have a system for staff and teachers to report absences due personal days, sickness, or leaves. However, it is also important to have a system that allows learning to continue even when a teacher is not available.Â
- Scheduling technology: There is a wide range of scheduling software available. Microsoft Excel is where every teacher develops the formulas to generate the schedules.Â
It is an overwhelming and frustrating task to plan school. It is a puzzle made up of many pieces. Although it takes many hours to complete, or even days to complete, once you are done, you will be able to see how each piece is crucial to the school’s operation and helps meet the learning needs of all students