Making Every Minute Count: An Introduction to the School Time Analysis Tool (STAT) Prepared for the Virginia Department of Education November 25, 2013

Our Webinar Today is Sponsored by NCTL Partner The Center on School Turnaround at WestED 2 Creating Pro-Turnaround Environment Administering & Managing Programs Effectively Providing TA to LEAs & Schools Advocating & Leading

NCTL: Who Are We? The National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) is dedicated to expanding learning time to improve student achievement and enable a well-rounded education.

NCTL: Our Strategy Improve School Practice: Through technical assistance, grow and strengthen the number of high- quality expanded learning time schools nationally Inform Policy: Support policy development and leverage federal, state, and local funding to support high- quality expanded learning time implementation Generate Knowledge: Document and disseminate effective practices of high- performing expanded learning time charter and district schools across the country Build Support: Build broad-based support to bring high-quality expanded-time school opportunities to all high- poverty students over time 4

Successful Districts and Schools Maximize Academic Learning Time Source: Elena Silva, “On the Clock: Rethinking the Way Schools Use Time,” Education Sector Reports, Academic Learning Time Time students gain and retain subject knowledge Academic Learning Time Time students gain and retain subject knowledge Instructional Time Time devoted to instruction Instructional Time Time devoted to instruction Allocated Class Time Total time in class Allocated Class Time Total time in class Allocated School Time Total time in school Allocated School Time Allocated Class Time Instructional Time 5

6 Optimize Time for Student Learning Use Time to help Students Thrive in School and Beyond Dedicate Time to Improve Teacher Effectiveness High-Performing Schools Focus on Eight Powerful Practices 6

Does Every Single Minute Count in Your Schools? School-Wide Time Analysis Key Question: How do schedules help or hinder schools from reaching their most important school-wide goals? Process: 1.Analyze school schedules to find out: How much time is allocated for highest priority subjects? How much time is “taken” away from the highest priorities? 2.Determine what schedule changes support the schools’ highest priorities 7

Putting the STAT To Use To learn how time in your school is allocated across three broad categories: Academics, Specials/Electives, and Other. To help your school and educators consider modifications to policies and practices that will optimize learning time for your students. Consider using this tool: Calculate the number of minutes in a week and hours in a whole school year that are spent on the three broad categories listed above. Assess whether changes are needed and what changes should be made regarding how time is used in your school so you can better reach your goals. Use the data generated by this tool to: 8

0 min1,950 min Weekly Allocated School Time Purposed Time Non- Purposed Time Academics and Support Non Core Academics Other Academics and Support -English -Math -Science -Social Studies -Foreign Lang. -Tutoring -Remediation -Targeted Supp. -Other -In class transitions -Misc. interruptions -P.A. announcements -In class transitions -Misc. interruptions -P.A. announcements Non Core Academics -Phys. Ed. -Art -Music -Computers or Technology -Community Building -Advisory -Other -Lunch/Recess -Homeroom -Transitions between classes -Study halls or Homework -Other The STAT Provides Visibility Into How Schools Really Allocate Time 9 Minutes

How Does the STAT Work? STEP 1: Enter students’ start and end times, days per week, and days per year STEP 2: Break down how time is across a week for a “typical” student It’s a 5-step web-based tool where users enter data, “Turbo Tax-style,” on how their school uses time: STEP 3: Make estimates about lost instructional minutes within classes due to daily interruptions STEP 4: Make estimates about lost instructional hours throughout the year due to special events STEP 5: Let the tool do the math so you can see the results – a snapshot of how time is spent for a typical student across the day, week and year 10

STAT Login Screen Access the STAT through this link:

Conducting a School Time Analysis WHAT YOU NEED Internet access Student schedules School calendar Information on activities that disrupt instructional time WHO YOU NEED Representative team of administrators, teachers, staff, and partners if applicable HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE Approximately 1 to 1.5 hours to enter the data and review findings FOLLOW-UP Share findings with other members of your team Prioritize a few areas for improvement and action steps Discuss ways to share with entire staff 12

Tips for Using the STAT Pick a “typical” student to get started Keep track of anything you classify as “other” Don’t lose sight of the goal: to get a snapshot of time use and start the discussion on how time can be used more effectively school-wide. Check out the STAT User Guide for guidance, suggestions, and pitfalls to avoid! 13

Possible Uses of the STAT Generate Ideas among Staff Collect Time Use Data Consider the amount of time your school spends across each of the three broad categories: Academics and Support Non Core Academics Other Help your school and educators consider modifications to policies and practices that will optimize learning time for your students Assess whether changes are needed and what changes should be made regarding how time is used in your school so you can better reach your goals National Center on Time & Learning 14

Smithfield Middle School KEY STAT FINDING: 36 minutes of each 6 hour day taken up by passing time, totaling 10% of daily allocated school time Action Steps 1. Established school wide goal to reduce passing time by 50% 2. Reorganized students and teachers into 3 interdisciplinary clusters 3. Reconfigured classrooms by cluster Before 6 Minutes After 3 Minutes Reduced passing time to 3 minutes, adding 1,800 minutes/year back into instruction How Do Schools Use Information Uncovered by the STAT Analysis? (1 of 2) Outcome 15

How Do Schools Use Information Uncovered by the STAT Analysis? (2 of 2) Crawford Elementary School KEY STAT FINDING: Class before lunch lost 7 minutes each day so children can wash hands, totaling 21 hours of lost instruction each year. Action Steps 1. Reversed lunch and recess periods so students wash hands after recess instead of during class time BeforeAfter 2. Rotated subjects taught before recess and after lunch to lessen the impact of longer transition time on any one subject Unexpected Benefit: Change allowed more students to finish their lunch because they weren’t rushing to recess Outcome 16

STAT Findings & Action Steps: Sample 17

What are the key findings from the data? ‒What is cause for celebration? ‒What is cause for concern? Where did we find pockets – large and/or small - of lost instructional time? ‒What small tweaks could we make right now to recapture some of that time? ‒What larger changes could we make to our schedule next year to maximize learning time? What are the next steps for this work? ‒What goals and action steps can we develop around 1-2 of our key findings? ‒How do we want to share the data, key findings, and suggested action steps with the full faculty? 18 Guiding Questions for Your STAT Preparation Team

Joe Rull Senior Director – State and District Engagement Group Joe McKown Vice President – State and District Engagement Group 19 To learn more about our work, visit us at: Join the Conversation: Like us on Facebook