Striving deeper learning and greater engagement for students, Tabor Academy is making exciting and important changes to the academic daily schedule and calendar for the 2017-18 school year.
The new schedule, which will employ a 7-day rotation, will feature an 8:30 am start time, and four, 75-minute classes meeting each school day, with classes condensing to 50 minutes on Wednesdays to maintain the early release for athletic contests. With significantly fewer transitions in a school day – both mental and physical – there is more opportunity for greater engagement for student learning.
“Tabor’s Academic Council has worked extensively on the changes, researching possibilities, speaking with peer schools that have made similar shifts, and thinking through and preparing for the rollout,” says Dean of Studies Eileen Marceau. “The new schedule is really developed with the student experience in mind.”
“We want our students to view school as much more than learning what to know, and instead about learning and practicing how to think,” says Marceau. Longer classes will provide the opportunity to move routinely beyond topic coverage to true engagement with the material for the purposes of thinking and learning. Marceau adds, “It will provide us the opportunity to be more responsive to a variety of learners. In short, it allows us to move our students more frequently beyond ‘doing school’ to more authentically engaging in deeper learning.”
As part of the change, the school is employing a robust professional development plan to provide ongoing support for the curricular revision over the next 18 months. In service to that plan, Tabor has entered an exciting partnership with the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, a center of innovation and Mind-Brain-Education research. Working with the CTTL, Tabor faculty will continue to grow their understanding of neuroscience-based teaching strategies to bring to bear in the classrooms. Tabor’s first cohort of 14 teachers and administrators will attend the CTTL’s Summer Academy in July.
Alongside the schedule change, Tabor will shift its academic calendar to a trimester-based system for the 2017-2018 school year. Opening up a third academic term also will give students more choice and opportunity to take advantage of the breadth of Tabor’s academic offerings. Creating greater synergy with the athletic seasons and a break in between academic terms, the new calendar stands to benefit everyone.