Trimester Schedules

In recent years many schools have implemented a trimester schedule as a way to provide greater flexibility in their schedule. Trimester schedules divide the school year into three parts with students taking fewer classes each trimester than in a traditional semester schedule. But, over the year, a trimester generally offers students more classes and an opportunity to enrich their educational experience. Trimester schedules also allow for earlier intervention and credit recovery options than other schedules. Trimesters often allow the first trimester to finish prior to winter break and often align with the schedule of nearby colleges, thus easing options for dual enrollment.

As with any scheduling model, trimesters don't solve every problem a school may face with their schedule. But it does provide an innovative way to look at the use of time.

There are lots of resources available on trimester schedules. One is a site devoted just to trimester schedules (www.trimesters.org). The other is a site from a high school that recently adopted the trimester model (www.a2skyline.org/skyline/home/trimesters). Finally, a Research Brief on the trimester schedule is available on the Education Partnerships, Inc. website and on my website (www.ronwilliamson.com).

I'd enjoy the opportunity to learn from you about your experience with trimester schedules and both the benefits and challenges you've encountered.

Changing Your School's Schedule

Creating and managing the school schedule can be one of the most time-consuming tasks faced by a principal. It's easy to focus on the logistics of the schedule, but the schedule is just a tool to accomplish other things. There are four basic principles for building an effective schedule.

• The schedule reflects your school's values and priorities. Talk with key stakeholders to identify goals. Clarify of goals builds support for a new schedule and narrows the alternatives.

• The most effective schedules are anchored in a shared vision. Do you want to provide more collaborative time, extended instructional time or additional support for students? The options you will consider vary depending on your vision.

• A quality schedule emerges with teachers and administrators work together. Because the schedule is always reflects your priorities, it is important to engage others in the process of thinking about and considering the options.

• Without clear goals, the schedule is merely a plan for organizing teachers and students; when guided by clear goals, the schedule becomes a powerful tool to positively affect teaching and learning.

Before you begin to design a new schedule you will want to be clear about any district or local requirements about the use of time. And other things also affect the schedule like transportation schedules, employee contracts and facility constraints. But, learning about the alternatives and working with others to clarify priorities can really accelerate your thinking about how to use time differently.

There are several good resources including the Research Briefs on scheduling available at The Principals' Partnership website and the book Scheduling to Improve Student Learning (2009).