IN Fox Chapel Area Fall 2019 | Page 26

2 018 - 2 019 f ox c hapel a r ea s chool d is tr ict | s tat e of t he s chools New DMS Schedule Developed   Starting in the 2019-2020 school year, DMS students are spending more instructional time in the core subject areas. According to Dorseyville Middle School Principal Jonathan Nauhaus, the middle school schedule had not changed in many years, and an upgrade was necessary to give students the best education possible. “The change was im- perative for several reasons, including increased rigor in the Pennsylvania Core Standards and students needing more experience with skills such as collabora- tion, problem-solving, and creative thinking,” he said. “But we knew that it was important for students to continue to be exposed to the arts and other elective offerings.” The process of changing the schedule involved parents, administrators, and teachers. Planning included a survey, as well as the development of model schedules. The district also held public meetings about the schedule throughout the process to keep everyone informed. The final schedule was the consensus of all stakeholder groups. Several priorities were set for the de- velopment of the new schedule. It was understood that the program must be unique to the needs of the middle school learner and the middle school philosophy, including built-in academic and emotional supports, an increase in class time for core subjects, and maintain- ing strong connections between students and staff. Additionally, the schedule needed to preserve a wide exposure to the arts and also offer other experiences to help students develop additional academic interests. 24 FOX CHAPEL AREA The schedule runs on a quarterly six-day cycle and includes a 34-minute morning homebase and 60 minutes each for the core classes of English language arts/ literacy, math, science, and social stud- ies. It also includes time for physical education, music, world languages, art, technology education, computer science, health, and family and consumer sciences. Eighth-graders also have the opportunity to further study electives, and classes were added in computer science and music. Additionally, the schedule allows for later lunch periods, the study of four languages (Spanish, French, German, and Latin) in sixth grade, and a Level I world language option in grade seven.