HomeMy WebLinkAbout09ci1ii Memo 18-097 IB at Merivale High School
MEMORANDUM
Memo No. 18-097
TO: Trustees
Student Trustees
FROM: Jennifer Adams, Director of Education and Secretary of the Board
Frank Wiley, Superintendent of Instruction
DATE: 22 June 2018
RE: International Baccalaureate at Merivale High School
At the Committee of the Whole meeting on 5 June 2018, a report outlining the staff
recommendations for the implementation of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Merivale High School beginning in September 2019 was presented.
The report recommended that Merivale High School adopt a non-semestered program
delivery model starting in September 2019 and that the non-semestering be
implemented over 3 years. During the debate, trustees raised a number of questions related to the proposed phase-in of non-semestered programming at Merivale High
School. Clarification was sought about the timetabling of non-semestered
programming and Appendix A illustrates the timetabling of non-semestered
programming. Concern was expressed over the potential impact of this change for the
current grade 8 cohort who would be affected in grade 12. As a result, staff was asked to provide further information on the impact of this proposed change, the supports that
would be available to the students in question, and an alternative implementation plan
for consideration.
Over the past two weeks, staff has examined this issue in some detail and looked at a variety of implementation strategies. This work has reaffirmed that a non-semestered
programming model is preferred; a move to a non-semestered model can be
implemented in several different ways. Any implementation model will either require a
cohort of students to move from semestered to non-semestered during their high school
years OR will result in one cohort being the only non-semestered group in the school during the students’ grade 12 year.
Appendix B provides a detailed description of the advantages and disadvantages of a
three year and a four year implementation strategy. Other options were considered, but
were felt to be not as effective. Both of the implementation strategies outlined in the appendix would begin in 2019-2020. Either of these strategies could be effectively
Memo No: 18-097 – IB at Merivale High School Page 1
implemented with slight differences in terms of implications for student learning, staffing assignments, and the need for teacher overlays. From a student learning perspective,
three year implementation affects the fewest number of learners, but it does create an
additional transition for the current grade 8 cohort.
The District has experience supporting students in a concurrent, de-semestered model
in their grade 12 year. Strategies that could be implemented to support student learning include:
• Differentiated guidance support for the cohort of students beginning in grade 10
to ensure students and parents are aware of the different pathway options and
required course selections;
• Deliberate student timetabling to ensure that required courses are spread as much as possible over the grade 11 and 12 years to minimize the chances of an
unduly heavy grade 12 year;
• Staff coordination between teachers and departments to ensure that major
projects and assessments are spread well throughout the year and at summative
assessment time to minimize overburdening the students at critical points in the year;
• Grade 12 students would need additional supports (staffing, guidance,
resources) to ensure full pathway choices to complete their OSSD; and
• Increased access to e-learning and continuing education programming for students in grade 12 requiring grade 11 courses who would not be able to “reach
back” due to differences in program delivery models.
There are differences in resource implications with the three year versus four year
implementation strategies. The most significant implication is teacher overlays. The three year implementation plan is estimated to require 1-2 FTE ($105,000 - $210,000)
overlay for one year whereas the four year implementation strategy is estimated to
require 4-6 FTE ($420,000 - $630,000) overlay for one year, but may require portables
and have implications on classroom utilization.
Summary: The introduction of a second IB program is a very positive step forward for students in
this District and will positively impact student learning at Merivale HS. However, the
program implementation will require transition for at least one cohort of students and for
the staff. Our challenge is to find the implementation which minimizes the impact,
ensures students are well supported through the transition, and allows the school to start functioning as one school community rather than two disparate parts. On that
basis, the three year model is the staff-recommended option. Regardless of the
implementation model selected, appropriate resources, planning and supports can be
put in place to ensure that students’ opportunities for success are optimized.
Attach.
cc: Director’s Executive Council
Manager, Board Services
Corporate Records
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Appendix A
Daily Schedule in Non–Semestered Delivery Model
Many questions were raised about how students manage 8 courses in a non-semestered system versus four courses in a semestered system. In both systems,
students have 4 classes per day for 75 minutes per class. The following table reflects
the daily schedule of a concurrent delivery model.
Table 1: The proposed concurrent daily timetable.
Period = 75 min Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4
Period 1 1A 2A 1B 2B
Period 2 1B 2B 1A 2A
Period 3 1C 2C 1D 2D
Period 4 1D 2D 1C 2C
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Appendix B
Three and Four Year Implementation Strategies
i. Three-Year Implementation
The three-year implementation was the original staff recommendation. With this implementation strategy, Merivale High School would see the introduction of non-
semestered programming for students in grade 9 beginning in 2019-2020, for
students in grade 10 beginning in 2020-2021, and for students in grades 11 and
12 in 2021-2022.
School Year Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12
2018-2019 Semestered Semestered Semestered Semestered
2019-2020 Non-Semestered Semestered Semestered Semestered
2020-2021 Non-Semestered Non-Semestered Semestered Semestered
2021-2022 Non-Semestered Non-Semestered Non-Semestered Non-Semestered
2022-2023 Non-Semestered Non-Semestered Non-Semestered Non-Semestered
Advantages for Students:
• Gradual implementation beginning with the first IB grade 9 cohort;
• Supports a broader range of student course choice in senior grades;
• Supports flexibility in staffing, reduces need for staffing overlays, and access
to specialized learning spaces;
• Does not isolate a single cohort of students in grade 12 which would allow grade 12 students to reach back as necessary, grade 11 students to reach
ahead; and
• Smaller cohort sizes at grades 11/12 would allow all options maximized.
Considerations:
• One cohort would need to adjust to a new delivery model in grade 12;
• All students would continue to have 4 classes on any given day, but would carry up to 8 courses over the school year which may be advantageous for
some students, but potentially challenging for others; and
• May require a short-term staffing overlay in year three due to cohort size at
year of implementation of 1-2 FTE ($105,000 - $210,000)
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ii. Four Year Implementation Strategy
An alternative option is to implement this model over four years. Students in the
current grade 8 cohort would not transition to a non-semestered model during their four years of secondary school. Non-semestered programming would be introduced in 2019-2020 for the incoming grade 9 students only; grade 10
students would move to non-semestered programming in 2020-2021 as this
cohort of student advances; grade 11 would de-semester in 2021-2022; and
grade 12 in 2022-2023.
School Year Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12
2018-2019 Semestered Semestered Semestered Semestered
2019-2020 Non-Semestered Semestered Semestered Semestered
2020-2021 Non-Semestered Non-Semestered Semestered Semestered
2021-2022 Non-Semestered Non-Semestered Non-Semestered Semestered
2022-2023 Non-Semestered Non-Semestered Non-Semestered Non-Semestered
Advantages for Students:
No student would be required to transition from a semestered to a non-
semestered model of delivery during their four years of secondary school and transition from having up to four classes in a semester to potentially 8 classes in
a year.
Considerations:
As the number of grade cohorts that remain semestered reduces, constraints on staffing and space utilization for those cohorts increase. This would become
particularly acute in the 2021-2022 school year when only the grade 12 cohort
remains semestered. Impacts in this year would include:
• Staff assigned to teach grade 12 classes could not easily be assigned to classes in other grades. Students in this cohort will likely have the same
teacher for multiple classes;
• In order to further address the staffing challenges/inefficiencies described
above, additional staffing overlays of approximately 4-6 FTE ($420,000 - $630,000) would be required for grade 12 classes;
• Similar learning space constraints/inefficiencies would l also occur for this
cohort and may require 4-6 ($140,000 - $210,000) additional portables be
placed on site; and
• Students in grade 11 in 2021-2022 would not be able to reach ahead and
take grade 12 courses in day school.
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Other Implementation Strategies
Other implementation strategies were also considered, for example, having the
current grade 8 cohort transition to non-semestered for their grade 10 year,
leaving the grades 11 and 12 cohorts semestered, and the following year only grade 12 would be semestered. This option was not recommended as it would potentially negatively impact two cohorts. First, the grade 10 cohort changing
delivery models after a year of being semestered, and then the grade 11 cohort
being isolated for grade 12 when they are the last remaining semestered cohort
in the school. There is no transition plan that does not see either a single cohort of students transitioning from semestering to de-semestered during their grade 12 year, or a final semestered cohort in a school that is otherwise de-semestered
isolated in their grade 12 year.
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