Making Every Minute Count: An Introduction to the School Time Analysis Tool (STAT)

1. Making Every Minute Count: An Introduction to the School Time Analysis Tool (STAT) Prepared for the Virginia Department of Education November 25, 2013

2. Our Webinar Today is Sponsored by NCTL Partner The Center on School Turnaround at WestED • Creating Pro-Turnaround Environment • Administering & Managing Programs Effectively • Providing TA to LEAs & Schools • Advocating & Leading http://centeronschoolturnaround.org/

3. NCTL: Who Are We? TheNational Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) is dedicated to expanding learning time to improve student achievement and enable a well-rounded education. Throughresearch,public policy, andtechnical assistance we support national, state, and local initiatives that add significantly more school time to help children meet the demands of the 21st century.

4. NCTL: Our Strategy Build Support: Build broad-based support to bring high-quality expanded-time school opportunities to all high-poverty students over time Generate Knowledge: Document and disseminate effective practices of high-performing expanded learning time charter and district schools across the country Inform Policy: Support policy development and leverage federal, state, and local funding to support high-quality expanded learning time implementation Improve School Practice: Through technical assistance, grow and strengthen the number of high-quality expanded learning time schools nationally

5. Successful Districts and Schools Maximize Academic Learning Time Academic Learning Time Time students gain and retain subject knowledge • Instructional Time Instructional Time Time devoted to instruction Academic Learning Time • Allocated Class Time Allocated Class Time Total time in class Allocated School Time Total time in school • Allocated School Time Source: Elena Silva, “On the Clock: Rethinking the Way Schools Use Time,” Education Sector Reports, 2007. 5

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

7. Does Every Single Minute Count in Your Schools? School-Wide Time Analysis • Key Question: • How do schedules help or hinder schools from reaching their most important school-wide goals? • Process: • Analyze school schedules to find out: • How much time is allocated for highest priority subjects? • How much time is “taken” away from the highest priorities? • Determine what schedule changes support the schools’ highest priorities 7

8. Putting the STAT To Use 8

9. The STATProvides Visibility Into How Schools Really Allocate Time 0 min Minutes 1,950 min Weekly Allocated School Time Purposed Time Non- Purposed Time Academics and Support Non Core Academics Other Academics and Support Non Core Academics -English -Math -Science -Social Studies -Foreign Lang. -Tutoring -Remediation -Targeted Supp. -Other -Phys. Ed. -Art -Music -Computers or Technology -Community Building -Advisory -Other -Lunch/Recess -Homeroom -Transitions between classes -Study halls or Homework -Other -In class transitions -Misc. interruptions -P.A. announcements -In class transitions -Misc. interruptions -P.A. announcements 9

10. How Does the STAT Work? It’s a 5-step web-based tool where users enter data, “Turbo Tax-style,” on how their school uses time: STEP 1: Enter students’ start and end times, days per week, and days per year STEP 2: Break down how time is across a week for a “typical” student STEP 3: Make estimates about lost instructional minutes within classes due to daily interruptions STEP 4: Make estimates about lost instructional hours throughout the year due to special events STEP 5: Let the tool do the math so you can see the results – a snapshot of how time is spent for a typical student across the day, week and year 10

11. STAT Login Screen Access the STAT through this link: http://nctl.iontier.com/Login.aspx 11

12. Conducting a School Time Analysis 12

13. Tips for Using the STAT Pick a “typical” student to get started Keep track of anything you classify as “other” Don’t lose sight of the goal: to get a snapshotof time use and start the discussion on how time can be used more effectively school-wide. Check out the STAT User Guide for guidance, suggestions, and pitfalls to avoid! 13

14. Possible Uses of the STAT Collect Time Use Data Generate Ideas among Staff Assess whether changes are needed and what changes should be made regarding how time is used in your school so you can better reach your goals. Consider the amount of time your school spends across each of the three broad categories: 14 2011 National Center on Time & Learning Academics and Support Help your school and educators consider modifications to policies and practices that will optimize learning time for your students Non Core Academics Other

15. How Do Schools Use Information Uncovered by the STAT Analysis? (1 of 2) Smithfield Middle School KEY STAT 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 6 Minutes 3 Minutes Outcome Reduced passing time to 3 minutes, adding 1,800 minutes/year back into instruction

16. How Do Schools Use Information Uncovered by the STAT Analysis? (2 of 2) Crawford Elementary School KEY STAT 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 Outcome Unexpected Benefit: Change allowed more students to finish their lunch because they weren’t rushing to recess

17. STAT Findings & Action Steps: Sample 17

18. Guiding Questions for Your STAT Preparation Team • What are the key findings from the data? • What is cause for celebration? • What is cause for concern? • Where did we find pockets – large and/or small - of lost instructional time? • What small tweaks could we make right now to recapture some of that time? • What larger changes could we make to our schedule next year to maximize learning time? • What are the next steps for this work? • What goals and action steps can we develop around 1-2 of our key findings? • How do we want to share the data, key findings, and suggested action steps with the full faculty?

19. Joe Rull • jrull@timeandlearning.org • Senior Director – Stateand District Engagement Group Joe McKown jmckown@timeandlearning.org Vice President – State and District Engagement Group To learn more about our work, visit us at: www.timeandlearning.org Join the Conversation: Like us on Facebook Follow @expanding_time 19