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About MFS
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Strategic Plan - Schedule/Planning Time Goals
Plan Goal #5 Make weekly reflection/planning time in each teacher's schedule a high priority in the school's schedule. Rationale Teachers expressed especially great concern about the impact of the schedule on their ability to prepare adequately for classes, to design and execute interdisciplinary projects, and to engage in other collaborative work. Changing the school's schedule to make such planning work possible is a high priority. Strategies • Lighten teaching loads within the context of schedule changes. • Create a culture where teachers fully utilize planning time. • Provide one half-day of planning time for faculty each month. • Implement a summer program for curricular development. Plan
Goal #6 Rationale The MFS schedule creates an excessively fragmented and insufficiently flexible framework for instruction. A new schedule will permit longer class periods, reduce the impact of disruptions (e.g. sports, special activities), result in increased flexibility, support the development of special courses, encourage in-depth, project-based learning, and provide additional planning time for faculty. Strategies • Minimize disruptions due to sports. • Create a rotating or block schedule. • Standardize the beginning and end times of classes between divisions. • Explore changing the beginning and end times of school day. • Maintain important programs, e.g., Meeting for Worship, assemblies, clubs, activities. • Consolidate, reschedule or eliminate certain faculty meetings.
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The intensity of
the daily schedule surfaced early in the fact-finding phase
of the planning process as a major concern of the faculty.
The current arrangement of a string of short (40-50
minutes) classes has changed little in the Middle and Upper
School for more than 30 years. Today, many, if not
most, independent schools have moved to a more flexible
schedule permitting longer classes. 
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