Solving the issue of wavering student engagement is no easy task. But it's an important one. Consider this scenario. You ask a high school student - "What do you want to do after high school?" The answer? "I don't know." As students get closer to graduation, most of us [...]
Chronic absenteeism, referring to a student who is missing more than 10% of the school year, is of rising concern for schools and districts nationwide. Rates have doubled since the pandemic; from pre-pandemic levels of 13% to 26% for the 2022-23 school year. When students aren’t in school, they [...]
Innovation can be a tricky word to define, especially in education. There are so many educational philosophies and ways of doing things that change, sometimes because of current research, and sometimes because it’s trendy. What makes an 'innovative' school? But far from being just a ‘flavor of the [...]
One of my favorite scenes in literature is where Tom Sawyer convinces all the boys in the neighborhood to whitewash the fence for him, a task he had been given as punishment. Not only does he not have to do the work, but his friends all empty their pockets of [...]
“An intervention period? There’s no time for that.” “Flexible time in our bell schedule sounds great…but I don’t know where to start.” There’s no denying it: school schedules are busy. Between classes, passing periods, lunches, activities, pep rallies, and drills…every minute at school is precious. Given this, administrators, teachers, [...]
WIN (What I Need) time is an effective tool for middle and high schools. But what is it, why does it matter, and how can WIN work in block schedules? Let's dig in, and talk a little bit first about block scheduling. Decades ago, before the internet and smartphones, [...]
Many educators have grown accustomed to a traditional period schedule for middle school. However, there are several different types of schedules that schools currently use. The schedule your middle school uses may be slightly or even starkly different from the schedule of a nearby district, or perhaps even [...]
Not a new concept, schools have had interventions in place over the years to support their students. However, not all attempts at interventions have resulted in success. While some schools do not have the means to change or update their intervention methods, many interventions of the past offered no [...]
Why Consider FLEX Time in Middle School? Students entering the new and uncharted territory of Middle School are often faced with challenges daily. Offering students FLEX time at the middle school level provides them with designated tutorials and classes where they are provided with the extra support, intervention, [...]
Student success is dependent on many variables, such as motivation, engagement, and support systems. In high school, educators have noted that organization and structure support student success compared to unorganized and unprepared students. As schools evolve with the times, changes have been implemented in scheduling, course offerings, and educational [...]