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Board Hears Recommendation on Using Time to Support Learning and Teaching

March 25, 2009 - Board of Education members meeting in the Student Achievement Committee Tuesday heard from representatives of a committee that has been studying the use of time to support learning and teaching.

The board gave tentative approval to a proposal that will provide teachers more time to meet together to study student testing results, discuss strategies to meet the needs of individual students and develop techniques for strengthening and enriching students’ skills.

Time Committee
Representatives of the 40-member Time Committee, which includes school administrators, principals, teachers and parents told the board they’ve been studying the issue for two years as schools have worked individually to figure out ways to create time for teacher learning teams to meet. Schools are at different stages in putting learning teams to use across grade levels and across subject areas.

The Time Committee representatives – James Overman, Jennifer Lanane, Sarah Martin and Donna Hargens – recommended the school system provide a more uniform system that provided all schools the time for learning teams to work.

“Teachers need collaborative time to look at the data, to look at where students are and then to find out what their team needs to help student achievement rise,” said Jennifer Lanane, president of the Wake County Association of Educators. “Its all about student achievement and its all about what that team needs to help that particular group of students.”

“We’re trying to look at the specific needs of our students and our classrooms and provide solutions and increase student achievement with all groups,” said James Overman, president of the Wake County Division of Principals and Assistant Principals and principal of East Garner Elementary.

Recommendation
The committee recommended that schools be allowed to add 10 minutes to the school day in order to bank 30 hours over the course of the school year.

Schools would then use this time to dismiss students one hour early each week and create two additional early release days. This time would be used for learning team meetings.

Board Response
Board members said they did not want to see any high schools starting any earlier and wanted to see some consistency across the system in scheduling the early dismissal and early release days. They said schools would need to consider the impact the schedule changes would have on families, after school care for students and other issues that would arise. They said it would be critical to clearly communicate with families and the community about the changes.

Superintendent Del Burns said learning teams will allow educators the time to collaborate that will help the school system improve student academic performance. He said the school system has already been studying the implementation of learning teams and will continue to look at ways to use learning teams effectively.

Driving the Decision
Time Committee members said the drivers for their recommendation were the Board of Education goal for all students to graduate from high school; the need to provide time for collaboration; the need to increase student achievement; the opportunity to close academic achievement gaps among groups of students; the chance to provide job embedded professional development; and the need to provide equal opportunity for all teachers to participate in learning teams to help students achieve.

“The Board has a goal that we are going to have all of our children achieving high growth and graduating on time, prepared for the future,” said parent Sarah Martin. “As a parent, I have to trust that the school administration knows the way to get my child through the system and knows the way to get my child prepared for the future. If this is the way to increase student achievement, I can’t help but support it.”

The proposal from the Time Committee will be presented for approval to the Board of Education at its March 31 meeting.

-wcpss-

Wake County Public School System, 3600 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, NC 27609 | 919-850-1600