I haven't conducted my interview yet because I am still thinking about various ways to formulate my interview questions. I am in a different position than most because our school is changing from the "block" style learning day to the "hybrid" or combination of traditional and block class lengths. This will greatly affect my program as well as the ways counselors place students. The counselors may be considering a new approach on how they look at recommending students.
We will have 7 periods daily with an optional zero period, and a study hall/"enrichment"/homeroom period two to three days a week. Thursdays are professional development days and students won't come in until about 9:30 in the morning.
There is so much going on in our school with the new schedule and with budget cuts that it's hard to speculate about how it will affect my program. Nonetheless, building a solid relationship with counselors would definitely be a valuable asset to the courses I teach. Effective communication will give our counselors a true perspective of what the courses have to offer. For example, when I first began teaching they were telling everyone my class was like "CSI", which is not even remotely close and some students were disapointed with that. These efforts will also keep our counselors up to date on changes with our curriculum or other areas of the program. If the counselors have a greater knowledge base of what I teach, they will also be able to compare those qualities to the qualities or interests of the students to make a "match" or effective placement which is a benefit to the students.
Hi Erica, We are piloting the htbrid for Paulding Co. this year. I believe this will benefit our students academically. It has been a process this year, but the professionals I am blessed to work with have made adjustments and I believe it will pay dividends.This schedule is about our students, it allows for greater advancement as well as an opportunity to catch up. I still have the different bell schedules posted!
ReplyDeleteErica, my county started this "hybrid" schedule this year, too. It does impact programs like ours that rely heavily on lab days. I've had to make a lot of cutbacks in performance, because of the traditional schedule one day, block another, and so on... And one daya week we have "Instructional Focus." That turned from 95 minutes of "instruction" based on grade level to 95 minutes of study hall. A waste of teachers' and students' time in my opinion. However, this time is utilized a lot by counselors. Especially counselors of seniors and juniors. I don't know how "successful" this hybrid schedule is, but I hope it goes back to one or the other. You may be feeling the same way.
ReplyDeleteErica, my county started this "hybrid" schedule this year, too. It does impact programs like ours that rely heavily on lab days. I've had to make a lot of cutbacks in performance, because of the traditional schedule one day, block another, and so on... And one daya week we have "Instructional Focus." That turned from 95 minutes of "instruction" based on grade level to 95 minutes of study hall. A waste of teachers' and students' time in my opinion. However, this time is utilized a lot by counselors. Especially counselors of seniors and juniors. I don't know how "successful" this hybrid schedule is, but I hope it goes back to one or the other. You may be feeling the same way.
ReplyDeleteHi, Erika - with all the scheduling changes coming your way you are correct that your relationship with your counselors is very important for next year. I'm glad to see you thinking ahead as you look to grow your program, even in the midst of change. You will find that these kinds of changes are fairly regular in school systems and having a good counselor friend is huge in maintaining a quality program.
ReplyDeleteI hope you keep us posted as to how it goes next year.