Managing the Process

Identify your scheduling team members

• Primary Master Scheduler & at least 1 backup/partner

• Department Chairs, Counselors, ESL lead, Special Ed lead, other administrators

Have several “Alignment Meetings”

• Beginning in early January through May/June

• Suggest every 2 or 3 weeks

• Identify who is responsible for what

• Establish deadlines

• Examine current schedule, what works, what doesn’t

• What are your goals for next year?

• Distribute “Wish List” to teachers (collect input from teachers regarding what they would like to teach)

Determine how course requests will be gathered

• Meet with the counselors to determine a timeline.  

  • Establish when they want to be in classes to assist students in course selection process.

• Gather requests on paper?

  • Example option 1: Large group setting, by cohort

  • Example option 2: Small group setting, by English class

• Allow students/parents to enter requests via the portal?

• Combination of both?

Adjust course offerings based on course requests

• This is decision making time using numbers to justify decisions

• Course requests should drive course offerings – just because it is on the course offering sheet doesn’t mean it will be offered

Look for conflicts in the schedule and even dispersion of classes throughout the master schedule

• General rule of thumb: try to offer core courses for each grade level, each period of the day

• Look at trends:

  • For example, offering CALCULUS and AP ENGLISH 12 at the same time is probably not a good idea

• Singletons (only 1 section offered) must be reviewed

  • do these have to occur in a specific period/room/teacher?

  • what is the best period to offer them in?

• Review Common Planning Periods

• Coaching periods

• Career Center considerations

• How to structure lunches?

• What Special Programs do you have – CCP / ESL / Special Ed / Inclusion / VCAP

• Rooms/Space

Special Ed Inclusion

• Work with department chair to identify who is taking what currently and who needs what next year. (shared spreadsheet work wonderfully for managing this) Case managers must be contributing to this as well.

• Avoid conflicts with inclusion sections offered and resource sections offered.

ESL Schedule

• Shared spreadsheets where ESL core content teachers list who is taking what currently and what they need next year is essential.

• Avoid conflicts with sections offered.

Communication with Staff

• Establish a communication method with ALL STAFF concerning their individual schedules for the next school year.

• Keep a Master Scheduling Grid in a conference room so that all staff can see it and provide feedback

• Work with department chairs concerning the department’s schedule.

  • Staff should communicate their wishes/ideas to the department chair.  Announce this face to face to the staff!

  • DO NOT have 50 individual conversations, multiple times with your staff about their individual schedules; this will result in chaos!

• Be flexible where you can, and ask your staff to do the same - this is a collaborative effort

• Ultimately, the master schedule is developed based on student need, not staff need. Announce this face to face to the staff!

• Keep an eye out for the “back door” deal making that some will try. These typically do not have the students' best interest in mind.

You can do this!!

• Sure, first time through is busy and sometimes a headache.

• Stay positive and communicate with your peers across the district who master schedule…it is OK to ask for help!

• Make life easy and have the master schedule set and emailed to staff before the last day of school.

• Be proactive and don’t procrastinate … the end of the school year is full of activities that require your immediate attention - plan ahead and build the steps of this process into your daily/weekly schedule and STICK TO IT!