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School Organization
A major ingredient in the Marymount recipe for reform implementation involved the restructuring of the school schedule and cycle teams in order to facilitate best practices such as project-based learning, curriculum mapping and professional dialogue.
At Marymount, creating the time for these ideas to become reality resulted in a mini-day - a regularly scheduled, job-embedded opportunity for professional development and exchange. Every Wednesday, classes end in the early afternoon and the remainder of the day is reserved for professional time when teachers have the opportunity to meet as a cycle team or project team, in order to offer support to one another or assist students during the course of a normal day.
Listen to what first-year teacher Karine Lambert has to say when asked what the mini-day has meant to teachers:
In order to maintain the required instruction time while also providing teachers with their mini-day, a new structure had to be put into place. Every day, after lunch, students attend a 20-minute enrichment period during which teachers take them over and above the usual curriculum. For example, secondary 2 students use the time to develop citizenship skills as part of the Go Program.
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Another piece in the school organization puzzle at Marymount is block scheduling. Beginning in the 2002-2003 academic year, Marymount instituted block scheduling in the form of four 75-minute periods in addition to the 20-minute enrichment period and mini-day (see above). The purpose of block scheduling is to provide the necessary blocks of time in which teachers can pursue strategies and project development that would otherwise be more difficult.
According to Steven Erdelyi, the Math, Science and Technology Domain Coordinator, block scheduling provides time for teachers to meet and also encourages project-based learning and other student-centred practices. "No one can stand up there and lecture for 75 minutes," says Erdelyi. In his own classes, Mr. Erdelyi says he likes to use the time to work on situational problems, and to observe students and check progress in an on-going manner. Vice-Principal Gelbart describes block scheduling and its impact on instructional practice:
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In addition to efforts to collaborate as cycle teams, Marymount also felt it important to nourish expertise and development within the five domains. Domain coordinators at Marymount are content experts, and the school feels this is paramount. Principal Miniaci says that the Reforms must also impart a knowledge base, and points out that "You can't have fun or create if you don't have the base."
Mr. Gonthier describes his belief in the importance of maintaining expertise in a discipline in a period of curriculum reform:
The change from former structures such as department heads and coordinators is not merely nominal. "The domain head," says Vice-Principal Gelbart, "is not a department head in the old sense; they are a leader among peers, someone with a little more experience or a vision that sets them apart."
Vice-Principal Gelbart elaborates on the emergent collegiality and role of the domain coordinator in establishing a culture of professional sharing:
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The Challenges Ahead
Looping and a Cycle Continuum
Although Marymount's restructuring had been progressive, the staff talks eagerly about tackling other structures it sees as pivotal in making all the pieces fit together that much more seamlessly. One such piece is the practice of looping. Several teachers spoke about the benefits of following a group of students over a two-year cycle and see it as inevitable in reform implementation.
Mapping the curriculum over cycle one is already something teachers are involved in as cycle teams. Providing the resources, time, sharing opportunities, professional development and leadership in a focused manner still looms on the horizon.
Listen to what Principal Miniaci and Vice-Principal Gelbart have to say about this important next step (i.e., cycle continuum) in realizing their success plan:
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