It's Time for Strategic Scheduling: How to Design Smarter K–12 Schedules That Are Great for Students, Staff, and the Budget

An accessible guide to creating schedules that amplify school and district priorities, support best practices in teaching and learning, heighten student engagement, and enhance equity.

A school’s schedule can be as important to education outcomes as its budget or strategic plan. The secret to making the schedule a tool for school improvement is to approach schedule design not as a technical task, centered on making everything fit like Tetris blocks, but as a strategic one. In this book, informed by research and their work with hundreds of schools, scheduling experts Nathan Levenson and David James explore how strategic scheduling can turn a "good enough" schedule into one that supercharges learning and engagement without additional costs or more FTEs.

If you are ready to

* Figure out which schedule type is best for your students and staff;
* Disrupt harmful tracking and ensure every student has access to highly skilled teachers and rigorous curriculum;
* Deliver optimum hours of core instruction while expanding electives and providing opportunities for student voice and choice;
* Precisely match staffing to course enrollment to free up personnel and funds for other purposes
* Find time for critical intervention and enrichment blocks; and
* Communicate scheduling decisions more effectively to parents, families, and district leaders

… then it’s time for strategic scheduling. Offering targeted advice for best-practice scheduling at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, this book will help school and district leaders—and the teachers and students they serve—make the most of every school day and every school year.

Nathan Levenson is the president of New Solutions K12, an education consulting firm. Over the past 15 years, he has helped school systems build strategic schedules, partnering with more than 250 school districts in 30 states. Levenson began his career in the private sector, but a passion for public education led to a career switch that included six years as a school board member; assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Harvard, Massachusetts; and superintendent of Arlington (Mass.) Public Schools.

David James is a managing director at New Solutions K12, where he leads the firm's scheduling and staffing practice. He advises schools and districts nationally on how best to design, build, and manage school schedules that align to priorities and make the biggest impact for students. A former public middle school teacher, James designed and facilitates New Solutions K12's scheduling academy, which trains educators in how to approach scheduling strategically.