By The Challenge Success Team
Students, teachers, and parents often ask: why don’t we ever have enough time?
While there are many levers in a school system that impact student and staff well-being, the school schedule impacts all community members at the school on a daily basis, making it an essential component in addressing the well-being of the school community.
At Challenge Success, we partner with schools across the country to use evidence-based strategies and collaborative co-design processes to improve student well-being, belonging, and engagement in learning. Students’ schedules and use of time are a critical component of how our partner schools improve student well-being.
Read on for strategies and examples from schools that have successfully improved student well-being through more supportive schedules!
Utilizing the S.P.A.C.E. Framework in Schools
We have organized our research-based, equity-centered strategies into a framework we call S.P.A.C.E. This framework embodies our vision to co-create educational systems that value each student for their unique identities, assets, and definitions of success and effectively prepare them for the variety of opportunities and challenges they will encounter in school and beyond. Many of these strategies emerged from our partner schools communities, while others stem from research on effective education.
Designing With Schools, Not For Them
Within the five S.P.A.C.E. categories, we strive to curate policies and practices that reinforce our equity commitments. We acknowledge that these practices are not an exhaustive list and are not intended to be prescriptive. When we work with schools, we employ a co-design approach that encourages each school to use the framework in a manner that is most responsive and authentic to the unique assets, needs, and values in their community.
In this blog post, we will focus on the first component: (S): Supportive Schedule and Use of Time.
(S): Supportive Schedule & Use of Time
When we talk about the “school schedule,” we are referring to multiple levels of time spent during the school day. There is the schedule that occurs between the start of the school day in the morning and the end of the school day, including after-school activities and meetings. There is also the cadence of the school year—the start and end, when breaks and exams occur, as well as other considerations about the use of time.
Though some aspects of the school schedule may not be within a school’s control, the design of any schedule is ultimately a reflection of the school community’s values and priorities. Opportunities abound to restructure big and small increments of time in schools so the schedule aligns more appropriately with educators’ goals to create healthier youth and adults.
Related: The Sleep Crisis Among Students: A Wake-Up Call for Well-Being and Academic Performance & Engagement
4 Ways to Improve Well-Being Through Supportive Schedules
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for the “best” student schedule: your community has specific nuances and needs! In the Challenge Success School Partnership, we collaborate with schools to identify and implement community-specific strategies to improve well-being, belonging, and engagement.
For example, we worked with Dover-Sherborn High School in Massachusetts to rearrange the start/end times of classes to help ensure more flexible use of time throughout the day. At Mercy High School in California, our team supported their school community in cross-departmental discussions to better align on time and workload expectations.
Here are four research-backed and evidence-based ways we may be able to support your school in improving student well-being through creating more supportive student schedules:
- Revise school schedules (including late start days, modified block, full block, or trimester schedules) to align with evidence of the conditions under which youth learn best – prioritizing adequate time for sleep, reflection, and connection.
- Align the pace of the school day with learning and brain sciences. For example, too many classes in a day and/or class periods that are either much too short or much too long do not allow students to learn best.
- Ensure that transition time between classes is adequate so that all students and faculty/staff have time to get their various needs (physical, social, emotional, mental) met as well as to mentally transition from one activity/topic/content area to another.
- Align policies and practices around schoolwork done outside of class time to ensure the purpose is clear and the volume is appropriate and necessary for learning for all students. Doing so helps to ensure that all students have time in their days to address the wide-range of youth developmental needs such as, to pursue interests outside of school, and to spend time with friends and family.
Ready for Action?
Learn how to collaboratively improve outcomes in your school using the SPACE framework!
The Challenge Success School Partnership is an inclusive, community-driven collaboration that leverages the Challenge Success Change Process to transform the student experience within your school. Our program is a research-backed way to prioritize student well-being while also deepening engagement with learning and enhancing belonging.
Together, we will center the student experience, gather and interpret community-voice data, design research-based, equitable policy and practice changes, and create community-specific outcomes for all students. Learn more about how we can collaborate with your school community this year!
This blog post was adapted from our article in ASCD, “Making Time for Well-Being.”
Related: Time Management Worksheet for Students
Challenge Success, a nonprofit affiliated with the Stanford Graduate School of Education – elevates student voice and implements research-based, equity-centered strategies to increase well-being, engagement, and belonging in K-12 schools.