Curriculum Leadership Institute

Pathways to School Improvement

time management

Finding Time

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A teacher’s job has always included more than just what takes place while students are in the classroom—and always should.  Besides the obvious lesson planning and grading, teachers need to be involved in curriculum development, data analysis of student learning, problem-solving, and other professional development activities related to teaching/learning research and strategies.  These activities are necessary if we are to make a difference in student learning.  However, they all take time, and to be effective, they will require more than just a few minutes grabbed here and there. So, where do we find this time?  That question has become a significant problem for many schools.  Here are some ideas that various districts are using.

Make Your Current Meeting Time More Efficient

Many scheduled meetings could be much more productive if the district would establish a set of rules, called norms, and adhere to them without exception.

  1. Have a clear purpose and expected result for the meeting. Communicate these details to all who will attend in advance.
  2. Make sure everyone has sufficient notice of the meeting, the timeframe, and location to enable them to participate.
  3. Start on time and have all your materials ready.
  4. Have an agenda for the meeting and stick to it. If an additional topic comes up as a result of the meeting, put it on the next meeting’s agenda. 
  5. Do not waste meeting time on topics or announcements that can be delivered electronically or by memo. 
  6. Keep phones on silent and close laptops and tablets unless the meeting tasks require them to be open.
  7. Avoid sidebar conversations during the meeting.
  8. End on time. 
  9. Have someone in charge of leading and organizing the points above.

When to schedule shorter meetings

A late start or early release. Starting school an hour later or ending school an hour sooner allows the entire staff to meet.  Even though this isn’t always accepted with a lot of enthusiasm by parents, communicating the change in schedule far enough in advance can generate support over the feelings of inconvenience. 

Common Planning Time. Because there is a definite time limit, staying focused on the agenda is critical to a productive meeting.  Districts whose teachers meet daily have a fixed routine down to make these meetings productive.

Using teams. Many school districts use the team approach, where several teachers work with multiple classes at one time.  While this frees up other teachers for additional time to collaborate, it also allows for blocks of time for rotations through “specials” like music, art, and physical education.

Before or after school. Once again, this type of meeting has a time limit, but it can be a quick way to touch base.  If a district has an online meeting platform, teachers can gather virtually without leaving their classrooms.

When Extended Time is Needed

Summer work. This option is becoming the most popular.  Teachers can have a “boot camp” to meet for consecutive days.   The amount of time could be full, half, or three-quarter days for a week or two. Extended days allow teachers to accomplish quite a bit during the sessions.  There are no plans to make for substitutes, and teachers’ focus will be less divided.

Release time- one day a month. A full-day meeting allows teachers to start fresh at the beginning of the day with minimal interruptions.  Usually, all colleagues are available because it is during a contract day.  While a substitute is required, the cost of this is less than paying for out-of-contract teacher time.

Release time – consecutive days. Even though it is challenging to be out of the classroom for successive days during the school year, it does allow teachers to get “on a roll” for the task at hand.  Productivity tends to be higher when workdays are back to back.

After school meetings. This choice is the least desirable option and should only be scheduled if there is no other alternative.  There are no substitutes needed, but teachers are tired after school.  Some may even have extra duties, which may prevent a full team from meeting at the same time.

The solutions for “how to find time” presented in this E-Hint are simply the ones most commonly used now.  However, each district should think creatively and explore other options. What’s essential is for boards of education and district leaders to recognize the impact that the additional teacher-time has on student learning.  With higher achievement as the result, it should make “finding time” a number one priority.

Curriculum: A Catalyst for Change (Part Two)

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This is the second segment of Curriculum: A Catalyst for Change co-written by Sara McGinnis and Kyla Slate. Sara is the curriculum director at Sheridan County School District #1 (SCSD#1) in Wyoming. Kyla is a former consultant with the Curriculum Leadership Institute (CLI) who worked with SCSD#1 over a four-year timeframe to implement the CLI Model, a comprehensive, systemic school improvement model. Other contributors are noted within each part. Part 1 focused on intentional change at the district level.

Principals as Instructional Leaders

Since all district leaders were involved in creating the new vision for the district, they all needed a thorough understanding of the curriculum process and how to implement change. A number of the district leaders were selected to lead subject area committees through their curriculum and assessment work; thereby ensuring a common language and a common way of completing the work. Although facilitators can help districts, there is always much to be done between those visits. Building principals and curriculum staff were needed to provide the necessary on-the-spot feedback and support to keep the process moving forward.

Deb Hofmeier, Principal of Tongue River Elementary at SCSD #1:  “Having been involved with curriculum development for many years as a classroom teacher, it wasn’t until I was involved with the CLI process as an administrator that I finally was able to put all of the pieces together.  We had made many attempts at finding a working curriculum and each time it ended up on a shelf collecting dust as teachers continued to teach their favorite units.  Going through the process from the beginning, to implementation and then evaluation of our work has helped to ensure that all of the students in our school district are getting a high quality education. Working side by side with the teachers who are in the trenches allows administrators to better understand the process. To say in the least, it was not an easy process; but, the final products and the assurance that all of our students will have the opportunity to learn was well worth the effort.”

Next – Part Three: “Teachers in Charge”

Look for the important ways in which teachers are uniquely qualified to collaborate with the curriculum development process, and best practices for encouraging participation.

Tiffany Kohl, Curriculum Director, BBCHS#307 (Bradley, IL):  “Our district struggled with moving forward and making hard decisions.  As a suburban high school district, we had different “schools” operating under one roof.  Each department was at its own place in the area of curriculum.  Some had been writing and rewriting over and over, some hadn’t started, and some were just neglected. We did not have a common vernacular for how we DID curriculum revision in the building.  Now we have a system and a process that is clear for curriculum and assessment that supports PLCs and aligns with our district’s goals involving Charlotte Danielson’s framework. ”

A struggle for any district undergoing systemic change is finding time.  The long range plans made in the beginning relate to change in a broad respect such as, “the math committee will create common summative assessments this school year.”  At the building level, administrators were asked to consider time in terms of daily schedules and consider adjustments that would help meet completion goals.  Releasing teachers to work collaboratively and attend training was a time consideration for all principals, especially when substitutes would be in their buildings.  Sometimes it took a little “thinking outside the box” to accommodate the required time commitment for implementing a new system.

Sara (SCSD #1):  “I don’t think any of us anticipated the amount of time it would take to complete the process for each subject area committee.  We are on a 4-day school week and teachers work one Friday a month. Traditionally, Friday work sessions involved building or committee meetings. Instead of all day meetings, we adjusted the Friday schedule to give teachers more time to work with their grade level colleagues to complete curriculum tasks. Teachers also used FaceTime and Google to collaborate on shared documents.”

In terms of time, principals examined the workload for teachers and removed requirements that no longer aligned to the new district vision.  Often in schools, tasks are added without the provision of additional time and support to accomplish them.  An analysis of new and old processes helped administrators discover those that no longer align with the direction the district is headed.