New Schedule Sets New Pace on Campus
The fall is already flying by at Rivers, but each day seems just a little slower for students and faculty.
With a new schedule in place, the school day is less fragmented, students spend less time in transition, and lengthier class periods provide more opportunity to dive into content. Faculty and administrators introduced the new scheduling model to change the pace of the day after sensing that the school day had become too rushed and busy in recent years.
With a new schedule in place, the school day is less fragmented, students spend less time in transition, and lengthier class periods provide more opportunity to dive into content. Faculty and administrators introduced the new scheduling model to change the pace of the day after sensing that the school day had become too rushed and busy in recent years.
The fall is already flying by at Rivers, but each day seems just a little slower for students and faculty.
With a new schedule in place, the school day is less fragmented, students spend less time in transition, and lengthier class periods provide more opportunity to dive into content. Faculty and administrators introduced the new scheduling model to change the pace of the day after sensing that the school day had become too rushed and busy in recent years.
“The newly designed schedule shows that we put excellence and quality of experience right at the center of what we do here,” said Carbery. “It’s a direct reflection of our priorities.”
When discussion regarding a new schedule began two years ago, Head of School Tom Olverson convened a committee of administrators and faculty members from the Upper and Middle Schools to conduct more extensive research. The committee met weekly throughout the 2011-2012 school year and underwent a thorough process of discussion, observation, working with an educational consultant, gathering feedback from the Student Advisors, looking at current brain research in education, comparing other schools’ schedules, and surveying teachers, students, and parents.
Toward the end of this process, the committee presented three new versions of the daily schedule to faculty members and asked them to vote for the most effective model. An overwhelming majority was in favor of the model implemented this school year.
“We had to take the athletic and Conservatory schedules into consideration, among other things,” said Caplan. “But overall, we made a list of priorities and the most important was reducing the busyness of the school day.”
In his own class, Caplan has already seen favorable results of the schedule change.
“With 45-minute periods, I felt like I could do one activity really well and another not quite as well,” he said. “In 80 minutes, I feel like I can do two or three things really well, and I love that feeling.”
The longer periods allow for more intensive math and science labs, and more in-class writing and discussion time in subjects like English, history, and foreign language. Regardless of discipline, the new schedule has encouraged faculty members to think more critically about how they use their time in the classroom.
“It presented a great opportunity to reevaluate our teaching,” said Caplan.
Carbery agrees.
“The faculty has worked incredibly hard to make this a smooth transition,” she said. “Overall, I think the change in scheduling has made us even more intentional about our pedagogy. As teachers, we are becoming more purposeful about how we spend class time.”
In addition to positive feedback from faculty members, students also appreciate the adjusted pace of the day. Marissa Birne ’15 says the new schedule freed up enough time to balance a packed homework schedule with extracurricular activities and still be in bed before 10:00 p.m. every night.
“I’m definitely more awake at school,” said Birne. “I can really focus my energy in class and I feel less scattered throughout the day. The longer periods are more interactive and it helps me get in the mindset for each particular class.”
Birne is an active member of the Rivers community. She is a singer in the Conservatory Program, member of the debate team and Model U.N., writer for the school newspaper, community service enthusiast, and expansion agent for the Junior State of America. Even with all of her academic and extracurricular commitments, Birne says the new schedule has created enough free time for her to pursue personal interests like reading for pleasure.
“I wasn’t able to read any books outside of class last year, and this year I’ve already read six,” said Birne. “I know I do better in school when I’m happy inside the classroom while also succeeding at things I care about outside the classroom.”
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With a new schedule in place, the school day is less fragmented, students spend less time in transition, and lengthier class periods provide more opportunity to dive into content. Faculty and administrators introduced the new scheduling model to change the pace of the day after sensing that the school day had become too rushed and busy in recent years.
According to Head of Upper School Patti Carbery, the aim of the schedule change is to positively impact student health, stress levels, and academic performance.
“There were really two main drivers behind the changes,” she said. “We wanted to create a schedule that provides for the best overall quality of student experience, and we wanted to deepen classroom learning.”
While the new schedule ensures the same amount of time in the classroom as the previous model, classes meet less frequently and for 80 minutes rather than 45 minutes per period. The decrease in transition time throughout the day encourages more depth in each class—discussions are no longer cut short, and students and teachers can delve into content without having to switch gears after 45 minutes.
“The newly designed schedule shows that we put excellence and quality of experience right at the center of what we do here,” said Carbery. “It’s a direct reflection of our priorities.”
When discussion regarding a new schedule began two years ago, Head of School Tom Olverson convened a committee of administrators and faculty members from the Upper and Middle Schools to conduct more extensive research. The committee met weekly throughout the 2011-2012 school year and underwent a thorough process of discussion, observation, working with an educational consultant, gathering feedback from the Student Advisors, looking at current brain research in education, comparing other schools’ schedules, and surveying teachers, students, and parents.
Toward the end of this process, the committee presented three new versions of the daily schedule to faculty members and asked them to vote for the most effective model. An overwhelming majority was in favor of the model implemented this school year.
English teacher Mac Caplan, who served on the new schedule committee, said there were several factors involved in creating this version of the schedule.
“We had to take the athletic and Conservatory schedules into consideration, among other things,” said Caplan. “But overall, we made a list of priorities and the most important was reducing the busyness of the school day.”
In his own class, Caplan has already seen favorable results of the schedule change.
“With 45-minute periods, I felt like I could do one activity really well and another not quite as well,” he said. “In 80 minutes, I feel like I can do two or three things really well, and I love that feeling.”
The longer periods allow for more intensive math and science labs, and more in-class writing and discussion time in subjects like English, history, and foreign language. Regardless of discipline, the new schedule has encouraged faculty members to think more critically about how they use their time in the classroom.
“It presented a great opportunity to reevaluate our teaching,” said Caplan.
Carbery agrees.
“The faculty has worked incredibly hard to make this a smooth transition,” she said. “Overall, I think the change in scheduling has made us even more intentional about our pedagogy. As teachers, we are becoming more purposeful about how we spend class time.”
In addition to positive feedback from faculty members, students also appreciate the adjusted pace of the day. Marissa Birne ’15 says the new schedule freed up enough time to balance a packed homework schedule with extracurricular activities and still be in bed before 10:00 p.m. every night.
“I’m definitely more awake at school,” said Birne. “I can really focus my energy in class and I feel less scattered throughout the day. The longer periods are more interactive and it helps me get in the mindset for each particular class.”
Birne is an active member of the Rivers community. She is a singer in the Conservatory Program, member of the debate team and Model U.N., writer for the school newspaper, community service enthusiast, and expansion agent for the Junior State of America. Even with all of her academic and extracurricular commitments, Birne says the new schedule has created enough free time for her to pursue personal interests like reading for pleasure.
“I wasn’t able to read any books outside of class last year, and this year I’ve already read six,” said Birne. “I know I do better in school when I’m happy inside the classroom while also succeeding at things I care about outside the classroom.”
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