Principal Matters Podcast: How To Design Smarter Schedules
New Solutions K12’s David James had the pleasure of joining Jen Schwanke, Ed.D, on the Principal Matters podcast to discuss designing smarter school schedules. The insightful conversation should be a help to any principal who might want to improve their scheduling process and reconsider if they are meeting their intended student outcomes.
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“This week’s episode centers around a conversation many principals would like to have and aren’t quite sure where to start— the act of reimagining a school’s master schedule. Our guest, David James, is an undisputed expert on this topic. Jen met David James a couple of years ago at an author’s event, and they have worked together several times since. David is a managing director at New Solutions K12, bringing his experience as a teacher, school founder, consultant, school board member, and author to his work partnering with educators. He leads New Solutions’ scheduling and staffing practice and advises schools and districts nationally on how best to design, build, and manage strategic school schedules. He is co-author of the book, It’s Time for Strategic Scheduling: How to Design Smarter K-12 Schedules that are Great for Students, Staff, and the Budget (ASCD).
What does it take to re-think a school schedule? David provides some insight for any principal who might want to improve their scheduling process and reconsider if they are meeting their intended student outcomes. One component David suggests is that principals be aware of their blind spots. When we’ve always done something a certain way, it takes courage to look outside those norms and think creatively and differently about the schedule. Blind spots might exist in ourselves as the principal, but they also might exist in the team of people who create the schedule—teachers on staff, district leadership, and even community members.
Another component to consider might be how principals might broaden their perspective and see their school’s schedule as a bigger picture based on intentionality. What are your priorities as a school? How do you want to use your time and use your staff? What are your school’s intervention needs? Enrichment needs? One of the things that is finite in building a strong schedule, David points out, is time and staff. In most cases, it’s not possible to just add more minutes to the day or add more teachers to the roster. For that reason, if your school’s schedule needs improvement, it is important to think differently about your schedule’s opportunities within those two constraints.
There is a lot more wisdom in Jen’s conversation with David. This episode opens up new doors for anyone thinking about how they might change, update, or adjust their master schedule to maximize their staff and provide a better learning experience for students.”
David James is a former teacher and middle school administrator who serves as an advisor to more than 40 school districts across 15 states. He is co-author of the It's Time for Strategic Scheduling: How to Design Smarter K-12 Schedules That Are Great for Students, Staff, and the Budget, now available on Amazon. He also leads the Secondary Scheduling Academy, an accelerated hands-on training program for school and district leadership teams to enhance capacity for strategic scheduling, build buy-in for changes, and design effective, best practice-aligned schedules that are better for students, teachers, and the budget.