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Hickman to Feature `Late Start'

Posted on: Saturday, 5 July 2008, 15:00 CDT

By JANESE HEAVIN

Hickman High School students will have a little extra time on Tuesday mornings to finish homework assignments, chat with friends or sleep during the coming school year.

The building is implementing "late start Tuesdays" to give teachers a chance to collaborate on a weekly basis. That means first hour will start at 8:20 a.m. on Tuesdays, and, to make up lost class time, school will start at 7:45 a.m. on all other days, five minutes earlier than classes began this past school year.

The bus schedule won't change, though, which means about half of Hickman's students will get to school earlier than necessary. They can use that time to work in the media center, eat breakfast in the cafeteria or meet with guidance counselors or other non-teaching staff. Teens who drive to school won't need to be there until first hour on Tuesdays.

The idea of starting school later once a week stemmed from teachers who wanted more time to work together without the inconvenience of late-afternoon meetings. Last year, teachers had time to collaborate every other week, and after-school meetings made it tough on teachers who were either tired from the school day, wanted to meet one-on-one with a student after school or needed to get home to take care of their own children.

"This will solve the fatigue problem," said Phil Overeem, who teaches literature. "The old system put a strain on teachers and their families. Meeting at 4:15 created a hardship. This is teacher- driven. It's teacher-friendly. It's good for teachers and students."

During collaboration time, teachers from the same department meet to swap ideas, help one another solve problems and share what their students are learning. That exchange ensures the lesson plans are consistent in different classrooms.

"If a student switches to another teacher, we're all on the same page," said Andrew McCarthy, social studies teacher. "We still have our individual teaching styles, but we're on the same lesson and talking about the same things."

Hickman's language arts department also is working to make courses consistent throughout the building. Instructors who teach senior-level classes are working out a system to let teachers of juniors know what their students will need to know in advanced courses. That should make it easier for kids to know what to expect as they progress through grade levels, Overeem said.

Teachers have flexibility on how they collaborate during the morning time, Jeffers said. He suspects some departments will intermingle to talk about building-wide issues.

Working collaboration time into the school day isn't uncommon.

Teachers at Rock Bridge High School are able to do it because of the school's block schedule, which alternates 90-minute classes. Hallsville and Moberly are among five high schools in the state that either have a late start or early release every week to give teachers time to collaborate. And a couple of schools are on half- day schedules once a week to allow collaboration.

Jeffers said the late start seemed to be the best fit for Hickman.

"This will be a breath of fresh air," Overeem said. "The late start is something we asked for. We wanted it."

Reach Janese Heavin at (573) 815-1705 or jheavin@tribmail.com.

Originally published by JANESE HEAVIN of the Tribune's staff.

(c) 2008 Columbia Daily Tribune. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: Columbia Daily Tribune

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