Are some of your students being left behind, while others are being held back from reaching their full potential? Do you wish you had dedicated time to provide students with the differentiated instruction they need? These are just a handful of the reasons to explore a school flex period.
As any teacher can tell you, it’s rare that every student who would benefit from additional instruction is in the same class at the same time. A flex period overcomes this by allocating time for students with similar needs to get the differentiated instruction they need.
Finding the time for a flex period can be tricky, though. It’s often the main obstacle holding schools back from implementing their first flex period. It doesn’t need to be such a difficult task, though. Read on to learn how other schools have overcome the time challenge to make flex periods a reality.
How Long Should a Flex Period Be?
Before you start rearranging your schedule, you need to first know how much time you’re trying to find. Most schools allocate between 20-40 minutes. However, the duration of your flex period is really up to you, what works best for your school community, and what you hope to achieve with the time.
As you decide on the duration, be sure to also consider how often you’ll offer the flex period. Most schools choose four to five times per week so they can keep the duration on the shorter end. Some schools, however, take the opposite approach; they make their flex period longer and schedule it once or twice per week. There is no right answer. Do what you think will work best for your community.
6 Ways to Find Time for a School Flex Period
Once you have a good idea of the duration and frequency of your flex period, it’s time to figure out where to fit it in. Here are the most common places schools find the time.
Adapt Homeroom or Advisory Schedules
If you already have a non-traditional class in your schedule, like homeroom or advisory, this is one of the easiest places to find the time. Many schools borrow 10 minutes from this period to start, then find the additional time elsewhere.
Similarly, if your homeroom/advisory is scheduled every day and for a long enough duration, you could also repurpose this time one or two days a week for a flex period. However, if your homeroom/advisory is the first period of the day, you may want to consider how you feel about using your first period for a flex period. Many schools find this less than ideal. If your school feels the same, you can find additional strategies to follow.
Repurpose Lunchtime Minutes
If you have time in your lunch schedule, this can be another good place to borrow a few minutes of time. Borrowing some time from lunch can also be an easier sell to teachers, or even parents, than trying to find the time elsewhere.
If you’re looking at this option, just be sure to weigh it against other factors, like how rushed or relaxed your lunch schedule is currently. Also consider that lunch is often a “sacred” time to students, providing a mental and social break. If you do decide to take time from lunch, be sure that it isn’t at the expense of your students’ social-emotional wellbeing.
Shorten Passing Periods
For some schools, passing periods are already rushed and chaotic. If this is your school, you can skip this section and move to the next.
However, if your school has ample time allocated between periods for students to move comfortably to their next class, consider taking just one or two minutes out of each passing period. While this won’t give you all of the time you need, it can be combined with other strategies to gain the time needed for a flex period.
Shorten Class Periods
The previous strategies center on non-academic sources of time, but don’t overlook your current class periods. Since teachers are often trying to fit interventions into class time already, taking a few minutes from each period can make a lot of sense. You don’t need to sacrifice time from other places, and teachers don’t have to try to squeeze intervention time into their regular instruction.
If your class periods aren’t a consistent duration currently, this can be a good way to even them out. As with other options, though, if you choose this route, you’ll want to position it thoughtfully. Acknowledge that teachers may be resistant to having any time with their students “taken away,” so you’ll want to clearly communicate the positive outcomes you’re looking to achieve.
Adapt Assembly or Pep Rally Schedules
Most schools already have an assembly or pep rally schedule made. These schedules usually block off 40 minutes or more for each of these special events.
As with the other strategies outlined here, there are pros and cons to this approach depending on the frequency of these events, the way they’re used, and their popularity with students. But if you’re unable to find the time elsewhere, don’t overlook this as an option to find some or all of the time you need for a flex period.
Extend the School Day
Admittedly, making changes to the school day is one of the most difficult changes to make. Families can be very sensitive about changes to the bell schedule and the impact on their work and life routines. Teachers, as well as other staff, may feel similar. There are also considerations around how extending the day affects pay, so if you have a teacher union in your area, you’ll want to engage with them early on if you have one.
However, on paper, this is also the easiest way to add the time you need, so it’s worth considering. The key to making this work lies in gaining support from your school community and staff for a flex period before you introduce the idea of changing the schedule. Going this route will require some planning, but it’s definitely possible and worth considering. Furthermore, no matter where you find the time, you’ll want a thorough plan to make sure your flex period is successful.
Start Your Flex Period the Right Way
Finding the time for a flex period can feel like a big hurdle to overcome. However, all you really need is a clear process to follow. You could try to figure it all out on your own, but why would you? In this interactive Flex Period Planning Guide, you can get the five-step approach we’ve used to help hundreds of schools implement a flex period.
Also, check out these helpful resources:
- Flex Periods 101
- How to Start a Flex Period in Your Middle or High School
- How to Use Flex Periods to Support MTSS
Already have a school flex period? Discover how Securly Flex simplifies the planning and administration of flex periods. Learn more or schedule a demo.