Making Room for Change is an educational book that will be valuable to anyone involved in secondary education. The book will provide clear examples, research, and personal reflections of how building in flexible time can be different from the historic middle and high school scheduling models. Educators of all ages and levels of experience can benefit from learning and building in support and enrichment opportunities for their students' daily routine. This book is a must read for college secondary education majors as this model begins to spread rapidly throughout our country.
Amanda Bastoni is an award-winning author, grant writer, educational leader, Career and Technical Education (CTE) director, and education scientist. Brian Pickering is a former teacher, NH Coach of the Year, NH Athletic Director of the year, and 2016 NH Principal of the Year. Nathan Bisson is a high school counselor and department leader at Fall Mountain Regional High School in NH. He was involved in the implementation and function of the Flex Time Model within multiple schools.
Foreword: Brian M. Stack Preface Introduction Chapter 1: Step 1: Make a Philosophical Shift (Create a Vision, Not a Set of Rules) Chapter 2: Step 2: Understand the Structure (Create Space, Not Limitations) Chapter 3: Step 3: Make It Real (Create the Structure Not the Outcomes) Chapter 4: Flex Time Model Checklists\ References About the Authors
This book was, in large part, written before the Covid 19 pandemic. Covid 19 has forced every school district in America to rethink their system of learning including having the flexibility to learn anytime, anyplace. Covid or no Covid, flex time will become a staple of every school system in the country. This book shows how to do it right. -- Fredrick Bramante, President, National Center for Competency-Based Learning In order to meet the ever-changing needs of all learners, today's school's need to be flexible in how they personalize experiences. This is true even when it comes to instructional time, one of the most important resources that a school has to work with. In this book, the authors challenge the mindsets and long-held practices and beliefs on how time is used to support all students. This book is a must-read for any educator who is looking to maximize their resources in an effort to promote higher student achievement. -- Brian Stack, NH High School Principal , Solution Tree Author, Competency Based Learning Specialist, 2017 New Hampshire Secondary School Principal of the Year The Covid pandemic blew open the doors to thinking about how to restructure school time. This book shows the many ways schools can benefit from flex time and examples of how to structure the school day to optimize student learning. One major benefit is it allows time for students to participate in community-based learning, including internships and other valuable off-site Extended Learning Opportunities. -- Mary Lou O'Neil, Retired School--Career/Extended Learning Opportunity consultant at MDS, 2013 NH Scholar's Award for creating exemplary business/education partnerships Flex time in a high school setting is critical for comprehensive school counseling programs to implement timely and targeted interventions. The ability to reach students during non-classroom time is imperative to successfully offer social-emotional supports such as group counseling or mindfulness activities. Flex time is an excellent vehicle for offering career assessments, post-secondary planning, registration information, topic-specific presentations, and other systematic activities without disrupting the learning environment. Having access to students during a Flex block has significantly changed the shape of my work as a professional school counselor. This book provides excellent resources for school counselors to learn how to add social-emotional support outside of a traditional schedule. -- Kim Varney Chandler, School Counselor, 2010 Virginia School Counselor Association Counselor Supervisor of the Year
