HCPS FL Logo Operations
Action Item
DATE: Tuesday, August 14, 2018
TO: School Board Members
FROM: Jeff Eakins, Superintendent
SUBJECT / RECOMMENDATIONS
Approve Bell Schedule Variations for the 2018/2019 Extended Reading Time (ERT) Sites
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Changes made by the omnibus education bill (HB 7055) passed during the 2018 legislative session, enacted as 1011.62(9)(a) now allow for the additional one hour of reading instruction, also known as Extended Reading Time (ERT), to be delivered within the school day. 

This change, coupled with the district’s new bell schedule for the 2018-2019 school year, allows for some flexibility in meeting this mandate, but also pose challenges related to scheduling complexities for ERT schools.
 
The extension of reading instruction within the day comes with both intended and unintended consequences.  Specifically, as reading minutes increase within the day, the available minutes for other academic subjects decrease.  To ensure compliance with the ERT mandate and preserve valuable instructional time in other subjects, district staff met to review scheduling options and identify a consistent schedule for our ERT schools. 

Input was obtained from district leaders in many divisions, including Teaching & Learning, Operations, Information Technology, and Business, as well as from the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association (HCTA). 

In the end, to honor the teacher contract, two viable models for ERT were identified.  Both of these schedules also allow for departmentalization and align instructional minutes with the standards students are expected to master.  Each of the ERT sites voted on which schedule to adopt using a School Improvement Plan waiver process.  The attached list indicates which Monday dismissal schedule each ERT school selected.

·       All elementary schools (ERT and non-ERT) will begin their school day at 7:40 AM Monday through Friday.

·       ERT schools were given the option to dismiss at the same time as non-ERT sites on Mondays (12:55 PM) or to extend the day by 30-minutes on Monday and dismiss at 1:25 PM.

·       Tuesday through Friday, both ERT schools and non-ERT elementary schools will dismiss as planned at 1:55 PM.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
All Strategic Objectives
FINANCIAL IMPACT (Budgeted:  No)
No financial impact is expected as a result of this modification.  This modification represents considerable savings compared to prior years in terms of transportation costs and paid wages.
EVALUATION
The efficiency and effectiveness of this model will be evaluated using the following metrics:  school grades, specifically English Language Arts (ELA) performance; ERT status for the 2019-2020 school year; bus route on-time statistics; and subsequent FTE audit findings.
SUBMITTED BY:  Patti Simmons, Manager, FTE and Unit Analysis
    Christopher Farkas

  Deputy Superintendent, Operations
(813) 272-4004
    C 7.01
Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) * Mtg.#20180814_894 (Board Meeting) * Section C Item# 7.01