WACO's proposal to the DOE

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

WAYLAND ? Iowa schools must file a waiver request with the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) for a new innovative school year (four-day school week) by Nov. 1. If approved, the waiver would be effective for the next school year.

According to WACO officials, the DOE has said cost savings cannot be used as a reason to request a four-day week. Rather, districts must document in their request how a four-day week would enhance educational opportunities for students.

Following is the rationale listed in WACO?s application.

Rationale for educational impact (Include the reasons why the school district seeks an innovative calendar. What local educational needs does the innovative calendar meet? What research supports these decisions?)

WACO?s response ? Smaller, rural schools like WACO are challenged to find innovative ways to meet the social, emotional, behavioral and academic needs of our students while being good stewards of the resources available to us?We seek this waiver for an innovative calendar because of the following reasons based on data from our school and strong research evidence.

1. We desire to create a calendar that maximizes instructional time: During the past three years, we have shown a growing trend in student and staff absences. Loss of student/teacher contact time for any reason interferes with educational goals. Consistency in attendance by the student is vital. Marzano states in ?School Leadership That Works: From Research to Results,? the single most important factor in increasing student achievement is the quality and consistency of the teacher placed before the students. The frequent use of substitute teachers is counterproductive to this research. We will strongly promote using the ?off-day? of the week as the day to schedule appointments and plan extended outings for both students and teachers, thus reducing absences and increasing quality teacher/student interactions resulting in higher student achievement and graduation rates. This belief is supported by our research and findings from schools in Colorado and South Dakota who use a four-day week structure.

2. We will focus on the academic core and effective instructional practices: Education experts agree effective schools build strong core instruction in reading, writing, math, science and social studies. During the past two years, WACO has been researching and learning about the important of using a framework for instruction that shifts the responsibility of learning from the teacher to the student. It has been determined that our current 42-minute class periods at the secondary do not allow adequate time for focus lessons, guided instruction, group work and independent practice. WACO desires to increase the amount of instructional time spend on the core subjects and provide additional opportunities for extended teacher-assisted work time.

Our school data shows work completion, especially homework completion, is a primary factor in poor academic achievement. The four-day week structure will allow us to change this pattern by increasing the amount of guided practice time given in class where students have access to highly qualified teachers and offering extended learning times for tutoring and remediation on the ?off-day? of the week. Enrichment classes will also be offered on the ?off-day? to increase our ability to provide Senior Year Plus opportunities for WACO students. We desire to better support student learning and provide directed response to intervention both through remediation and enrichment so all students can achieve at higher levels.

Time and focused attention alone are not enough to guarantee success. The ability to spend time on the ?off-day? to meet and plan in instructional data teams (IDTs) is a critical part of WACO?s plan. WACO desires to maximize its PD (professional development) time to enable our teachers to operate effectively in IDTs, thus strengthening the practices of the people in front of the students.

3. We will conduct operations in an efficient, fiscally-responsible manner: Although the anticipated cost saving for operating a four-day week is not fully known, it is believed the structure of a four-day week will be appealing to some families in our area. We desire to make WACO a district of choice. Through the systematic focus on quality core learning, effective instructional practices, extended educational opportunities, strong student/teacher relationships and an innovative approach to the structure of the week, WACO will be poised to better meet the needs of students and families in today?s world.

Summary of calendar changes for the innovative calendar request.

? WACO is requesting our calendar to be a four-day student week with a fifth day alternating between staff professional development, student enrichment, student response to intervention (RTI) and off days.

? The total number of student attendance days would decrease from 180 to 139 days, but the instructional minutes would increase from 7,156 to 8,340 minutes.

? This innovative calendar would increase the amount of personal development time from 86 hours to 100 hours per year. Personal development currently occurs on early release Wednesdays causing instructional time to be shortened on that day every week, interfering with class structure.

Seventy-two hours or 17.5 days are designated for enrichment/RTI/Jump Start programs for students supported by staff and community partners. We envision these hours looking like this:

? Jump Start day: Bringing secondary students, whop been identified as at-risk, and transitional grade levels of students to school a day early to give them special attention and preparation for the school year. At the elementary level, the Back to School Night would be expanded to celebrate the home/school partnership.

? Enrichment: Secondary: Senior Year Plus opportunities for on-site college classes; teacher/community-sponsored club/activities to engage students and increase relationships; job shadowing and career/college exploration.

Elementary: Teacher/community-sponsored clubs/activities to engage students and increase relationships; cultural outings and field trips; accelerated/specialized learning opportunities.

? RTI: Secondary: Credit recovery opportunities; specifically designed instruction for skill building; job shadowing/career exploration.

Elementary: Re-teach and pre-teach program for struggling learners; homework support; specifically designed instruction for skill building.