Upcoming Site Visits

As part of our ongoing effort to conduct a thorough and thoughtful investigation into schedule options, last week I confirmed site visits to two high-performing schools within our region that currently implement the 3x5 (five-period trimester) schedule.  On February 10 and 11, a team of faculty members and administrators will be visiting North Farmington and Seaholm High Schools in the suburban Detroit/Pontiac area.  Both of these schools are of a similar size and make-up to Homestead, and both could be considered regional academic benchmarks to our school.  If you are interested in learning more about either site, please visit their websites, which I posted in a previous entry.

The team representing Homestead and MTSD is as follows: 

• Eric Dimmitt, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment *
• Brett Bowers, Principal *
• Suzette Urbashich, School Board President *
• Jill McElroy, Director of Counseling *
• Kristi Ribar, Math Teacher *
• Fritz Rauch, English Teacher
• Tony Navarre, Special Education Teacher
• Chris Schultz, Science Teacher *
• Susan Lueders, Social Studies Teacher *
• Ryan Volke, Applied Technology/Project Lead the Way Teacher
• Todd Spindler, Band Teacher *
• Helen Caldwell, World Language (Spanish) Teacher *

*  HSST member

During each day-long site visit, our team will have the opportunity to observe classes, talk with job-alike peers about questions surrounding 3x5 planning and implementation, learn about the scope of curricula delivered in the 3x5 schedule within specific disciplines, investigate student achievement data (AP, ACT, etc.) before and after implementation of the 3x5, and talk with students about their perceptions of the schedule.  The principals at both North Farmington and Seaholm have been extremely generous with their time and effort in planning the upcoming visits, and I have high hopes for the professional learning that we will do while on these school campuses.

As background, like many other high schools in and outside of Michigan, North Farmington and Seaholm have faced significant budgetary challenges in the past several years.  Each of the schools, which are located in separate districts, moved to the 3x5 schedule four years ago for cost savings purposes.  As it was described to me by their principals, the trimester schedule was chosen because it allowed school and district officials to control staffing costs while maintaining a commitment to student choice and high academic achievement. 

Again, I look forward to learning more about the 3x5 schedule firsthand in the coming weeks and to sharing that information with members of our school community.