Dear ISB Community,
We are proposing scheduling early dismissals every Wednesday for the 2021/22 school year and are seeking feedback from our community.
- Currently, early dismissals take place once a month on Tuesdays with school ending at 1:10pm
- We are exploring ending school each Wednesday at 2:00pm for HS and 1:45pm for ES & MS for the 2021/22 school year.
The main reasons are to improve student learning through increased teacher collaboration time and to provide greater consistency for parents and students, knowing that school ends every Wednesday at the same time.
The need for increased collaboration time was highlighted in our WASC Self Study earlier this year. The WASC Visiting Team included as a Critical Area for Follow Up, “While collaboration to improve student learning is valued and clearly stated as a priority, there is a need to explore structures for dedicating more time to these collaborative structures”.
John Hattie, one of the leading researchers in effective schools, has found that teacher collaboration on improving student learning is a significant factor in helping students achieve high levels of academic growth, resulting in a 1.32 effect size which equates to more than a year’s growth within a school year.
Other research, presented by McKinsey and Co. shows that collaboration and innovation are the key factors that move schools from great to excellent. In a presentation to the ISB Board of Trustees this year, a consultant from McKinsey noted, “The engine of sustained and continuous improvement from ‘good’ performance to ‘excellent’ is collaborative professional practice”.
To this end, ISB is looking at ways to create the best possible structures for teacher collaboration and planning.
In our current school calendar, we have eight early release days scheduled through the year; roughly one per month when students are dismissed at 1:10 and teachers meet as divisions and/or teams.
After careful research and evaluation of the impact on student learning time, the ISB Leadership Team is considering having early release days every Wednesday. Elementary and Middle School students would be dismissed at 1:45pm and High School students would be dismissed at 2:00pm. Teachers would then have additional dedicated time every week to collaborate to improve student learning.
We would like to hear your thoughts on this proposal and have different forums for your feedback:
- We are inviting anyone interested to join us for a parent round table discussion on Thursday, April 8th from 1:30-2:30 in the MS Skybox. At this time we will answer your questions and share information about this proposal. Also at the table will be our division principals, Michael Allen, Dennis Harter, and Justin Alexander. (If you plan on attending this discussion, please register HERE).
- Please complete this survey by Thursday, April 8th.
A decision will be made at the end of April.
Kind regards,
Andy
Andrew Davies, Head of School (andrewd@isb.ac.th)
Debi Caskey, Deputy Head of School for Learning (debic@isb.ac.th)
Michael Allen, ES Principal (michaela@isb.ac.th)
Dennis Harter, MS Principal (dennish@isb.ac.th)
Justin Alexander, HS Principal (justina@isb.ac.th)