Agenda - 11-10-1998 - Attachment #3a

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Decisions about the time allotments reflect what research and experts deem necessary for sound instruction to occur and free teachers from some of the pressure of delivering a full curriculum in a short amount of time. Longer blocks of uninterrupted time give students the opportunity to engage in activities that allow them to construct their own meaning and for the assessment - learning cycle to occur. Building on the understanding of the reading - writing connection, the reading/language arts block combines the suggested time for delivering a balanced reading program with 45 minutes of writing. Other time frames allow for more extensive use of modeling,- diverse grouping of students, and engagement in meaningful problem - solving where students take more responsibility for their learning. Students within a house (mentioned below) will receive instruction in these areas at a common time in order to facilitate flexible grouping of students. Scheduling also will be designed to allow teachers joint planning time. Scheduling issues will be addressed by the scheduling subcommittee. Grade Level Organization The school includes grades Prekindergarten through five which are organized into three houses: Pre -K and grades K -1; grades 2 -3; and grades 4-5. In the building, classrooms are clustered in sets of four and, with the K -1 and 2 -3 houses, each cluster of four will contain 2 classes of each grade level to promote the concept of a "house." The proximity of the fourth and fifth grade classrooms allows easy access to each grade level. Their location in the building helps support their efforts to build a small community within their house. Within houses, teachers will loop, following their students up to the next grade or pair with a teacher in the next grade (K -1, 2 -3, 4-5) who receives their students the following year. Looping provides greater continuity for students and allows teachers and families the opportunity to become better acquainted by developing meaningful relationships over a two -year period. A common understanding of looping will be developed by.teachers as well as procedures to follow for placing students new to the school, dealing with the mismatch of teacher or student personalities/style, and other related issues. While Pre -K students will not loop, opportunities will be provided for students who will attend the school as kindergartners to interact with kindergarten classes. Class Size Classes will be staffed at a ratio of 20 students per teacher. The impact of a smaller class size on student achievement is strengthened by qualified teachers, sound instruction, a strong curriculum, and appropriate assessment. Teachers in Pre -K through 1 will have full time assistants, grades 2 -3 will have half -time assistants, and grades 4 -5 will have one assistant per grade level. There are many benefits of having teacher assistants, however, the impact of teaching assistants on student achievement for most students is limited. There is a high correlation between increased student achievement and the teacher which means that the relevant discussion should be about the teacher - student ratio rather than the adult - student ratio. The results of the phone survey indicated that 96% of the parents contacted rated "reducing class size to 20 students" as important. School Day While it is recognized that the amount and use of time has an impact on student achievement, the length of the regular school day will not be extended, as proposed, because of the the funding required to compensate teachers and assistants for this time. When parents were surveyed about length of the school day, only 56% felt that the lengthening of the school day by 30760 minutes was important. However, discussion with the Superintendent's Cabinet and the Transportation Director, Marylin Truelove, indicates that extending the school day is feasible from a transportation PA