4+Corners+Activity-+HOUSE

Staff Development Day Notes 3/29/10

Question: What should house look like next year?

Ideas:

1. One entire period of the 10 period schedule could be house/study hall. This would mean house meets every other day for about 65 minutes.

2. Have house daily (no separate office hours) after the first period of the day everyday with morning break imbedded - the time for this class could perhaps be taken from some classes by making math and maybe some other classes 50 minutes OR make all classes about 61 minutes and make house 28 minutes (based on the sample schedule handed out). Students could eat break type food during house (garbage problem though?). Perhaps have food brought in wagons to each room; students could have cleaning chores, etc.

3. Have house daily with break right afterwards.

4. Use the schedule as provided by Joel.

5. Teams/pods of houses? Teachers could share kids. Ideas include having 8th grade top math students go somewhere to tutor others or ??? There could be one main advisor and then have co-advisors (like a "back-up advisor"). The groups of kids could be involved in intermurals (advisor choice)? We also mentioned the value of having unstructured "down-time".

6. Other ideas floated about creating very flexible schedules, such as 20 minute pods that allow for classes of different lengths in 20 minute increments.

7. Having a longer house with study hall can help with the achievement gap and allows more advisor contact time, supporting RMS values.