By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Hays Middle School staff is proposing a change to the school's class schedule that they hope will be more consistent.
An HMS schedule committee presented the proposal to the Hays school board Monday night.
The proposed schedule would create four 75-minute class periods per day. In addition, students would have 32 minutes of Falcon Squad time and 40 minutes of seminar daily. All students would have seminar during the same period each day.
Students would still have eight classes. They would have a black schedule on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and a gold schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
This schedule would be consistent on short weeks and weeks with early release days.
"The teachers were noticing that there was not enough consistent instruction time on a day-to-day basis," Deena Clark, HMS counselor, told the board. "Consistent meaning one day we have them for a certain amount of time and the next day we might have them a little bit longer. Sometimes they have classes one day and others they may not."
Clark said the current schedule can be confusing for 12- to 14-year-old students.
The teachers also reported a low rate of homework completion, which they hope the additional seminar time and extended class periods could remedy.
"We have a lot of students whose families cannot help them at home," Clark said, "and our time allotted in the classroom of 42 minutes a day is very short when the teacher is teaching math concepts and needing guided instruction and independent practice. That is not enough time for the instruction."
The schedule committee was also concerned students were spending 32 minutes each day in passing periods.
Clark also noted the readers/writers workshop curriculum requires students to have more than 42 minutes of instruction.
The schedule committee surveyed teachers and students, as well as spoke to parents about the proposed schedule. Eighty-three percent of teachers said they supported the schedule change.
The current schedule makes it difficult to share staff, because HMS' schedule does not match with the other district schools. Seminar classes are also very large — 35 to 40 students — which makes it difficult for students to receive the help they need, members of the committee said.
The new schedule will allow for the gym to be used ever hour of the day, which staff hopes will allow the district to better control class sizes.
Jerry Braun, special education teacher said, "This is a schedule that is a consistent schedule that works everyday, all year long, every week. ... We know that kids do better with that consistency. We feel if we can have a consistent routine, we feel kids can be more successful in that situation."
Students and teachers both also supported the common seminar time, which will allow students to work with teachers during seminar. This is not possible under the current schedule because teachers are usually teaching class during seminar.
Braun said 42 minute classes were too short, but the block classes were a little too long.
"Seventy-five minutes seemed doable," he said. "You can break things up. You can do multiple activities. You can do a lab. You can get your workshop things done.
"When you are going to PE class, you can actually have time to shower maybe. When you are going to play an instrument, you can get it out and warm it up and play a whole song."
The committee also addressed challenges associated with the proposed schedule, which included the potential for students to fall behind if they have repeated absences.
The students will lose instructional time over a two-week period of the schedule. However, the committee members believe the proposed schedule makes up for that lost time with increased efficiency.
Music teachers also expressed concern about losing the benefit of daily repetition in their classes. However, Albers said there will be opportunities for additional music practice during seminar time.
Under the new schedule, the HMS staff is proposing adding English teachers so seventh- and eighth-grade students can take English all year instead of just a semester.
The schedule would also allow students to have more elective options.
Board member Lori Hertel said, "One thing I know about middle schoolers is that one thing that they need is consistency in their schedules and their lives. This brings more consistency. It also seems to me that it cuts down on anxiety. It really looks like a good schedule for middle schoolers."
Board member Craig Pallister, former HMS principal, was also complimentary of the committee's presentation. However, he asked where the school intended to put the new classes that would be required by the new schedule.
HMS Principal Tom Albers said two rooms will be opened up when the change is made to the seminar schedule, but space will still be tight.
Staffing
HMS is asking for the addition of four and half new teachers to accommodate the new schedule and address an influx of about 50 new students expected as the fifth-grade class moves up next year.
Albers said the school would need at least 3.5 full-time equivalent positions just to address the influx of new students.
The half-time position would be a woods teacher that would also be half-time at HHS.
The cost of the new positions would be about $325,000, which would include salary and benefits.
Superintendent Ron Wilson said he believes the district should have the funds available to add those positions.
For the 2021-22 school year, the staff is requesting the following additions:
- Two kindergarten teachers at Roosevelt and Wilson to reduce class sizes
- New English teacher at HHS to reduce class sizes
- Half-time HHS health/PE teacher to reduce class sizes
- HHS family and consumer science teacher to add Pathway opportunities
- New reading intervention teacher at Wilson. Wilson is the only elementary school in the district without this service.
Wilson said if 2020-21 kindergarten enrollment is higher than expected, the district will likely add the new kindergarten teachers this fall instead of waiting another year. Kindergarten round-up for the district is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the HHS cafeteria.
Additional requests include:
- Math teacher at Roosevelt to work with students working below grade level
- Tier three behavior room teacher at Roosevelt
- Edguniuity (School within a School) half-time teacher at HHS to help with remediation, credit retrieval and student schedule flexibility
- Quarter-time music teacher at Roosevelt
- Quarter-time art teacher at Roosevelt