FISHER MIDDLE SCHOOL Class Schedule Revision

Why Revise the Schedule?  Improve student achievement  Promote effective transition from elementary to middle school and middle school to high school  Move to a CCCS aligned literacy block rather than separate reading and writing classes

Why Revise the Schedule?  Extend mathematics instructional time  Provide effective literacy and mathematics intervention for targeted students through co- teaching and small group models  Implement best practices from CAPA visits, data gathering, and comparative studies

Steps Taken  Research and professional development on middle school schedule best practices  District and building committee work  Visits and data gathered from other middle schools  Drafts and proposals developed and reviewed  Communication plan developed for school stakeholders  Training and professional development planned and implemented

Features of the Schedule  Maintains middle school small learning communities (teams)  Preserves Humanities, G&T, instrumental/vocal music programs  Increases instructional time  Creates a unified CCCS-aligned literacy block  Expands enrichment offerings for students  Provides co-teaching and small-group intervention models

Schedule Overview  Daily homeroom period  Daily PE class  Daily enrichment following an alternate day schedule  Grade level lunch periods  Block schedule within a 9 period day

Sample Grade 6 Team Schedule

Sample Grade 6 Student Schedule

Sample Grade 7 Team Schedule

Sample Grade 7 Student Schedule

Sample Grade 8 Team Schedule

Sample Grade 8 Student Schedule

Enrichment Offerings 6 th Grade 7 th Grade 8 th Grade Exploring Art Experiencing Art Emphasizing Art Computer Applications Robotic Engineering Computer Animation World Cultures You and the Law Folktales/Myths/Legends Exploring French Beginning French French I Exploring Spanish Beginning Spanish Spanish I Study Skills Financial Literacy Advanced Art Handel to Hip Hop Musical Theatre Vocal Ensemble History of Jazz Band Multi-Media Video Music Technology Orchestra Beginning French Healthy Living Chorus Beginning Spanish Band Advanced Orchestra Band Orchestra Orchestra Chorus Chorus Symphony

School Community Communication Plan April 29 th Invitation letter sent to all parents regarding schedule presentation on May 9 th. May 9 th Presentation at FMS for th-8th parents. May 10 th Website updated with PowerPoint and enrichment brochure and selection sheet. May th Student Presentation for current 6 th and 7 th grade students. May 17 th -23 rd Schedule presentations for incoming 6 th grade students.

FAQ’s How will my child’s enrichment courses be scheduled? Each family will receive a course description guide and selection sheet. Parent/guardians, with the student, should prioritize their top 6 enrichment courses for their child’s grade level. All enrichment selection are due by May 24 th for current 6 th and 7 th graders and by May 31 st for all current 5 th graders. Students should submit their enrichment course selection sheet to their current guidance counselor. If you have any further questions, please contact you chill’s guidance counselor. Are there pre-requisites for any of the enrichment courses? Yes, there are some pre-requisite courses. Band & Orchestra: require prior involvement at the elementary or middle school level Spanish I and French I: require Beginning Spanish or French Advanced Art: requires teacher recommendation At each grade level, there are advance music options (string ensemble, symphony, vocal ensemble) which require a teacher recommendation

FAQ’s continued Are academic courses semester or year long? All academic courses of English Language Arts, Mathematics, Scince and Social Studies are year-long courses. The Science and Social Studies courses are on an A/B day rotation for the school year. How will block scheduling affect class sizes? The projection for the school year is to maintain the student class size. Will G&T Mathematics and English Language Arts Humanities courses be offered? Yes, each grade level will maintain these advanced courses. If my child is struggling in Mathematics or English Language Arts, can they receive additional support? Yes, the revised schedule expands the support options available in the building. An enrichment course at the 6 th grade level that we feel is important is Study Skills. This course will assist students with organizational skills, study habits, time management, etc. Beyond this, each grade level will be offering different levels of support which can occur during the school day as either an in-class support model or a pull-out class model. The in-class support model is in the form of co-teaching while the pull-out course occurs during the enrichment schedule for a semester and is a small group model.

Questions Thank you