School Board Report and Engagement

Anyone interested in reading the report to the MTSD School Board regarding the trimester schedule can do so via the following link:

http://mtsd.k12.wi.us/District/Board_of_Education/Board-Packets/May_16_11/Trimester-Full-Report-051611.pdf

The agenda for the May 16 School Board meeting can be found via the following link:

http://mtsd.k12.wi.us/District/Board_of_Education/Agendas/2010-11/Agenda-051611.pdf

Analysis of the Current Semester Schedule

In conversations that have occurred in recent days and weeks, parents and community members have asked questions about the current schedule at Homestead, wondering what about it motivated faculty members, administrators and School Board members to endorse a study into alternatives.

Homestead currently operates on a seven-period semester schedule.  In that schedule, teachers teach six classes per semester (up from five per semester, a cost-savings-related change implemented two years ago without study into the academic or cultural implications of that decision).  Students may enroll in six or seven classes per semester.  No other high school in the North Shore and no other academic benchmark high school in Wisconsin operates on a seven-period schedule in which teachers teach six classes.

Assets of the current schedule include the following:

• One of most cost-efficient schedules possible (teachers in front of students 86% of the school day)
• Class period length represents the greatest amount of time possible in a seven or eight-period daily schedule
• Current curriculum and instructional approaches were developed around this schedule
• Current academic successes were achieved in this schedule
• Current approach is understood by the community and students
• Overall structure (two seven-period semesters) is common in Wisconsin.

Challenges associated with the current schedule include the following:

• Teacher load (number of students and courses per term, which can reach almost 170 per teacher in core areas like Math and English) results in less teacher time available per student
• Teacher load results in split attention among more students, educational support staff/teachers, and parents at one time
• Teacher load necessitates compromises in educational quality (reduction of writing-based assessments, for example) to manage volume of student work
• Requirement of teaching six classes in a term requires some teachers to be prepared to teach up to four different courses daily, reducing the amount of time that can be invested in any one course
• One 50-minute teacher preparation period limits amount of time available for student support
• One 50-minute teacher preparation period limits amount of time available for set-up and take-down of hands-on learning experiences like science labs
• One 50-minute teacher preparation period limits amount of time available for non-classroom responsibilities that impact student learning (meeting with educational support personnel and Special Education Teachers, serving on committees or work teams, etc.)
•  Teacher energy must be committed almost exclusively to maintenance of current performance, not improvement or innovation
• Faculty morale is low due to a sense of diminished efficacy in meeting students’ needs.

The lists above, the assets or challenges of the current schedule, are not exhaustive.  Still, this information represents the essential factors that led to the schedule study.  Further, these factors were considered throughout the schedule study process and were weighed against the challenges and assets of alternative schedules, including the trimester.

Additional Parent Information and Feedback Meetings Scheduled

On April 12 and 13, Eric Dimmitt and I hosted three meetings for parents and community members to learn more about the trimester proposal, ask questions, and provide feedback.  Thank you to the approximately 85 parents who attended one or more of those meetings.  If you were unable to attend but are interested in learning more, please click here to view the April 13 7:00 p.m. meeting.

On April 18, Mr. Dimmitt and I provided an update to the School Board about the work of the HSST to date.  Again, thank you to the parents who attended that working School Board meeting.

To continue parental engagement around the trimester proposal, the District is hosting two additional evening meetings, which Mr. Dimmitt and I will again host and facilitate.  Parents are welcome to attend either or both of the following information and feedback sessions, the dates, times and locations for which are as follows:

May 3:  6:30 - 8:00 p.m. in the Steffen IMC

May 4:  6:30 - 8:00 p.m. in the Lake Shore IMC.

Results of Faculty Feedback Vote

Based on the unanimous support of the trimester schedule in the March 30 HSST vote, members of the Homestead faculty were recently given the opportunity to share their feedback about the possible schedule change.

From April 11-13, all faculty members scheduled to return to HHS in the 2011-2012 school year (faculty members who announced their retirement this year or who are teaching on a one-year contract were not allowed to vote) were given the chance to endorse or reject the trimester concept via a blind ballot.

Before casting their vote, faculty members were asked to consider their level of commitment to the schedule as a framework for teaching and learning as well as to the work necessary to bring it from concept to successfully-implemented reality.  Further, they were asked to consider whether or not they believed a move from our current schedule to the trimester represented a step toward or away from meeting our school mission:  to equip all students with transferrable skills, promote academic independence, foster social responsibility, and inspire a passion for learning.

The ballot distributed to faculty members contained the following language:

The trimester schedule at Homestead High School would be developed based on the following parameters/drivers:

• Students are required to enroll in at least four classes per trimester.
• Teachers teach four classes per trimester.
• Three-trimester courses are limited to preserve student choice, maintain financial neutrality, and manage class sizes; administrators determine the length of courses with input and feedback from instructors; music courses run for three trimesters.
• Flex time is included in the schedule; the frequency, length and timing of flex periods will be determined at a later date.
• Available hours beyond the DPI requirement of 1,137 are used to provide flex time in the schedule and to provide release time during final exams as available.
• As a rule and not an exception, teachers are expected to provide three unique interactions with content in a given period; at least one of those interactions must require class-wide verbal participation from students.
• Curricula are reviewed and revised prior to implementation of the trimester to ensure their viability in the trimester arrangement.
• Teachers collaborate with peers and administrators prior to implementation of the trimester to increase alignment of outcomes and expectations for courses taught by multiple teachers; alignment of curricula and course expectations is a requirement, not a suggestion or recommendation.
• Early release, faculty learning, and available MTAP and summer curriculum time in the summer of 2011, throughout the 2011-12 school year, and in the summer of 2012 are dedicated to curriculum, instruction and assessment review and revision.

I am committed to the trimester concept as outlined above and believe that the schedule should be implemented beginning in the 2012-2013 school year.

            ______                        Yes

            ______                        No

The results of the faculty feedback vote are as follows:

Committed to implementing the trimester schedule in 2012-2013:  66

Not committed to implementing the trimester schedule in 2012-2013:  7

So, just over 90% of all eligible faculty who chose to vote endorse a move to the trimester.

This information will be taken into consideration when Eric Dimmitt and I draft our report to the School Board that will be presented on May 16.

April 1 Early Release Activities for Homestead Faculty

Given the HSST vote in favor of the trimester concept, the Homestead faculty will continue exploring the trimester concept as they prepare to cast their feedback ballots during the week of April 11.  This whole-faculty vote is for feedback and information purposes only; the result of the voting does not determine whether or not the trimester schedule will be implemented in 2012-2013.

During early release time on Friday, April 1 faculty members will continue to investigate the ramifications of a possible move to the trimester schedule.  This investigation/discussion will center around implications for curriculum, instruction and assessment. 

A document that faculty members will receive on Friday includes the following:

"Implementation of the five-period trimester schedule beginning in the 2012-2013 school year would impact curriculum, instruction and assessment across content areas.  A move to the trimester represents a paradigm shift in teaching and learning practices as much as it represents a change in when the bells ring or when grades are assigned.

As a school, we will need to ensure a viable (course content and skills can be taught in the time frame provided—number of instructional days, length of periods) and guaranteed (students reach the same outcomes regardless of instructor) curriculum for students.  Instructional practices need to maximize the opportunities that come with extended-period teaching and learning.  Assessment practices, from the amount and type of out-of-class work assigned to the frequency and type of summative assessments given, need to be reconsidered."

On Friday, the entire faculty will gather to learn more about the trimester schedule and the philosophy that must drive its successful implementation.  Then, they will spend the remainder of the afternoon identifying the opportunities, challenges, priorities and needs around curriculum, instruction, and assessment planning and redesign that could exist if the trimester proposal moves from concept to reality; these conversations will occur in discipline-specific breakout groups.  This exercise does not represent the development of a formal plan of action; instead, it is a proactive measure aimed at equipping faculty members with the insight that they need to make an informed decision when voting in mid-April.

Result of March 30 HSST Vote

This afternoon, March 30, the HSST convened to vote on the trimester proposal. 

Of the 21 members on the team, 19 cast ballots, with one vote cast absentee.  The vote was 19-0 in support of the trimester proposal. 

While all parents, students, administrators and faculty members participated in the voting, both School Board members abstained.  They did so to maintain the integrity of the decision-making process moving forward. If Eric Dimmitt and I recommend a move to the trimester schedule in the report that we will present to the Board in May, the full Board will need to make the final decision about this matter; they will do so after considering the feedback that they receive during their study and consideration phase. That feedback will come from faculty members, administrators, students, parents, and community members. By abstaining from voting now, the Board members on the HSST affirmed their open minds about this topic moving forward.

For your information, the text of the ballot that HSST members received today is printed below:

The trimester schedule at Homestead High School would be developed based on the following parameters/drivers:

• Students are required to enroll in at least four classes per trimester
• Teachers teach four classes per trimester
• Three-trimester courses are limited to preserve student choice, maintain financial neutrality, and manage class sizes; administrators determine the length of courses with input and feedback from instructors; music courses run for three trimesters
• Flex time is included in the schedule; the frequency, length and timing of flex periods will be determined at a later date
• Available hours beyond the DPI requirement of 1,137 are used to provide flex time in the schedule and to provide release time during final exams as available
• As a rule and not an exception, teachers are expected to provide three unique interactions with content in a given period; at least one of those interactions must require class-wide verbal participation from students
• Curricula are reviewed and revised prior to implementation of the trimester to ensure their viability in the trimester arrangement
• Teachers collaborate with peers and administrators prior to implementation of the trimester to increase alignment of outcomes and expectations for courses taught by multiple teachers
• Early release, faculty learning, and available MTAP and summer curriculum time in the summer of 2011, throughout the 2011-12 school year, and in the summer of 2012 are dedicated to curriculum, instruction and assessment review and revision.
  

As a member of the Homestead Schedule Study Team and based on the research and learning that occurred between October and March of the 2010-2011 school year, I am committed to the trimester concept as outlined above and believe that the schedule should be implemented beginning in the 2012-2013 school year.

            ______               Yes

           

            ______               No

Given the results of today's vote, the following opportunities now exist for parent/community learning and engagement about the trimester schedule proposal:

• April 12:  Parent information and feedback meeting, Egelhoff Conference Room, 1:00 p.m.
• April 12:  Parent information and feedback meeting, Homestead library, 7:00 p.m.
• April 13:  Parent information and feedback meeting, Homestead library, 7:00 p.m.
• April 18:  Working School Board meeting, Egelhoff Conference Room, time TBA
• May 16:  School Board meeting at which schedule study report will be presented, Egelhoff Conference Room, 7:00 p.m.
• June 20:  School Board meeting, Egelhoff Conference Room, 7:00 p.m.
• July 18:  School Board meeting, Egelhoff Conference Room, 7:00 p.m.

Schedule Study and Trimester FAQ

1.  Why is a schedule change for 2012-2013 being considered?

Last spring, the School Board and teachers association agreed to open the question of the high school schedule in the 2011-2012 school year.  Concerns were continually raised about the lack of study/process that preceded the move to the current school schedule, which was implemented three years ago, and about the sustainability of this schedule in increasingly challenging financial times.  When the Homestead Schedule Study Team (HSST) began meeting in October, the group affirmed three criteria for a new schedule: (1) it should enable professional collaboration among teachers, (2) it should relieve some of the burdens associated with the current seven-period schedule, and (3) it should enable the maintenance or improvement of student achievement.  The HSST has been operating under the School Board’s requirement that any proposed schedule is cost-neutral, meaning that it does not require the hiring of additional faculty or staff.

2.  When and how will the question of moving to the trimester schedule be made?

If the HSST supports a move to the trimester when it votes on March 30, parents, students and faculty members will have chances to provide input during meetings to be held the week of April 11.  Parent information and feedback meetings will occur during daytime (1:00 on April 12) and evening (7:00 on April 12 and 13) time slots.  After considering input from the HSST, parents, students and faculty members, Homestead Principal Brett Bowers and MTSD Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Eric Dimmitt will report to the School Board in May; that report could include a recommendation to move to the trimester in 2012-2013.  If that recommendation is made, follow-up Board discussions would take place in June and July. The Board of Education would be asked to act on the administrative recommendation in July.  Only School Board action can change the schedule.

3.  Who is on the HSST?

The 21-member Homestead Schedule Study Team is comprised of the Homestead High School principal; the MTSD Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment; two School Board members; three parents; two students, a freshman and a sophomore; a guidance counselor; the 6-12 curriculum specialist/Pursuit coordinator; and 10 teachers representing the English, Math, Science, Social Studies, World Language, Special Education, Music and Allied Arts Departments.

4.  How and when can parents provide input on the schedule decision?

As mentioned above, information and feedback sessions with Mr. Bowers and/or Mr. Dimmitt will occur in April if the trimester concept is approved at the committee level on March 30.  Parents are also encouraged to attend School Board meetings around this topic, including the April 18 working Board meeting and the regular School Board meetings in May, June and July.

5.  Will students lose choices when developing their schedules in the trimester?

In the current semester schedule, students have the ability to earn up to seven credits per year.  In the trimester schedule, students can earn up to 7.5 credits each school year.  So, many students will be able to take more courses over a single year than they do now.  Some students who choose to take multiple three-trimester courses might find that they can take slightly fewer courses in a year than in the current schedule.

6.  Would a move to the trimester schedule have a negative effect on students’ college admissions prospects?

Based on the research conducted over the past several months, no evidence of a trimester schedule negatively impacting college admissions can be found.  If a move to the trimester schedule occurs, the school will send two profiles to colleges and universities when submitting student transcripts; one profile will explain the previous semester schedule and the other will explain the current trimester.

7.  In the trimester schedule, who would determine which courses meet for three trimesters?

The question of which current year-long courses would be taught over two or three trimesters would be answered administratively.  Building and district-level administrators would make these decisions with input from teachers and after reviewing information about the scope and sequence of current courses.  Most current yearlong courses would be taught over two trimesters.

8.  Could a student have two different teachers for each half of a current year-long course like Algebra or Biology?

Yes, students could have different teachers for each half of a two-trimester course, as happens occasionally in the current semester schedule.  Teachers understand that curriculum alignment work would need to occur between the time of the schedule change decision and the fall of 2012 to ensure that all teachers of the same course are teaching to the same outcomes and covering the same essential content, ensuring that students could transition smoothly from one teacher to another. 

9.  Does having two teachers for a course have a negative impact on students?

In talking with dozens and dozens of students who currently learn in the trimester, school and district officials heard few concerns or complaints about the schedule.  Regarding teacher changing for a two-trimester course, most students explained that they like seeing more teachers and experiencing more teaching styles in a given year and throughout their high school career.  They also appreciate having a fresh start with a new teacher if they feel that the working relationship with a previous teacher was not as strong as they had hoped.  Students expressed no concerns about being able to develop strong and meaningful relationships with teachers in the trimester schedule.

10.  Would music classes run for three trimesters?

It is likely that all band, choir and orchestra courses would run for three trimesters if the schedule was adopted.  Because of the way that music staffing is allocated at the high school level, allowing all music courses to run for three trimesters would not affect the overall cost of staffing.  If music courses run for three trimesters, a music student would still have space in his/her schedule to earn up to six additional credits.  In the current semester schedule, a student who takes a music course can earn six additional credits as well.  Finally, because the balance of sound for a performing group can be substantially altered with the addition or loss of vocalists/instrumentalists, three trimester music courses ensure the quality of those ensembles.

11.  Would all AP courses run for three trimesters?

No, most AP courses would not run for three trimesters.  Instead, like almost all other yearlong courses in the semester schedule, most AP courses would run for two trimesters.  Because of the scope of the curriculum for some especially intense AP courses, certain ones may need to run for three trimesters.  A three-trimester AP course would be the exception and not the rule.

12.  How will students who take two-trimester AP courses remain ready for the AP exams in early-mid May?

Administrators are committed to providing a structural solution to addressing the gap between the end of a two-trimester AP course and the AP exams.  This solution will consist of some form of resource or student assistance period embedded in the school day.  During that time, which would occur possibly twice weekly, AP teachers would be able to hold review/refresher sessions for interested students.  Any trimester schedule recommendation will include a recommendation for some sort of resource/student assistance period.  Options for when and how this time would be offered to students and teachers is currently being researched and discussed.

13.  Can students remain prepared for an AP test even with a gap between the end of a course and the exam?

Local and regional-level research around this topic illustrates that students can be highly successful on AP exams even when experiencing an instructional gap.  For example, students at Homestead currently take AP Micro Economics during first semester only.  They experience a gap of almost four months between the end of the course and the AP exam.  Nonetheless, students historically perform extremely well on the exam; over the past 16 years, 891 Homestead students have taken the AP Micro Economics exam, those students passing the test over 82% of the time.  In 2007, 93% of students passed the exam.  At Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan (a regional benchmark school and district), students have set school records for AP exam success since the school moved to the trimester schedule four years ago.

14.  Will the trimester schedule have a negative effect on AP enrollments?

Administrators do not believe that a move to the trimester will result in a decline in AP course enrollments.  When representatives from Homestead and MTSD visited two high-performing trimester high schools in Michigan, North Farmington and Seaholm, officials from those schools shared that their AP enrollments and percentages of tests passed have increased since moving to the trimester.  Currently, four trimester schools in Michigan outrank Homestead in the Newsweek ranking of top public high schools in the country.  Each of those schools has a higher AP test participation rate than Homestead, indicating that students can maintain a commitment to AP in the trimester schedule.

15.  Would any non-AP and non-music courses run for three trimesters?

Yes, it is possible that some other courses could run for three trimesters.  While three-trimester courses need to be included only sparingly in the schedule, certain academic and curricular needs may necessitate this allowance.

16.  Would students be allowed to take study hall in the trimester schedule?

Yes, students would be allowed to enroll in up to one period of study hall per trimester.  That study hall has the ability to be seasonal (fall, winter, spring) to correspond to athletic/activity seasons.

17.  How would special education and other learning support services be offered in the trimester schedule?

As is the case in the current schedule, students will still have access to study hall alternatives like Special Education Guided Study classes and placement in the Academic Success Center. 

18.  How are students affected by the gap in instruction that can occur between two halves of a course in the trimester?

In the trimester, students take the two parts of a current yearlong course in either trimesters 1 and 2, 2 and 3, or 1 and 3.  When investigating high schools currently teaching on the trimester, data could not be found to illustrate that students who take a course in trimesters 1 and 3 (meaning that they experience a mid-year gap) suffer academically.  In fact, North Farmington High School, which has been on the trimester for four years and has gathered detailed grade-related data over that time, found that students who experience the gap actually earn better grades for the second half of a course compared to students who take the course in trimesters 2 and 3.

19.  What about students who finish a course at the end of trimester 2 in one year and don’t start the next course in sequence until the beginning of trimester 2 the following year?

This gap can exist in the trimester schedule.  Some courses that students take in a particular sequence, Biology and Chemistry, for example, while taught back-to-back, are not necessarily tightly sequenced in terms of the content of the curricula.  So, a gap in those courses is not as concerning.  In courses for which that sequencing is tighter, World Language courses, for example, students who experienced difficulty in one level of a course would be given special consideration for taking the next level beginning in trimester 1 the following year.  This approach is currently employed in successful high schools that teach on the trimester or 4x4 block schedules, each of which creates a gap in instruction like this.

20.  How would curricula be redesigned to correspond to the instructional minutes and number of course meeting days that exist in the trimester?

Teachers and administrators have been discussing the need to reconsider curricula if the move to the trimester is made.  If the schedule change occurs, curricula need to be redesigned to be viable within the parameters of the trimester.  Some topics that are currently covered in certain courses, topics that are extensions and not necessarily the focal elements of courses, may need to be put aside or taught as enrichment for select students in this schedule.  Teachers would spend the time between the schedule change decision and the implementation of the new schedule preparing for this change.  In the trimester approach, teachers must embrace the concept of teaching for mastery, promoting retention of knowledge and skills, and emphasizing depth over breadth.  A move to the trimester schedule gives teachers and administrators the opportunity to examine our current curricula, re-affirm it, and make changes and revisions that can improve student learning.

21.  How will questions of what gets taught in trimester courses be determined?

To ensure that the narrowing and enriching of the curriculum focuses on the appropriate knowledge and skills, teachers and administrators will rely on the new Common Core standards for English and Math.  Those standards, developed in cooperation with and endorsed by ACT, were recently adopted in Wisconsin.  Further, the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks can guide decision-making in some other core areas.  In and outside the core, the Standards for Success research project (sponsored by the Association of American Universities and the Pew Charitable Trust) will provide additional insight and guidelines.  In courses that emphasize hands-on work, teachers may find themselves able to expand the scope of their curricula based on the added work time that students have with fewer set-up and take-down experiences between work sessions.

22.  Are 70-minute periods too long to sustain student focus and attention?

When site visit teams observed classes in three trimester schools this spring, all observers noticed high levels of student engagement and focus throughout class periods.  These observations were consistent regardless of the content area or academic level of course.  Consistently, students learning in the trimester explained that they do not find class periods to be too lengthy.  When teaching in an extended period like that offered in the trimester, teachers must embrace a commitment to providing multiple engagements with the content in a single class period.  Unless conducting a lab or doing some other hands-on project, Homestead teachers would be required to include at least three engagements/two transitions per period; at least one of those engagements must include class-wide verbal communication from students.  If the trimester schedule is approved, faculty learning and staff development time over the next two summers and the 2011-2012 school year will focus on lesson design in the trimester.  And, teachers will have opportunities to learn and practice different instructional strategies that they can incorporate into their lessons to diversify their instructional approaches as needed. 

23.  How would final exams and exam exemptions work in the trimester schedule?

Different trimester schools conduct final exams differently.  Administrators are currently investigating options for how final exams might run in a trimester setting.  As the current exam exemption policy is based on the seven-period semester schedule, that policy would need to be reconsidered and revised before the trimester schedule is implemented.

24.  Isn’t Neenah High School moving away from the trimester schedule due to financial constraints?  How can MTSD afford this schedule?

Neenah High School, which has been on the trimester schedule for the past 15 years, is moving away from that schedule after this year.  Finances drove that decision, not parent, student, administrator or teacher preference.  In Neenah, teachers only teach 10/15 classes per year (four classes in one trimester and three classes in the other two trimesters).  At Homestead, teachers would teach 12/15 classes per year (four classes in each of the three trimesters).  While Neenah tried to adjust the number of classes that teachers teach each year so as to realize financial savings and maintain the trimester schedule, they were unable to reach an agreement between their school board and teachers union.  As such, starting next year, teachers at Neenah High School will continue to teach 10 classes per year, but they will do so in a seven-period semester schedule, meaning that they will teach 10/14 classes instead of 10/15 classes, resulting in the need for fewer teachers.