Unlike Stage 1, the DESIGN Stage will consist of two parallel work streams focused on scheduling and staffing respectively.

Part I: Identify and Finalize a Prioritized Set of Improvements to Middle School Programming and Schedules

The ultimate goal of this part of the work will be to create two short but impactful lists: first, a set of programming and scheduling practices that will be consistent across all middle schools in the district; and second, a set of programming and scheduling practices that schools will have flexibility in implementing based on school priorities and student needs.

Part II: Establish Clear Middle School Staffing Guidelines

In many ways, staffing and scheduling are two sides of the same coin. Schedules cannot be created without clarity on staff and staffing practices, just as schedules cannot run without staff. To further help guide and inform scheduling and staffing in the district beyond the scope of part I of the work outlined above, New Solutions K12 will also help the district create a set of staffing guidelines that reflect the nuances and differences of the middle schools in the district. It was determined during stage I of this work that there is no universal expectation or definition of what constitutes a “full” workload for middle school classroom teachers, which results in uneven use of teacher time and talent.

New Solutions K12 will partner with district leaders to address these findings by establishing a clear set of middle school-specific staffing ratios and class size guidelines.

Note: New Solutions K12 will not be party to any collective bargaining agreement (CBA) discussions and the work within part II assumes no changes to the CBA—only that the district leadership will, with our help, set clear staffing and workload expectations within the current CBA.