How long have you been an administrator for and for what type of school?
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A: I am currently in my sixth year as associate principal at a K-9 school.
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B: I have been an administrator for 23 years. I have been an Assistant Principal, Vice Principal and a Principal in K-9 schools Elem JH, 7-12 JH SH schools and 10-12 HS.
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C: Currently this is my 20th year in Administration. I have been associate Principle and Principle in 6-12, K-9, K-5, 7-9 schools.
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In your experience, what type of school calendar is most successful academically for students, and why?
A: Having taught in all three systems and being an administrator in a school that has employed a yearly calendar and semester system I think it depends on the age of the student. Older students have longer attention spans and can spend longer chunks of time on an assignment or project. I believe by about grade 8 or 9 a semester system is appropriate as it gives teachers opportunities to build bigger inquiry projects into their schedule.
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B: I would say a semester system as this is the calendar I have used for 28years, however as a result of the pandemic I would say the quarter system. I know schools that have used the quarter system for years and they state that they would never go back to the semester system as students and staff feel students can be more successful focusing on two subjects at once for a shorter more intensive period of time.
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C: For elementary students, definitely yearlong courses are best. For Jr. high or middle school, I have had experience with both yearlong and semester courses. I believe that courses that are only a semester in length are better for Jr. high aged students. It allows them to delve deeper into discussions and have more time to work on projects at one time. For high school students, my preference would be the Quarter system. For students that are more trade or arts oriented, they too can focus in more on their preferred subjects and spend more devoted time in their subjects.
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The progression from full year in elementary to semester courses in Jr high and eventually quarter length courses in high school helps students to slowly focus more and more in their studies. This also helps them to prepare for post-secondary studies.
Consider the current school calendar you have this year. What was the rationale behind implementing this type of calendar?
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A: We had just moved our grade 8/9 students to semesters in the 2019/20 school year. This year we went back to a full year calendar to match what our division planned for online learners. This was to ensure a scope and sequence that was comparable in order to give students the flexibility to move between in person and at home learning as seamlessly as possible.
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B: Ability to focus on two subjects [in the quarter system] at once vs 4 subjects. This is critical for students who are required to isolate at home. Last spring students overwhelming told us four subjects at once when on-line was very difficult. If required to pivot to total on-line learning, we believe we are setting our students up for success.
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C: The district decided that since many students would be transferring back and forth from In-School to At-Home learning, ALL courses needed to be on the same timeline (full year courses). Thus, our schedule changed.
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In general, what do administrators consider when creating a school’s structure?
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A: The number one focus must be to create a situation that allows for optimal student learning. This would be different for every grade and every school. Other factors will come into play such as facility availability (things like a music room or gymnasium) and any special programming a school might want to offer. However, optimal student learning should be the main driving force. In our case as a K-9 school looking at staffing and who might float between Junior high and elementary also plays a role in designing a schedule that works.
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B: I believe we must consider what is best for students as our touchstone for any decision we make. If we can not answer the question by saying this is best for students we should not be moving in that direction. All our factors are important to consider however it must be based upon what is best for students.
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C: We must consider the needs of the community as well as the needs of the students. If we were in a very academic or gifted school, those needs would outweigh the needs for more Option type of classes. If we were in a very rural school with many ESL needs (many farm workers have children that are learning English) we would focus on ESL supports along with more Option classes focused on Trades and possibly Life Skills. Depends on your location.
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Typically, in a city it is important to find a balance and to be able to offer as many Option type of classes as possible in order to expose students to a variety of subject areas. Also, in looking at past academic results if we were to have low Math outcomes (for example) then as a school we could allocate an extra Math class as the 100 hr allocation for Math is a minimum. However, we would always need the staffing and be able to fit it into a schedule.
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