NR-S to implement flexible scheduling

The flexible modular schedule (“flex mod”) that educators plan to implement at NR-S High School next year is not new. It is actually a novel “retro” concept making a comeback. Flex mod dates back to the late 1960s, a schedule that scraps the standard grid in favor of a custom-built learning plan to meet the needs of the students and staff instructing. With a flex mod schedule, teachers can schedule an hour-long science lab one day, and a 45 minute lecture the next because they aren’t tied to a standard class length.

According to the organization Advancing K-12, online at https://www.skyward.com, in practice this means flexible class times and varied student groupings. The schedule is made of modules (“mods”) of time – 15, 20 or 30 minutes. Classes can meet any number of days per week and for different numbers of mods each time. With a flex mod schedule, teachers and students can enjoy a variety of class types – large and small group sessions, labs and personal or individual learning time.

At the April 9 school board meeting, Science Instructor Monica Meadows led a presentation about flex mod scheduling. She explained how a group of staff had observed the model in practice at Oakes High School.

Meadows said that the growth of technology is changing the way people work. They envision that in the future there will be fewer jobs with an 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., 40 hour week schedule. As industries continue to automate, they also see more task-based careers. Workers will perform duties with different teams and even various “bosses” over time, in a more freelance-based schedule. What that means for students now is that they need to learn how to manage their time and tasks in order to operate in such an ever-changing environment.

So what does a day look like for a typical student? In the schedule at Oakes, there are a total of 21 modules, each 20 minutes long. Class time varies from 40-80 minute increments, or 200-240 minutes per week. Students pass when needed in between mods, given about 3 minutes as in the past. All will have a 40 minute lunch period that varies from day to day. “Open mods,” or blocks of time, in between classes take the place of the traditional study hall. The number of open mods will vary from student to student, day to day. Students can use those open mods for a number of things such as seeking help from teachers, doing class work, catching up on missed assignments or taking an online class. Announcements are presented on TVs in halls and classrooms. Administration and staff at NR-S plan to implement a similar schedule here next fall.  

According to Meadows, both students and teachers at Oakes say they wouldn’t want to go back to a traditional schedule now that they’ve implemented flex mod scheduling. Students note the increased opportunities to take electives, time for work study and flexibility for online classes.

The teachers say the schedule makes them more available to students and allows more time for collaboration among staff.

However, flex mod is a lot of work for the administration. It takes creative problem solving and critical thinking to make the pieces fit and minimize scheduling conflicts. “Our decisions are based on student needs, not on adult convenience,” High School Principal Avolt Baumbach said. “The data from our state required engagement surveys show that students are not as engaged in their learning as we need them to be.” He noted that their research has shown that it has big, positive impacts on students and therefore is worth doing.

Flex Mod Q & A

Q: Will there be bells, and can students still be marked tardy for being late to class?

Because class lengths vary with the schedule, there will not be bells. Students will pass during open mod time or in between mods and will be expected to get to their next class on time. Students can still be marked tardy if they don’t make it to class on time.

Q: How/when do students seek help from teachers?

Each teacher will have 7-8 resource periods, so students can plan to see the teacher during any mod when both the student and the teacher is open. This offers 20-minute opportunities throughout the day for students to seek help as needed. Baumbach said students in grades 10-12 who are in good academic standing will not be required to attend scheduled resource times. However, all students in grade 9 and those students not in good academic standing would be required to do so.

Q: When and how long is lunch time?

Students will have a 40 minute (two mod) lunch period that varies from day to day with their schedule. NR-S has an open campus for lunch right now, and that will likely continue. Baumbach also expects that the congestion in the hallways will be even less of an issue with the rotating lunch mods, as the whole high school won’t be going to lunch at the same time as they do now.

Q: What will happen on days when school begins two hours late due to weather or has a scheduled early dismissal?

While it’s not clear what will happen at NR-S, other schools have shortened the length of the mods for the day, from 20 minutes to say 15 minutes, and then cut out home room or other open mod time.

Q: What about the Personalized Learning Academy (PLA)? Will that program still be available for students next year?

Yes, the PLA is coming back. Next year it will expand to 7-10 graders as an opt-in program. “We have seen great things from our PLA program, the students have shown academic growth and we will continue to offer this as an alternative to traditional instruction,” Baumbach said. Those students in grades 9 and 10 who are in the PLA will follow the flex mod schedule, just as they follow the traditional schedule this year.