Members of the task force included teachers from different levels and disciplines as well as parents and school administrators. The group was co-facilitated by Lynn Jackson, Boulder Valley Education Association, and Sandy Ripplinger, Assistant Superintendent.
District administrators are analyzing the task force recommendations, including potential logistical issues and costs, before presenting them to the Board of Education and me. We will determine early this semester which recommendations could be implemented in 2016-17 and which need further study. The recommendations under consideration are:
- Length of school day – Although contract time remains consistent for teachers at all levels, the task force recommends a 7-hour instructional day for elementary and middle school students and a 7.5-hour instructional day for high school students.
- Later start times for high schools – All high schools should have a later start time.
- District-wide K-5 rotation model with art, music and physical education – Ensure that students have 55-minute classes in each special, which increases time for art education.
- District-wide fifth grade instrumental music – The task force received additional proposals late in the process, so the district plans to continue studying this issue. No changes will be made for the 2016-17 school year to give us more time to develop a strategy that addresses the needs and desires of our students, staff and community.
A representative group – general and instrumental music teachers, classroom teachers, counselors, parents, and school and district administration – will convene to review current models and propose a model that will better meet the needs of all students.
We will continue to be guided by the work of the 2010-11 Elementary Specials Task Force, which adopted four principles:
- Help students grow into well-rounded, healthy adults (based on current medical and educational research)
- Provide equal time amongst the specials (Music, Instrumental Music, PE and Art)
- Provide adequate time to teach the Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
- Maintain four content areas (Music, Instrumental Music, PE and Art)
- Analysis of middle school day and schedule – Formation of an Ideal Middle Level Day Task Force to investigate and recommend models that support students and foster optimal growth.
- Preschool day – Increase preschool to three hours.
- Board-approved regulation ADF-R on Wellness Physical Activity – Full implementation of the policy including a full 25 minutes for lunch and daily recess at elementary schools of at least 40 minutes.
- Universal breakfast – Provide breakfast during the school day.
- Time for teacher collaboration – All schools should have professional learning time for teachers outside of the instructional time for students but inside the contract time for teachers.
I am pleased with the commitment of the task force members and thank them for their hard work to resolve complex problems with our current schedules that will enhance opportunities for success for all Boulder Valley students.
If you wish to provide feedback on these recommendations, please visit our Ideal School Day website.
As a parent of a current middle schooler at bvsd I've been very concerned about the early starts for the high schools. Hoping the proposed later starts will go through for the learning benefits of all the high school students of bvsd!
ReplyDeleteWhat does a rotation model mean for Art, PE, and Gen Music? 55 min classes 3x over 2 wks? 55 min classes 5x over 3 wks? Currently Gen Music, PE classes are 45 min 2x per 1 wk. Would this rotation model be implemented in current pilot schools?
ReplyDeleteA K-5 rotation model has been designed that would alternate Art, Music and PE on a daily basis for 55 minutes at the same time each day (less time for half day Kindergarten). This A, B, C rotating schedule would provide a designated block of time for specials instruction each day; on an A day, the homeroom class would meet in Art, on the B day, in Music and on the C Day, PE, continuing throughout the year. This provides for approximately 87 minutes per week of each special and provides an equity of instruction with no loss of instructional time because of missed Monday and Friday holidays.
ReplyDeleteThis schedule would be implemented across all elementary and K-8 schools across BVSD.
I am not understanding the 55 minutes. Does this mean that students are in their specials for a whole 55 minute block, or can that be split into lesser time? (55 minute blocks are NOT what is best for younger kids especially.) In addition, if this is the case, a class would have TWO of the same specials one week and only one the next week? How do students retain the instructional knowledge if they only meet one time a week?
ReplyDeleteThe proposed schedule gives each student 55 mins of specials each day at the same time on a rotating schedule. This is also known as an ABC schedule. For example, students would have art on the A day, music on the B day and PE on the C day. This schedule will continue throughout the year, providing an equity of instructional minutes. In our current system, students with specials scheduled on Mondays and Fridays miss their specials on those days and this schedule offers an improvement.
DeleteProfessional development will be provided for teachers to address the 55 minute blocks of time.
I believe a small push forward is all that's necessary. Either KEEP IT THE SAME or something small like 8:00 to 3:30 rather than 7:00 to 3:00 but don't make us get out at 4:30 because it would only cause a domino effect such as people going to bed later after homework and sporting events/clubs which makes them get up later and thus no effect of students performance.
ReplyDeleteThis is one hundred percent true. As students, we realize that there still will be 24 hours in a day; this change will not pull time out of thin air, and the same amount of time will be needed for school, sports, relaxation, jobs, and homework. The committee (which seems to be deficient in members with a high school administration background) would not make the push for later times if they understood the wants and needs of the students, who seem vehemently opposed to this possible change.
DeleteI strongly disagree with the above comment. It is well documented that the normal sleep rhythm of adolescence results in later sleep onset, and a need to sleep later.Most of the kids are going to bed at 11:00-12 midnight, despite getting out of school at 3:20. A later start is an important step to improving adolescent health.
ReplyDeleteCarol Siegel, MD
PS-so thank you for the new recommendations!
ReplyDeleteCarol Siegel, MD
A seven and a half hour day might seem like a good idea to you, but you aren't the one affected by it. I once had an eight and a quarter hour day due to an underestimation of my mathematical abilities, and waking up at 5:45 in the morning is not my idea of a healthy, ideal schedule, and neither is being released at 4:00 pm.
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