Make Every Minute Count: Conducting a School Time Analysis May 23, 2012

1. Make Every Minute Count: Conducting a School Time Analysis May 23, 2012

2. National Center on Time & Learning: Vision In 10 years at least 1,000,000 children in high poverty communities will attend schools that have redesigned their school day or year to expand learning time to support academic improvement and offer a well-rounded education Organizational Priorities Affecting Practice Informing Policy Sharing Knowledge

3. Webinar Objectives • Learn how to conduct a school time analysis using tools and resources from the National Center on Time and Learning 2) Hear from a practitioner who recently conducted a school time analysis to learn about the process and outcomes 3) Consider how you might use the findings from a school time analysis to maximize learning time in your school next year

4. How to engage in this webinar Mute your phone during the presentation so we don’t hear any background noise Use the Chat function (lower right-hand corner of the screen) to ask questions and make comments throughout the webinar Ask questions directly during the Q&A, after we hear from our guest presenter

5. 8 Powerful Practices of Successful Expanded Time Schools Use Time to help Students Thrive in School and Beyond Dedicate Time to Improve Teacher Effectiveness Optimize Time for Student Learning 1 12 12 12 2 11 11 11 1 1 1 3 10 10 10 2 2 2 9 9 9 3 3 3 8 4 5 7 6 8 8 8 4 4 4 7 7 7 5 5 5 6 6 6 1 Make Every Minute Count 4 Build a School Culture of High Expectations and Mutual Accountability 7 Continuously Strengthen Instruction Prioritize Time to Focus on Small Set of School-wide Goals 2 8 Relentlessly Analyze and Respond to Data 5 Provide a Well-Rounded Education Individualize Learning Time and Instruction based on Student Needs 3 Prepare Students for College and Career 6

6. Make Every Minute Count Maximize time at the CLASSROOM level Maximize time at the SCHOOL level Focus on Attendance: if students aren’t present, they can’t learn Learning Time 1 2 3

7. Maximize Time at the School Level:School Time Analysis Tool (STAT)

8. How do schools use the information uncovered by the STAT? Crawford Elementary School KEY QTA FINDING: Class before lunch lost 7 minutes each day so children can wash hands, totaling 21 hours of lost instruction each year. Action Steps 1. Reversed lunch and recess periods so students wash hands after recess instead of during class time Before After 2. Rotated subjects taught before recess and after lunch to lessen the impact of longer transition time on any one subject Unexpected Benefit: Change allowed more students to finish their lunch because they weren’t rushing to recess

9. How do schools use the information uncovered by the STAT? Mastoras High School KEY QTA FINDING: 36 minutes of each 6 hour day taken up by passing time, totaling 10% of daily allocated school time Action Steps 1. Established school wide goal to reduce passing time by 50% Before After 2. Reorganized students and teachers into 3 interdisciplinary clusters 3. Reconfigured classrooms by cluster 3 Minutes Reduced passing time to 3 minutes, adding 1,800 minutes/year back into instruction 6 Minutes

10. Checklist for Maximizing the Effectiveness of Time • In the Classroom • Protocols and classroom expectations are established for the start of the class period so that students can begin working immediately when they walk in. • Active learning and engagement occurs all the way from the beginning to the end of the class period. Minimal time is lost at the beginning and end of the class period for unpacking and packing up of materials and supplies. • Teacher uses a stop watch or other time keeping device to monitor time use and designate amounts of time for specific tasks. • Protocols and routines are established to minimize time lost on activities such as distributing materials, set up or clean up, moving from whole group to small group instruction, etc. • Interruptions such as PA announcements are kept to a minimum. • Protocols are established that limit trips to the bathroom and water fountain. • Teachers actively work to minimize disruptions and maximize engagement. • Students are actively rewarded for staying on task. • Other • Staff discuss strategies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of certain routines. • Staff are rewarded for innovative ideas that maximize time on task. • Morning Arrival • Students arrive on time – tardiness is kept to a minimum through an effective rewards system. • First class period begins as soon as the bell rings. • Limited instructional time is wasted on routines involved in taking and reporting attendance. • If day begins with homeroom or advisory period time in that class period is highly effective – goals, activities and routines are clearly defined and aligned with school objectives. • Locker time is limited and just long enough for necessary preparations. • Transitions Between Classes • Students carry materials they need for multiple classes to avoid repeat trips to lockers. • Class locations are assigned to minimize travel time between classes. • Transitions are supervised and orderly to reduce disruptions and delays in starting the next class. • Time between classes is at a minimum. • Dismissal Time • Classes and active learning occurs all the way through the end of the school day (e.g. last class ends at 2:30 vs. 2:15 when dismissal is at 2:30). • End of day announcements are kept to a minimum to avoid disruption of last class periods.

11. Conducting a School Time Analysis

12. Reflection and Discussion Type into the chat box a hunch you have about what using the STAT at your school might uncover. Also take this time to type in any questions you might have before we hear from our guest practitioner.

13. Guest Practitioner:Cynthia Brunelle VISTA School-Based Data Coordinator Dearborn Middle School Boston, MA

14. STAT: Process • Data Collection (2 weeks) • Interviews • Formal/Informal: teachers, administrators, partners • Observation • Passing periods, in-class time • School/District Schedules • Data-entry (2 days) • Refinement of cohorts/focus • Presenting Findings (20 minutes) • 5 minute explanation of tool & data-collection process • 15 minute discussion with Dearborn’s Internal Leadership Team (ILT) around “Key Findings”

15. STAT: Challenges • Time! • Standardized Test Season • Perfection vs. Utility • Understanding how the STAT describes “time” as opposed to how the school describes “time” • Incorporating diverse student schedules • Messaging & Response

16. Discussion: Finding 1 “Allocated versus Actual time %’s for Non-SEI Students” • What are the key differences in “allotted time” versus “actual time?” in the Dearborn’s weekly schedule for Non-SEI students? • What do you think contributes to this difference?

17. Finding 1 + 2: Digging Deeper In your experience as a Dearborn teacher/administrator/staff member, do you think these numbers are accurate? Why or why not?

18. STAT: Value • The STAT’s Summative Power allows for: • Specific Conclusions • STAT is constructed to allow for large-scale observations • Open Discussions • As it represents the school as a whole, no one teacher or administrator felt “attacked” by STAT’s conclusions • The discussions felt organic but still addressed specific questions (involving scheduling, class-time usage and student behavior)

19. Additional Resources All materials from today’s webinar will be archived here: www.timeandlearning.org/STATwebinar Visit www.timeandlearning.org for: Time Well Spent and other NCTL reports Tools, practice profiles, case studies and videos Links to the latest research on time and learning Our blog, Time Matters A database of over 1000 expanded time schools around the country AND…join a new national coalition to expand learning time effectively at www.timetosucceed.com!