A good running schedule is one of the parameters of prime significance in the evaluation of the standard of a school. A good running schedule can ensure a proper all-round performance of a school, with all its students and teaching and non-teaching staff.
A key characteristic of the most effective schools, a well planned schedule can reflect the efficiency of the school administration. Making an institution function on a good running schedule is based on some primary factors. If the school authorities can properly handle these factors, all the parties involved, that is the students, teachers and even the authorities themselves, would reap the benefits.
1. Balanced academic schedule throughout the year
Every year in the school is utterly significant in the life of a student. These are the formative years of life that require proper investment of time and energy. The institutions have a major role to play in making these years count in the lives of the students in the future. A good running schedule, reflecting careful planning and appropriate implementations by the school authorities, can assist the students in reaping the maximum benefits from their academic years.
A balanced schedule must always take into account the stress levels of the students. A heavy academic load is never conducive to proper learning. A good running schedule must ensure that the students do not tend to crumble under the excessive pressure of advanced courses. The academic necessities should not be so rigid as to keep the students well past midnight, studying a paper or typing an essay. Realistic schedules, accounting for recurring commitments and realistic projects, try to avoid exhaustive schedules. Instead the authorities must accommodate other activities in the schedules from athletics and community outreach programs to part-time jobs and scouting. A good running schedule would also need apt involvement of the parents.
Some particular courses would require more study time than the rest. So the schedules should be designed allotting enough sessions to the subjects that demand detailed explanation and practice. The aptitudes and learning capacities vary from student to student. Students, under proper guidance from the parents and teachers, must determine the time required to devote in each subject to achieve the desired grades. A good running schedule is impossible without the association of the parents and the students themselves.
2. Employing both fresh and veteran teachers
A good running schedule depends a lot on the balance of energy and experience in the faculty unit of a school. The new-comers into the teaching profession represent an energetic, enthusiastic part of the faculty while the veteran teachers add to the experience. The new teachers are always brimming with energy to teach and innovate. Most of them also believe from their heart that they can create a difference. Their spirited presence may ensure the smooth functioning of a good running schedule. Again, they also simultaneously need to know about classroom management and internal working systems of the school. The veteran teachers, with years of experience and proper understanding of students and school systems, can effectively manage all the academic and administrative issues. Thus, a good running schedule in a school would essentially need the presence of both the new and old teaching members.
3. Minimizing politics
Inter-departmental politics are a hindrance to the good running schedule in any institution. Although it is hard to locate a department in any school without their share of politics, efforts should be made to reduce its effects as much as possible. Internal conflicts between the staff might not only deviate them from pursuing the planned schedules, but also ruin the ambiance of an educational organization. The Principal and other authoritative figures like the dean, head-of -department etc should take the leadership to eradicate such politics in order to keep the good running schedule of the institution unaffected.
4. Empowering faculty
A good running schedule depends largely on the relationship between the administrative body and the faculty. If the faculty is encouraged by the administration to make and incorporate new decisions, a trust is born that leads to further innovations and effective teaching methods. The influence is far-reaching, also impacting the good running schedule of the institution, positively.
5. Teamwork
A good running schedule can also be defined in an alternative way as teamwork – a teamwork between the faculty, the administrative heads, the parents and also the students. All of them has a significant role to play in this joint effort. So proper communication between all of them has major role in proper running of the schedules. A great deal also depends on the co-operative attitude of the office staff and the principal. The new faculty members must be provided with apt guidance of mentors in the initial years of their teaching career. Overall, there must be complete educational environment for the good running schedule to yield the maximum results.
Additional Resources
eGuide – Building a Master Schedule
Powerpoint presentation – Building A Secondary School Master Schedule Program
Articles – School Master Schedule Tips, Facts About Extending the School Year, Are You Ready to Implement the School Master Schedule?
