A master schedule can make or break academy implementation. How can we best assure a master schedule that supports both academy student cohorts and academy teacher common planning time? This session features best practices in developing a school wide master schedule that supports academies and other small learning communities. This session will also introduce participants to a new, free online master schedule guide and resources you can use.

1. #NAFNext2014

2. Taming the Master Schedule:
Scheduling Academies, Pathways, &
other small learning communities
Patricia Clark
College & Career Academy Support Network
(CCASN)/UCBerkeley
patricia510@gmail.com 510.504.3826
#NAFNext2014

3. Why a session on master scheduling?
Who are you?
* Name, Title, Context (Location, Bell Schedule),
Experience with Building Master Schedules
OR Amount of Torn hair? Level of blood
pressure? Drinking problems? OR Scheduling Bliss
Your facilitator
Welcome!

4. * To increase our own expertise, efficiency, and
effectiveness in building a successful Master
Schedule
* To acquire valuable master schedule tools,
strategies and resources
* To build and contribute to a community of
practice around effective master scheduling
Session Objectives
#NAFNext2014

6. Not really this
Complicated
……
But just as
Detailed
The Master Schedule Cycle

8. A schedule in which ALL students and
teachers are successfully cohorted in their
respective academies, where each academy
team (or grade level academy team or
upper/lower division academy team) of
teachers shares common planning time; and
where every student is supported to
successfully complete a challenging,
interdisciplinary program of study that results
in her/him graduating college-and-career-
ready.
The Perfect Master Schedule

9. So… If you are the person/s or team
who has ultimate responsibility for the
master schedule, what is one indicator
that you have done a good job?
So… If

10. 10 minutes after
the beginning of 1st
Period on the 1st
day of school.
The Counselors’ Hall….

11. * Fundamental need of Academy/ System of
Academies and the school as a whole
* Master Schedule issues are the most frequent
complaint of struggling academies
* If the Master Schedule is done well, it supports
the vision for learning and teaching in the school and
academy.
* If the Master Schedule is poorly done, the
result is frustration for students, for teachers, and
for parents.
Why is the Master Schedule So
Important?

12. * Scheduling is an inherently complex process
* Many factors to incorporate
* Constraints and Opportunities
* Academies/Pathways add new complexities
* Student “cohort” scheduling
* Teacher common planning (support for academy
communities of practice)
* (If possible) Coordination time for Academy
leads
* Partnerships, Work-based Learning, & dual
enrollment opportunities
Why is the Master Schedule So
Challenging?

13. * The Master Schedule is complicated;
however….
Bottom Line: As you build the scheduling
expertise of your master schedule team, implement
a thoughtful and inclusive process, and utilize best
practices, it is very possible to do master scheduling
well.
The Bottom Line

14. Scheduling with an Academy Lens
• Student recruitment/selection involves high
expectations for all; heterogeneous grouping with
each academy reflecting the diversity of
school/district
* SLCs: interdisciplinary Academy Programs of Study
• Cohort Scheduling
• Common planning time/community of practice
• Academy Lead’s Coordination Time
• Partnerships with Business, Postsecondary,
Government, and Community

15. Scheduling with
an Academy Lens
• College and Career Readiness (including, all
students have access to advanced courses, access
to CTE)
• Work-based Learning (internships, practica)
• Personalized Student Support (Adult advocacy,
tutoring, etc.)

16. Program of Study: College preparatory
curriculum organized around a career theme; 3-4
years
• Core academic classes
• A sequence of career technical courses
• Interdisciplinary teaching and learning
• Project-based, inquiry approach to learning;
deeper learning
College & Career Academies/Pathways

17. • Stage 1 – Planning, Design, Preliminary Tasks
• Stage 2 – Student Academy/Program of Study
Selection; Elective Course Selection; Tallies
• Stage 3 – Building the Master Schedule
• Stage 4 – Analysis, Adjustment, Distribution of
Student and Teacher Schedules
• Stage 5 – Fine-Tuning, Readjustment &
Assessment (…..begin the cycle anew)
Stages of the Master Schedule
Process

18. The Role of the District in Supporting
Effective Scheduling

19. Stage 1: Planning
• Assemble Master Schedule Team
• Establish set of Guiding Principles
• Identify and address any scheduling
opportunities, needs, or constraints
• Dialogue/Communicate w. all Stakeholders
• Develop/Disseminate Master Schedule Plan,
Process, and Timeline
• Review/Update Curriculum & Courses
• Develop Pathway & Course selection process
and materials
– Tips: Involve stakeholders early; Use visual
representations

20. •Will ALL students be in Academies?
•To what extent will each Academy have a distinct
program of study (its own curriculum)?
SIZE MATTERS –
- Optimum Size of an Academy
- Optimum # of Academies per School
* Will Academies include grades 9-12? 10-12? Other
parameters? (importance of establishing course
numbers and tags unique to each Academy)
Sidebar: Some Academy Planning
Considerations

21. • Will some classes (or course sections) be “global”
– open to students from all Academies?
• Will certain courses be offered in multiple
Academies OR in all Academies? (Example: If World
Cultures is offered in all Academies, there will likely be a
need to establish a different course number, tag, or
subscript for each Academy-specific World Culture
section/s)
• Will some Academy courses be open to students
from other Academeis? (Example, AP Biology in a
Health Academy, AP Physics in an Engineering Academy,
etc.)
Sidebar: Some Academy Planning
Considerations

22. • How will each Academy Teacher Team share a
common planning period that enables the team
to function as a community of practice? (entire
team, lower/upper division team, grade-level
team, etc.)
• Will there be a release period/coordination
period for the Academy lead teacher?
Academy Considerations

23. • Prepare students & their families to make
informed Academy & Course Choices; Support
students throughout the selection/registration
process. (adult advocacy)
• Distribute Academy Program of Study AND
Course Selection/Registration Packet/s
• Make presentations to students/parents
• Complete Academy recruitment & selection
process
• Complete course registration process
• Check & verify everything. Accuracy is critical.
Stage 2: Academy/Program of Study
& Course Selection

24. • Finalize student academy/course tallies and lists
• Equity considerations (Assure that each Academy
reflects diversity of the school as a whole (use of
data/policies)
• District “rollover” considerations
• Determine final course offerings and the actual
number of course sections to be offered (for each
course, each department, each Academy)
• Print final course tallies and conflict matrix
Stage 2 – Academy/course selection
& Tallies

25. Determine
• The courses that will be Academy-specific at each
grade level (as appropriate)
• The percentage of the student day that will be
spent in academy specific courses
• The number of teachers needed on each academy
team to support academy student enrollment
Tag/Flag/Indicate – Tag Academy students; Tag
Academy courses; Tag other site specific SLCs/
programs (scheduling, data gathering, analysis)
An Academy Sidebar

26. Stage 3: Building the Master Schedule

27. Building the Master Schedule

28. • The extent and quality of prior planning and the
accuracy of student information has much to do
with the success of construction.
• Important Principles for Construction:
• Equal access to challenging curriculum for ALL
students
• Heterogeneous Academies – NOT separate
honors, separate special education, separate
ELL sections, etc.
• Cohort scheduling of “pure” communities of
students with teams of teachers.
Building the Master Schedu;e

29. • Common Planning Time – the “Linchpin” –
(interdisciplinary curriculum development,
student support, Academy management, etc.)
• Academy enrollment is guiding force for Academy
teacher selection and assignment.
• Academy cohorts MUST be scheduled early (or in
conjunction with singletons) and their cohort
integrity maintained throughout the process.
Master Schedule Construction (continued)

30. Common Planning Time Limit Calculation
Example:
Total number of students – 1500
Total number of teachers – 56
Number of periods an individual teacher is assigned – 5
Maximum student case load for a teacher – 165
Maximum class size – 32
Limiting divisor – case load or maximum class size?
165 / 5 = 33 -vs- Maximum class size of 32
1500 / 32 = 47 (rounded up)
56 – 47 = 9 – Total number of preps per period
Tool: Common Planning Time Estimator – Excel Spreadsheet
Possible Exceptions: Multiple Lunch Periods
Stacking of larger class size classes (Physical Education
Periods designed for fewer students – optional periods

31. Creating a conflict matrix helps you see if there are
conflicts for students – based on student course
requests -- if certain courses are placed in the same
period.
Conflict Matrix

32. Advanced Band 3
Art Design 2
Biology 22
Chemistry 2
English 32
Filipino 3
French 7
Government/Econ 32
Journalism 2
Leadership 2
Marching Band 10
Physics 13
Spanish 12
Studio Art 1
Course Title Number of Requests
Calculus – 32 Requests
Sample Conflict Matrix

33. Conflict Matrix Considerations
• Mandatory Placements
• Pathway Courses
• Special Education
• English Language Learners
• Singletons
• Doubletons
• Tripletons
• Conflict Totals Per Period
• Hyperdispersion
Placement Order

34. Spanish 4 2 Sections
Spanish 5 1 Section
French4 /French 5 1 Section
English 12 2 Sections
Physics 2 Sections
Government/Econ 2 Sections
Teacher Cadet 1 Section
Calculus 1 Section
Integrated Math III 2 Sections
Integrated Math IV 2 Sections
Statistics 2 Sections
Biology 1 Section
Chemistry 1 Section
Studio Art 1 Section
21 Total Sections
Conflict Matrix Practice - 21 Sections in the Master Schedule

35. Student 1
Calculus
Biology
Government/Economics
English 12
Physics
Spanish 4
Student 2
Integrated Math IV
Chemistry
Teacher Cadet
French 5
Government/Economics
English 12
Student 3
Studio Art
Spanish 5
Statistics
English 12
Government/Economics
Biology
Student 4
Integrated Math III
English 12
Physics
Spanish 4
Government/Economics
Chemistry
Student 5
Spanish 5
Teacher Cadet
Integrated Math IV
Studio Art
English 12
Government/Economics
5 Students to Schedule
The Task – Using a 6-period student day and the 21 sections
provided, develop a master schedule the will accommodate all
5 students.

36. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Teacher
Cadet
Studio Art
Spanish 4 Spanish 4
Physics Biology Physics Spanish 5
Chemistry Calculus French 4
French 5
English 12 English 12
Integrated
Math III
Integrated
Math III
Statistics Integrated
Math IV
Statistics Integrated
Math IV
Gov
Econ
Gov
Econ
One of
Many
Solutions

37. Steps for Successful
Construction
• Always refer back to priorities set forth by the
school & the scheduling team.
• Following the PDSA cycle- Plan, Do, Study,
Act. (Maintain scheduling history/
scheduling data over time.)
• Step 1- Have a large visual of the schedule
available to all key stakeholders. (Magnetic OR
foam boards work well)

38. Steps for Successful
Construction
• Step 2- Analyze building and plan for close
proximity of Pathway classes.
• Step 3- Lay out Pathway blocks, according to
course tallies, at first without teacher names.
Include common planning time for each
Pathway teacher team.

39. Steps for Successful
Construction
• Step 4- Place singleton courses and identify
conflicts and other constraints (see “Dirty Dozen”)
that could potentially break down Pathway
“purity” for teachers and students. (doubletons,
triple-tons)
• Step 5- Make adjustments to Pathway
schedules and balance courses. (Conflict matrix
is very helpful)

40. Steps in Successful
Construction
• Step 6 - Follow process to gain teacher input
on Pathway (and Department) course
assignment prior to placing teachers.
• Other considerations include: Parallel classes to
facilitate movement
• Checks: student schedules, total sections per period;
room usage- needs (computers, arts, etc.), teacher
conflicts (# of preps, classes); other

41. Do We Have Enough Seats?

42. Common Planning Time
The Linchpin of Linked Learning
• Professional Development
• Integrated, Thematic Curriculum Development
• Course Development
• Collaborative Work on Pedagogy
• Meetings with Business Partners
• Personalized Supports for
Students/Counseling/College & Career
Planning

43. Some answers during construction-
Removing the Roadblocks for electives
• Creation of “Elective Lane”- Choosing to
place all possible high enrollment elective
courses into the exact same class period,
while not having any core Pathway classes
scheduled during that time slot.
• Considerations of number of
courses/teachers on each grade level
Pathway team

44. Removing Roadblocks related to
Honors/ AP/Dual Enrollment
– Removing the differentiation in courses between
honors and regular and contracting for honors
grades within one course. (embedded honors, honors by
exhibition, etc.)
– Increasing Pathway student access to AP and/or
dual enrollment; Increasing expectations that
more Pathway students take rigorous course/s;
embedding pre-AP curriculum; adding AP
seminars/support classes.

45. 1 Pathway Core Pathway Core
2 Pathway Core Pathway Core
3
Non Pathway
core course
Non Pathway core
course
4
Math Lab/Elect. PE/elective
Reading Lab/
Elective
Seminar/ Practicum
Sample Pathway Schedule
4 x 4

46. Successful Construction
4x4 VPA Pathway Schedule
1 VPA Art VPA Media
2 VPA Math VPA Social Science
3 AP course Science
4
Government Internship/ Senior
Practicum/Dual
EnrollmentEconomics t

47. Cohort Scheduling
A-B Rotating Block
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Collaboration
Time
Period 1 Period 2 Period 1 Period 2
Period 3 Period 4 Period 3 Period 4
Period 5 Period 6 Period 5 Period 6
Period 7 Period 8 Period 7 Period 8
47

48. Additional guiding principle to
construction- Using Flexible Time
• The schedule provides access to improved
instruction. The addition of the Flexible Block.
• An uninterrupted period in which a team of
teachers instruct a “pure,” common set of
pathway students.
• Power is in teacher autonomy and access to
alternate student groupings.
• Always think: innovation for time with students

49. Flexible Block Grouping
*Project/Skill/Strategy Grouping
Team A
40 min.
Social Studies
180 minutes
40 min.
Science
40 min.
English
60 min. *Project/Skill/Strategy
Groups

50. Now you are ready to enter the master schedule
into your student information system.
• Remember the Tags
• Do a Simulation (Sim) Run
• Analyze Results
• Make Adjustments
• Finalize the Master Schedule

51. Stage 4:
Analysis, Adjustment, Distribution
—Run Scheduler- identify percentage of success
—Complete a Careful Analysis
—Make further adjustments as needed
—Distribute student/teacher schedules
—Tip: Year to year tracking of scheduling
conflicts, challenges, and solutions is important

52. Stage 5: Fine-tuning, Readjustments &
Assessment
• Adjustments for new/transfer students
• Adjustments for students who withdraw/ transfer
• Adjustments for student credits earned over the
summer/grade changes, etc.
• Adjustments in teaching personnel
• Adjustments for changes in FTE
• Coordination/support new and returning student
induction
• Distribution (redistribution) of schedules

53. Assessment
• Looking at results
• Internal Assessment – Learning from those
involved in the process
• External Assessment – Learning from those
effected by the results
• A cycle of improvement

54. A cycle of improvement
• “Those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana
– What principles and priorities were met?
– What principles and priorities were not well
addressed?
– How can you improve the process?
• Keep your eye on the goal, and celebrate
progress

55. Introduction to the CCASN
Master Schedule Guide
http://casn.berkeley.edu/
To begin, log on to the CCASN Web Site at:

56. Click on the Master Schedule Guide tab

57. The Introduction Page

58. The 8 Main Tabs
* Introduction
* Stage 1- Planning
* Stage 2- Selection & Tallies
* Stage 3- Building the Schedule
* Stage 4- Analysis
* Stage 5- Assessment
* District System of Support
* All Resources

59. Page Organization
• Overview
• Overview PowerPoint
• Tasks & Timelines
(Acknowledgements
and Appreciations)
• Tools & Strategies (Who
We Are)
• Master Schedule
Notebook
• Resources for This Stage
• Other Resources

60. Click the + to Expand Bell Schedules

61. Bell Schedules
This slide is showing 6 of 19 resources currently available – more coming…

62. 62
Inviting your Brilliance and Wisdom

63. Next Steps – Planning for Action

64. Staying Connected
• Patricia Clark patricia510@gmail.com
510.504.3826
• College and Career Academy Support Network
(CCASN) - University of California Berkeley Graduate
School of Education http://casn.berkeley.edu
• CCASN Master Schedule Guide:
http://casn.berkeley.edu/master_schedule_guide.php?r=412&
c=28