How East Lawrence HS Adopted Optional Monday Attendance for All Students

When it comes to school improvement, we often hear about “out of the box” thinking. But what does that really look like? Here’s a powerful example shared by former instructional partner Casey Tate, now vice principal at East Lawrence High School. In January 2016, ELHS began optional attendance on Mondays for all non-trade students in grades 9-12. Here’s how iLearning Monday came about and what’s happened since.

caseytatebrdrBy Casey Tate

Last fall, during a professional development meeting to discuss our school’s assessed needs, we were urged by Dr. Scott Mohon with the ALSDE to “think outside the box” in our search for solutions.

At that gathering, held in a church fellowship hall, our team talked and brainstormed extensively – so much so that, as we now joke, the deacons and elders began stacking the chairs and tables to remind us it was time to leave.

Out of that deep discussion was born an idea that ignited both a spark of hope and a ripple of fear in our eyes. But first some background.

What our needs assessment told us

Our assessments showed we need to improve attendance, shrink the failure rate, and cope more effectively with a lot of familiar issues: limited transportation, shrinking resources, and staff reduction, among others.

Enter into our world and listen in on a typical conversation with a parent….

Parent: “My child is struggling in math. What do you suggest?”
ELHS: “Well Ms. ____ (a math teacher) stays after school on certain days to help students.”
Parent: “That’s not an option for us because the bus is his only way to get home.”
ELHS: “I know a former student who tutors on the side.”
Parent: “I just don’t have the resources or transportation to make that happen at this time.”

Some readers might suggest we assign a math teacher a remediation period. After budget cuts and staff reductions, our teachers’ schedules make stand-alone remediation classes untenable. But this story is really not about our problems, but about what we envisioned to rise above them.

The rise of ILearning Monday

The bottom line was clear to us – we had to take Dr. Mohon’s advice and think beyond the patterns and practices we were used to following.

Our initial goals included the following:

  1. To design a schedule that meets individual needs and increases time for learning.
  2. To create a flexible schedule that will promote student and teacher attendance
  3. To provide an intervention day for those with failures or absences within a certain time period
  4. To enhance rigor in the classroom while boosting student responsibility and school morale

facultyplanning

After more brainstorming and planning sessions with our faculty, the iLearning Monday concept was officially coined, with “i” representing innovative and independent. Here are the basics of our plan:

  • Optional attendance on Monday with exception of Tech School students (due to credential hours)
  • Buses on normal schedule. Breakfast and lunch served.
  • iLearning assignments in core classes on a rotation – English/History and Math/Science
  • Credit recovery – required to attend every Monday

Now you’re probably wondering what everyone asks us at this point. “DO WHAT?” “Mondays are optional?” “How can you get away with this?”

Well remember, we were tasked with thinking outside the box. At the time, former State Superintendent Bice had lifted restrictions on “seat time.” Furthermore, because of our bell schedule, we were already over the required seat time minutes.

So we crunched those numbers, organized our thoughts further, and presented our plan to our Board of Education. They, along with our superintendent, were willing to give us a chance. We’re thankful for risk takers with a growth mindset!

Pitching the idea to students and families

So now we had to present it to our students and parents. This is where it got really fun.

We enthusiastically pitched the meeting as “the big reveal” at ELHS. This resulted in a much larger crowd of parents and students than we normally see for such an assembly.

We presented this handout that night and simply shared with parents why students should attend on a Monday and what students should do if they didn’t attend on a Monday.

 

ilearningday

We received overwhelming support. We were finally meeting the needs of our students and parents at exactly where they were.

Now let me re-enter into that conversation I shared earlier.

Parent: “My child is struggling in math but he can’t stay after school because the bus is his only way home and I just can’t afford a tutor right now.”

ELHS: “Let’s work with him on Mondays!”

A closer look at iLearning Monday

So what does a Monday look like? Here is a glimpse of what you might see:

  • Small group instruction/tutoring in each subject
  • One-on-one instruction
  • iLearning assignments
  • Peer tutoring
  • Credit Recovery
  • ACT study sessions
  • AP study sessions
  • For those not attending: iLearning assignments at home, community service, makeup work, college visits, job shadowing

Here is a link to an iLearning Monday schedule.

The schedule consists of four blocks of the four core classes. It’s “all hands on deck” for iLearning Mondays. For example, our math team consists of our three math teachers, our 2 business teachers, and our band director. Everyone has a job to do, and our entire team is committed to meeting the needs of our students. As I always tell everyone, we have the BEST team on the planet!

Our results so far

So what happened? How did this all turn out? I’ll let the data speak for itself. Our attendance improved significantly. The chart below compares the average unexcused absence per student in 2015 to the same months in 2016 after iLearning had been implemented.

14-1515-16
February2.311.57
March2.302.29
April3.721.73
May8.784.01

The number of students failing courses decreased by 13% from the first semester to the second semester of 2015-2016.

As one student put it, “iLearning Mondays have been the best thing to happen to me!”

There is just no way to capture all of the “aha moments” and little success stories that came from this risk-taking and outside-the-box thinking, but in closing, I’d like to share a few links that reveal some of the excitement and success of our iLearning Mondays.

The first is a link to our end-of-year digital newsletter. This is a mini-yearbook of all things ELHS and there are a few sections that highlight iLearning Mondays.

 

The next links are short videos that capture some of the activities and excitement from iLearning Mondays. These links are also found in the digital newsletter shared above.

ilearningmondayvideoActivity on iLearning Monday
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBiI6fgowEr/
and
https://www.instagram.com/p/BA95iPEowC-/

Looking to the future

We’ve welcomed our students back for a new year, and because of our success, we plan to continue iLearning Mondays. After reviewing surveys from students, parents, and teachers, we will make necessary adjustments.

But rest assured, it will always be about meeting the needs of our students and doing all we can to challenge, inspire, and motivate our Eagles to soar even higher in 2016-2017.
__________

Casey Tate is assistant principal at East Lawrence High School. He holds a B.S. and M.A. degree in Elementary Education and a M.A. certification in Education Administration from the University of North Alabama. Casey taught 6th Grade and Middle School Science at Hazelwood HS for 11 years before coming to ELHS as Instructional Partner in 2013. He became AP in 2014.