Ferryway 2.0

1.) Can we get copies of the schedules (master – grade level)?

• Joanne Lambert will fax them to us.

2.) How did the schedule change? Lunches/snacks?

• Kept 30 minute lunch periods. Have two working snacks – one snack the school provides, the other the students bring. School had to buy rubber bins to store the snacks in each room.
• Food service got a separate grant for the snack – it’s usually one baked good and applesauce.

3.) Are starting and ending times the same for all (students and teachers)?

• Starting and ending times are the same for all faculty/staff.
• Band/music and outside counselors kept their original schedules and are not part of the extended day.
• Paras were given the option of coming in 15 minutes early in the morning to staff the cafeteria during breakfast, but they can leave 15 minutes early at the end of the day.

4.) How are the extra minutes spent? In addition to extra classroom time – what other programs were created, advisory, clubs, enrichment – how were these handled?

• Class time was extended to 75 and 120 minute blocks. Salemwood got the Baystate reading grant and had to implement this into the school day and required 120 minute literacy blocks.

There are a variety of new programs:

• Connections — 1 x 60 per month. Partner older students with younger students to do creative art projects.

• Academic Creative Enrichment (ACE) – 2 x 90 per month. Teachers create academic enrichment programs, parents could volunteer to run a group themselves, 15:1 student teacher ratio. These are half year courses.
• 21st Century – 2 x 60 per week. Time for Peacebuilders 5-8, and Second Step K-4. Students read “Time for Kids,” or do MCAS test prep.
• Partnership for Community Schools (PCSM) – once a month from 12:30 – 3:15, PCSM brings in 27 members and the takeover of the students to give teachers common planning time.
• Advisor/Advisee – 2 x 60 per month. Done in grades 5 – 8, separated boys from girls (students voted) they do a lot of activities from the Peacebuilder binder. Assistant principal makes a suggested lesson plan. Teachers do not do these activities with their own students.
• These programs all occur on Wednesdays and it’s called, “Wacky Wednesday’s.”

5.) How attentive are the students during the last hour? Do you recommend activities or academics at the end of the day?

• They have the directed study period at the end of the day and this is the toughest time for the students and faculty.
• They’re going to change the schedule next year to stagger the directed study period.
• The students like the ACE program so activities like this may be better suited for the end of the day. 

6.) Are all the staff involved in extended day? How did specialists (SPED/ELL/SPEECH) fit into the extended learning time?

• Custodians, secretaries, lunch people, band, music, outside counselors kept their regular schedules

7.) Are students kept after school? Or, are there other discipline policies in place?

• There has been an increase in behavior problems. Students can be kept after school until 4:00 by an assistant principal. They also created the “Delta Room” which is an in-house suspension room.
• The Salemwood used some of the grant funds to hire four school wide paras. The paras cover classes for classroom teachers to have common planning time and they also rotate in and out of the Delta Room. Teachers also staff the delta room as a duty period, but it’s mostly handled by the paras. This is not a place for teachers to send the students if they are misbehaving during class time. If a student is misbehaving in class, they go to an assistant principal. Many teachers have chairs outside the classroom doors and there were students in the hall.

8.) How is the extended day impacting students with disabilities? Are more services able to be provided?

• With 90 minute blocks, teachers can pull students to reinforce concepts – it was much harder to pull students from 45 minute block.

9.) Did you add staff? Who? How were they funded?

• Four school wide paras and a part time guidance counselor were hired.
• There is a grant-funded position for an ELT coordinator.
• One teacher recommended that the money be used to fund teachers not consultants. 

10.) Which groups were involved in the planning of the extended day activities?

• N/A

11.) What has attendance looked like for teachers/students?

• They don’t have hard data yet. Great student attendance for “Wacky Wednesdays.”

12.) What are the benefits of extended day?

• Enrichment for students. 
• Focus on MCAS questions.
• Students say the best thing is enrichment … weight training, yoga, coffeehouse, dance, etc.
• Students also like directed study so they can get their homework completed. 

13.) What are the drawbacks of extended day? Will you apply for the grant next year?

• Teachers/administrators are tired at the end of the day, “Extended day is definitely longer.”
  • Students say:
    • “Not enough time to do after-school activities.”
    • “It’s getting dark when we go home.”
    • “It’s hard to pay attention during such long classes.”
    • “Teachers don’t perform their best because they feel too tired.” 

14.) Will you apply for the grant next year?

• Yes, although there are many kinks to work out, the administrators said that they believe in extended day. 
• One teacher said that she wants to give it another year to work out the bugs.
• Another teacher said that it wasn’t worth the money and she would go back to a regular day schedule if she could.

15.)  What are your expected results? How are you measuring these results?

• Have not developed an assessment tool yet.

16.) How did the class time for specials/exploratories change?

• Spanish was changed to an exploratory.  They have two Spanish teachers and they offer Spanish school-wide.
• One student complained that other languages weren’t offered. 

17.) Does everyone have the same amount of preparation time? Is common planning time worked into the schedule?

• Yes, all within five minutes of each other.  The 7th and 8th grades did not lose any prep/meeting time.

18.)  Is common planning time worked into the schedule?  Is there any time made available for vertical teaming?

• Yes, the four school-wide paras were hired to cover classes to provide teachers with common planning time and the PCSM gives school-wide time for common planning time.

19.)  Is there time during the school day for homework assistance?

• Yes, directed study time.  Some of the 8th grade students we spoke with complained that teachers give too much homework.  Students didn’t feel that they should have homework and an extended day.

20.) Do you give homework to be done outside of school?

• Yes

21.) Did you have to negotiate with any labor unions?

• Yes, these negotiations need to be completed by April as part of the grant application.

22.) How are release days handled?

• On Early Release Wednesdays, students leave the same time as other
  Malden schools, but teachers are obligated to stay until their contracted time. 
• Although PD is supposed to happen at the Salemwood, it’s not always possible - so teachers attend meetings at other schools and then return to the Salemwood after the district PD is completed.  This time is used for faculty meetings.

23.) What kinds of professional development activities have you been doing?  How is it scheduled?  Do they use outside resources or internal resources?

• Teachers 21 and Baystate Reading are the two largest forms of PD, and it’s all done in house.  Department meetings are scheduled in other locations.

24.) Any additional advice?  What would you do differently?

• Keep the schedule simple.  Have the school on one “bell” schedule and allow different grades the flexibility to work within that schedule.
• Do not start any new initiatives at the same time.
• “Took on too much … slow it down.”

25.)  How did you choose your partner programs, and what have been the benefits and disadvantages of working with them?

• PCSM – biggest issue is controlling the students
• Teachers 21 for professional development 

26.)  Other comments:

• The Salemwood looked at staggering the day and allowing the staff to choose whether or not to work extended day, but they felt that all of the faculty/staff should be in this together. 
• They also looked at extending the year, but did not want to separate themselves out as a school that was not on the same yearly schedule as the rest of the K-8 schools.
• They said that the schedule was “too piecemeal” and they were trying to do too many different things with the extra time.  Again – keep it simple. 

Compiled by:  Paul Teixeira 
Visitation Team: Robin Desantis, Bonnie Paige, Toni-Marie Perna, Paul Teixeira, Jenna Wasson