Reimagining the school day

“Q: “It is evident that our traditional school day model doesn’t work for some of our students. I’m looking for a way to use our resources while rethinking how we spend our time to ensure that all students are excited to come to high school and understand why they’re here. How can we creatively reimagine the school day so that students can stay engaged while preparing for their futures?” – Signed, an innovative principal A: This is something I have been saying for a long time. If school is meant to prepare young people for meaningful lives in today’s world, then the structure of the school day must be more than a container for classes and credits. Reimagining the school day does not always require more money or a complete reinvention of the institution. Often, it requires a different use of time, a sharper sense of purpose, and a willingness to organize the day around students’ needs rather than inherited routines or the convenience of the adults in charge. Here are several ways to think creatively about the high school day while keeping the resources you already have in play. You don’t have to implement everything all at once. Start with purpose, not schedule Find out what we are asking students to do. Sit down with a group of teenagers and ask them about their daily experience. Or shadow a student to get a feel for their schedule. Then, before making any changes, ask: What should students experience every day? High school should include strong relationships with adults, time for deep learning, opportunities to explore interests and career pathways, collaboration with peers, real-world problem solving, reflection and goal-setting, and support for academic and emotional needs . Once the purpose is clear, the schedule becomes a tool for achieving it. If you determine your north star, you can keep asking your teachers, “In what way does this decision align with and accomplish our goal?” Always come back to the purpose when making decisions. Redesign time around student engagement Traditional schools often divide the day into equal chunks, even though students don’t learn that way. This industrial model fails most students. We’ve been using the Carnegie unit for so long that no one remembers why. Since COVID, we’ve been able to loosen these definitions, and after we accepted the new norm, we went straight back to what wasn’t working. What we should consider is longer block periods for discussion, projects, labs, and writing; flex periods for tutoring, enrichment, advising, clubs, and make-up work; advisory/wellness time every day; and project-based learning days where students work on interdisciplinary challenges and rotating mini-courses or electives. A student is more likely to stay engaged when the day has variety, choice, and a sense of momentum. Build in relevance and real-world application Students are far more invested when they can answer, “Why are we learning this?” It is such a simple notion, but it often gets lost in translation as we try to get through the curriculum. We need to do better at connecting academics with career and community issues, using authentic learning tasks (not just tests and worksheets) and partnering with local businesses, colleges, trades, nonprofits, and other organizations. Through these relationships, we can offer internships, job shadowing opportunities, and dual enrollment. Student projects can also use content to help solve real problems. When students see that school connects to the adult world, they begin to understand the point of being there. Give students more voice and choice As I mentioned, you need to ensure that students are integral to what you are building. Not just false voice once everything has been decided. If we want students to be excited to come to school, they need to feel that school is partly theirs . And this happens not just with our words, but with our actions. In my completely project-based classes, students were engaged in the co-construction of assessment and curriculum. They chose the books they wanted to read and how they wanted to respond to the reading on their blogs. We reviewed the rubrics and assignments together before they were completed, and we made adjustments along the way. When it came time to end the marking period, we used student-led conferences to determine which grades would go on their report cards, since so much of learning isn’t visible. In addition to classroom involvement, students should be on student advisory councils with real decision-making power. This is a great use of school publications, too, as they inform communities about what matters to them. Choice does not mean lowering expectations. It means honoring that students are more motivated when they have some agency. Rethink the role of advisory In the school where I was taught the longest, I had the opportunity to loop with my advisory. We used them not as a homeroom but as a space for advocacy and relationship-building. The girls in my group weren’t always in my classes, but we worked hard to take our outside personas out of the conversation. Inside advisory, we were family, where we honestly cheered each other on or worked through difficult issues. Schools can use this time to help students set and track goals, build relationships with a trusted adult, learn about college, careers, and receive social-emotional support. If every student has a daily or near-daily anchor adult, school becomes more personal and more humane. Make room for exploration High school should not only be about what students must take. It should also be about what they might become. This adds valuable purpose to the school day that doesn’t always exist. Some opportunities worth offering include career academics or pathway clusters, showcase days, student-designed independent studies, arts, makerspaces, entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary seminars focused on current issues. Students often become more engaged when they feel they are discovering themselves rather than merely completing requirements, especially when those requirements need to be rethought. Protect time for deeper learning My classes were largely project-based once I stopped doing things the “normal” way. Students worked collaboratively, and instead of plowing through the curriculum, we learned content and practiced skills over time through extended projects. I saw a huge increase in engagement when students were doing projects they helped to design, and I gave them ample time in class to do them. One reason students disengage is that the day can feel fragmented and rushed. If every class is a sprint, nobody has time to think. Deep learning takes time. If we want students to think critically, create, and persevere, the schedule must make room so that our expectations match our actions. Keep the adult culture aligned No schedule change will succeed if adults still treat school as a place to cover content rather than cultivate people. The staff culture must align with the redesign. And when I work with teacher teams, this is one of the most tragic and obvious challenges. Administrators says they want to do things differently, but the messaging and expectations don’t directly impact teachers. We can’t change big things if teachers aren’t given the opportunity to work together. We must protect common planning time for teachers, provide necessary professional learning before the new initiatives start, and then provide ongoing job-embedded learning or coaching along the way. We need to speak with a consistent language and agreed-upon routines that serve students’ needs, and a shared expectation for relationship-building. The schedule is only as powerful as the beliefs behind it. The most exciting high schools are not necessarily the ones with the newest buildings or the most elaborate programs. They are the ones that make students feel, every day, “I matter here. This work matters. My future matters.” That is the real goal of redesigning the school day: not just to make school more efficient, but to make it more meaningful. If you use time differently — with more purpose and flexibility — you can create a school where students do more than attend. They belong, they grow, and they begin to see a future worth showing up for. If you have an issue that you would like me to address, please email me at ssackstein@educatorsrising.org or complete this form . You will be kept anonymous. The post Reimagining the school day appeared first on Kappan Online .

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