--Every Tuesday school starts an hour later than usual (9 instead of 8) so
that we can have clear faculty meeting time where everyone can attend.
This can be configured any way that we need--workshops, full, divisional,
departmental, ad hoc, grade-level team.... (We even cleared the agenda on
11/4 so people could vote.) We've done this for over 15 years. This way we
don't lose coaches, drama folks, or afternoon-activity directors, and it's
great. On Tuesdays we don't have any scheduled community time (class
meetings, for example) or club or extra help time, so classes are not
shorter on thise days.
--We make it possible for departments or other groups to take a retreat
day during the year. A key to this is that we use a moderately reliable
substitute service. We even budget for some food--at least sandwiches and
snacks.
--On occasion we have created "Long Tuesdays," when classes start yet an
hour later (10 instead of 9). We eliminate an advisor block that day and
slightly compress the class periods. I think we're only doing this once or
twice this year, one of those to accommodate early-year parent-advisor
check--ins.
--We have typically used the Tuesday after Presidents Day as a full
professional day. This corresponds with public school vacation week in our
area, so families with kids in both systems can have a 4-day weekend
together. In roughly alternate years we have done the same with the
Tuesday after the Massachusetts Patriots Day (Monday) holiday, which also
corresponds with a public school vacation week.
--On Wednesdays our upper school day ends at 2:10 to accommodate league
athletic events. We have regular rotating grade-level team meetings from
2:30-3:30 on those days. We lose coaches et al., but someone takes notes.
Our middle school (6-8) faculty meets as a division on Monday afternoons
after the school day ends, not every week, but frequently.
In answer to the question, What about the kids on those Tuesday mornings?,
we don't much worry about that. Many kids do show up at close to the
regular time, but our dining hall is open for breakfast always (5 days a
week), and there are usually enough support folks wandering around that we
haven't ever felt the need to assign an officer of the day or similar role
to "keep the lid on" when the faculty are engaged in professional work.
Another much appreciated thing we do that gives teachers some breathing
room at a "crunch time" is not to hold classes during the week of
Thanksgiving. Our first trimester ends the Friday before, and grades and
comments are not due until the Tuesday before T-giving. Teachers can work
at home, at school, or (I suppose) from a distance to complete this work.
To buy back one of the "lost" 2.5 days, we never close on Veterans Day.
Everybody is pretty happy with that trade-off, believe me. (Although our
office is insanely busy getting those first-trimester grades out to
colleges--we do ask teachers to expedite senior grades but not comments so
that we can come in and do this.)
I once worked at a school, and my spouse works at one now, where lower
grades (8 and below) did not have school on Friday afternoons so that
faculty could meet, work, collaborate, and otherwise do what needed to be
done.
Hope this is helpful. I have to say, the Tuesday morning thing has been
the best thing in this regard we've ever done.
Cheers--Peter Gow
Peter Gow, Director of College Counseling and Special Programs
Beaver Country Day School
791 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
www.bcdschool.org
Tel. 617-738-2755
FAX 617-738-2701
Skype: petergow3
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