Planning Time All teachers are to be guaranteed an uninterrupted daily block of at least 45 minutes of planning for a traditional schedule or an uninterrupted block of at least 90 minutes every other day for a block schedule. Planning time shall be used primarily for lesson/program planning, parent conferences, student conferences, and conferring with other faculty members. A good faith effort must be made by the principal or designee to ensure equitable scheduling among the faculty for teacher participation and involvement for any accommodation plan meeting (IEP (Individual Education Plan), 504, BIP (Behavior Intervention Plan), etc.) in which the teacher’s planning time and instructional time are disrupted as little as possible.
a) The principal may have up to one (1) of these 45-minute blocks per week designated for Collaborative Planning, Professional Learning Community (PLC), or Faculty Meetings (one (1) per month) or other data gathering/planning intended to increase student achievement.
b) The four (4) 45-minute planning periods for a traditional schedule or an uninterrupted block of at least 90 minutes every other day for a block schedule shall be used by the teacher solely for self-directed planning time. Recognizing that curriculum changes are inevitable throughout all areas of instruction, team/common planning may occur and is encouraged in order to meet the needs of the students. Teachers are responsible for the proper utilization of the self-directed portion of planning time.
6.3-1 During weeks when there is a full Staff Development Day, or a shortened week, teachers will still have four (4) days of self-directed planning that week.
6.3-2 Elementary school teachers shall have an uninterrupted, continuous block of time of no fewer than forty-five (45) minutes per day of scheduled duty free planning time during the student contact time. Should a continuous forty-five (45) minute block be unfeasible, the principal will schedule a continuous thirty (30) minute block during the student day and an additional fifteen (15) minute continuous block of time during the duty day for planning. Elementary teachers shall stay with their students when the students are participating in regularly scheduled special classes only when there is no certified instructor available.
6.3-3 Middle school teachers shall have an uninterrupted, continuous block of forty-five (45) minutes per day for a traditional schedule or an uninterrupted block of at least 90 minutes every other day for a block schedule of scheduled duty free planning time during the student contact time. Middle school schedules should include time for teacher planning time for such concepts as team planning, back to back planning periods, parent conferences, student conferences, etc. In middle schools that elect to participate in a seven (7) or eight (8) period day, the normal teaching load will be six (6) out of seven (7) or seven (7) out of eight (8) periods. (Advisor/advisee instruction will count as a teaching period.) Teachers, excluding those teachers assigned to Special Programs, may be asked, but shall not be involuntarily assigned a teaching schedule requiring more than three (3) preparations. To indicate acceptance of a schedule with more than three (3) preparations, the teacher must be presented with the schedule in writing and indicate acceptance by attaching their signature.
6.3-4 High school teachers shall have an uninterrupted, continuous block of forty-five (45) minutes per day for a traditional schedule or an uninterrupted block of at least 90 minutes every other day for a block schedule of duty free planning time during the student contact time. A normal teaching load will be six (6) out of seven (7) periods. Instructional time will be arranged according to the school’s approved schedule and in accordance with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) guidelines. Teachers, excluding those teachers assigned to Special Programs, may be asked, but shall not be involuntarily assigned a teaching schedule requiring more than three (3) preparations. To indicate acceptance of a schedule with more than three (3) preparations, the teacher must be presented with the schedule in writing and indicate acceptance by attaching their signature.
6.3-5 Traviss and Ridge Technical College regular program and academic teachers shall have three hundred (300) minutes per week of planning time.
6.3-6 Adult School (East and West Areas) teachers shall have at least 250 minutes per week of planning
6.3-7 Teachers are required to make arrangements with the principal or immediate supervisor prior to
6.3-8 The Board shall structure a schedule for students that dismisses all students 150 minutes early to provide teachers 150 minutes of planning time in addition to the planning time described in Sections 6.3 through 6.3-5. There shall be at least seven (7) of these Student Early Dismissal Days distributed throughout the school year as mutually agreed upon. The days shall be designated six (6) Teacher Self- Directed Planning Days and one (1) Staff Development Day in March with a portion used for state testing training.
