Common Planning Time

One of the accreditation requirements from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) is that high schools provide teachers with Common Planning Time. Common Planning Time is also required by the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education. With an already packed student instructional schedule, this has proved very difficult to implement. Many districts have found a solution by implementing a Wednesday early release for students in order to hold Common Planning Time for teachers in the afternoon.  

Our solution is much more far reaching, consistent, and not limited to just the high school.  Instead of dismissing students early one day a week, our teachers will report for Common Planning each day of the week 45 minutes before the student school day begins. 

This morning Common Planning Time can/will be used for:

• Weekly grade level, team, departmental, or subject area meetings to discuss curriculum planning, implementation, instruction, and student progress. 
• Professional Development: PD time for our teachers to meet the awareness requirements of the Science of Reading to meet the requirements of the  Right to Read Act. Additionally we will be conducting professional development on our new high quality curriculum programs.
• To provide the flexibility to accommodate other needs such as student before-school tutoring or parent meetings and communications. 

We will continue to review the effectiveness of CPT followed by a review and decision for continuation. No district in the state has been able to implement this model with their high schools, let alone including all grade levels PK-12.