High School Master Scheduling Update

TLC Committee Meeting: February 11, 2025

Amy Beldotti

Chief Academic Officer

Colleen Weiner�Director, Curriculum, Assessment & Instruction, Secondary

Dr. Claudia Berlage�Assistant Director, Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment, Secondary

Dr. Michael Fernandes�Chief Staff & Family Resource Officer

Dr. Lori Rhodes�Associate Superintendent, High Schools

High Schools At-a-Glance

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Westhill High School

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200+ course options

160 teachers

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34 AP or ECE Classes

Stamford Regional Agriscience

Academy of Finance

JROTC

10 Career Pathway Offerings

Stamford High School

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150+ course options

150 teachers

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32 AP or ECE Classes

International Baccalaureate

High School of Business

Early College Studies

9 Career Pathway Offerings

AITE

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120+ course options

65 teachers

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31 AP or ECE Classes

PLTW Biomedical

PLTW Computer Science

PLTW Engineering

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Building Master Schedules

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SPS Master HS Schedules:

• 3 high schools
• 5,000+ students
• 375 teachers
• 450+ course offerings
• 2,000+ total course sections

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Master Schedules Must:

• Account for all core academic and elective courses
• Match teacher course assignments with certification areas
• Account for contracted maximum class sizes, student caseloads, and teacher workloads
• Factor in school-specific constraints such as room size and part-time staff

Master Scheduling Timeline (November-February)

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Student Course Selection

With support from school counselors, teachers and families, students select their courses for the 2025-2026 school year

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Student Course Selection Screens Created

Secondary administrators build the student screens for course selection

2025-26 Program of Studies Developed

T&L, Building Administrators, HS Department Heads, and Associate Superintendent work together to review, revise and approve courses

November 2024 �to January 2025

January 2025

February 2025

Master scheduling is a months-long process requiring collaboration among building administrators, department heads, school counselors, central office staff, and consultants.

Master Scheduling Timeline (March-August)

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Final Schedule Review

Final review of schedule (course section numbers) prior to the system rollover in mid-August. Student schedules posted in PowerSchool after the rollover. Counselors begin working to address individual schedule changes that students request (i.e. student wants to drop a class, add a class, etc.)

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School Counselor Review of Student Schedules

High school counselors review first draft student schedules to ensure all required courses are included. This is when schedules can be modified based on specific needs.

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Prepare for Schedule Build

HS Scheduling administrators complete all preparations for the schedule build

April - May 2025

May 2025

Mid-July to Late August 2025

March-April 2025

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Review/Revise Course Selections & Set Sections

Secondary school counselors (MS/HS) complete review and revision of HS student course selections. Schools run tallies and building schedulers meet with the Central Office to determine the number of course sections based on student requests

Program of Studies Development

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February 2025

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Program of Studies documents finalized and posted online

All course requests reviewed by T&L Department

T&L Department works with Building Administrators, Department Heads, and Associate Superintendent to make any necessary revisions

Department Heads/Teachers make recommendations to their respective administrators regarding proposals for new courses, deletions, revisions

November 2024

December 2024

January 2025

The Portal opens to students. School counselors meet with students of 8th grade-11th grade students for course selection

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2025-2026 Program of Studies Highlights

450+ courses across 3 high schools

Nearly 30 NEW courses for 2025-26 (see appendix for full list)

Completion of the Integrated Math roll out with the final course IM 3

Integrated Science 9, Sound Waters - HS Salt Marsh Restoration Program

Restructuring AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and AP Physics as two-credit courses

Among the first districts in CT to offer UConn ECE Personal Finance course

AP Career Kick Start: Cyber Security: Students with qualifying scores will earn access to free Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) test prep and exams.

Career Pathways:

• NEW! Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Pathway
• NEW! Manufacturing CT Housatonic
• Manufacturing Pathway

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Scheduling Support

SPS contracts with an external resource to provide scheduling support to all three high schools.

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Some of the specific requirements of the RFP for 2025-26 scheduling support:

• Expertise in using PowerSchool for master scheduling
• Experience with hybrid block scheduling (4 periods daily) where some courses run on an A/B schedule and some courses run every day for a semester
• Ability to create a flexible block master schedules that accommodate all core academic and elective courses, ensure teacher assignments align with certification areas, and account for specific constraints such as room size and part-time staff.
• Collaborate with district personnel, building administrators, and department heads
• Develop a plan to transfer scheduling knowledge to district and school-based staff with the goal of managing and updating the schedule

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RFP for Scheduling Support

3 competitive bids received

• All bids were reviewed by a committee
• PowerSchool was awarded the bid

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T&L Department (CAO and Director, CI&A, Secondary) have met with:

• PowerSchool support staff to develop the timeline for support
• Building schedulers to layout the timeline for support

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*projected

High School Scheduling Committee Update

Purpose of Committee: “SEA and the BOE will form a committee immediately upon the mutual ratification/agreement of the successor agreement to ensure that the provisions of this Tentative Agreement are appropriately implemented for the 2025-2026 school year.”

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Membership: 9 HS teachers, HS Principals, HS schedulers, SEA Leadership, HR, T&L Leadership, HS Associate, BOE member (see appendix for list)

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Monthly Meetings: Dec 18, Jan 15, Feb 19, March TBD

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Provisions:

1. Class size caps
2. Student caseload limits for CTE, PE/Health, and VAPA departments
1. .5 credits = 300 students
2. 1 credit= 150 students
3. Teachers who teach a combination of .5 and 1 credit classes
4. Process for addressing overages in student caseload
5. Additional challenges identified by the committee

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High School Scheduling Student & Staff Support

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• Scheduling notification emails sent to families of all students in grades 9, 10, and 11.
• Schools hosting student assemblies to review scheduling process.
• Counselors making classroom visits to assist in scheduling students in grades 9-10.
• Counselors meeting individually with grade 11 students for scheduling.
• Counselors are posting information to Google Classroom and school websites with presentations in multiple languages.
• Counselors are creating a scheduling “tip sheet” to assist students with scheduling process.
• Counselors are providing all students with a four-year planner to track classes completed and credits earned.
• Middle schools are using HEART period to work with 8th grade students on scheduling.

High School Scheduling Student & Staff Support

• Working to develop targeted and turnkey professional development for administration and teacher leaders around semesterized classes and pacing.
• Administrators and teacher leaders will bring PD back to all teachers in a smaller and more specialized setting.
• Content Area Teams (CATs) will rework pacing guides in all disciplines.
• Continued focus on supporting teachers in creation of engaging and grade-appropriate tasks for student-centered during (1) Principal Leadership Team (PLT) meetings and Instructional Rounds, and (2) Instructional Rounds for Assistant Principals.
• Administrators are using what they are learning to drive site based professional development and PLC work.
• Department Heads have created Department Action Plans and are incorporating ideas around new schedule.
• Supporting community partners to help the students they serve.

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Math Course Sequence Options

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To fulfill graduation requirements, students must earn 3 credits in mathematics. Integrated Math I & II are required of all students. Colleges look for 3-4 mathematics credits (or more) depending on intended major.

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(Required)

Percentages represent the current 2024-2025 9th grade enrollment in these courses

World Language Course Sequence Options

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To fulfill graduation requirements, students must earn 1 credit in a World Language. Colleges look for 3 credits in a �World Language depending on intended major.

Appendix

New High School Courses for 2025-26

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• AP CK Cyber: Networking (SHS)
• AP CK Cyber: Security (WHS)
• AP Pre-Calculus (AITE)
• Athletic Leadership (SHS/WHS)
• Business Strategies (SHS)
• CNA Certified Nursing Assistant (WHS)
• CT State Housatonic Benchwork (WHS)
• CT State Housatonic Blueprint Reading (WHS)
• Debating US History (AITE)
• Debating World History (AITE)
• Digital Media I & II (AITE/SHS/WHS)
• Hotel and Restaurant Management (SHS)
• Intro to Virtual Reality (SHS)
• Principles of Management (SHS)
• Project Lead the Way Consumer Chemistry (AITE)
• UCONN ECE Personal Finance (SHS/WHS)

High School Scheduling Committee Members

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Dr. Michael Fernandes: Chief Staff & Family Resource Officer

John Corcoran: President, Stamford Education Association

Melanie Alswanger: Speech-Language Pathologist, Westhill

Amy Beldotti: Chief Academic Officer

Matt Forker: Principal, Stamford High School

Dr. Lori Rhodes: Associate Superintendent, High Schools

Matthew Moynihan: Assistant Principal, Stamford High (lead scheduler)

Joseph Cozza: Assistant Principal, AITE (lead scheduler)

Julienne Foy: Board of Education

Denise Grant: EL Teacher, Westhill

Dr. Laura Greene: Assistant Director, Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment, Secondary Humanities

Stefanie Kousoulas: World Language Teacher, Stamford High School

Sean O’Connell: Mathematics Teacher, AITE

Meghan Osowiecki - Director, Special Education & Related Services

Michelle Pusser: Social Studies Teacher, AITE

Brenda Ricco: SWAT Teacher, Stamford High School

Michael Rinaldi: Principal, Westhill High School

Peter Rinaldi: Assistant Principal, Westhill (lead scheduler)

Suzanne Rixon: Mathematics Teacher, Stamford High School

Erin Spata: Science Teacher, Westhill High School

Kate Tobin: English Teacher, Westhill High School

Colleen Weiner: Director, Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment, Secondary

What if a Course Doesn’t Reach 80% Capacity?

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The following factors are considered before a course is dropped from the schedule:

• Whether moving the course to a different period will increase enrollment;
• Whether enrolled students need the course to meet specific graduation requirements;
• Whether an alternate course is available that covers the same content; and
• Whether the course has a history of student withdrawals.

Should we be unable to offer a particular course due to low student interest, school counselors will work with the affected students to identify other suitable courses for their schedule.