Deeper Learning changes to next year's schedule

March 10, 2021

Dear TSA High School Families,

This is a follow-up to the 3/3/21 letter announcing our shift to a Deeper Learning Model of teaching and learning. As we intimated in that letter, which explained why we are adopting this model and what deepr learning means, there are fundamental schedule changes involved in implementing the model. This letter will focus on explaining these changes to:

The school day
The school week
The school year

In addition, we'll explain the Course selection process.

As you read through this letter, please make a note of, or reach out to me with, your questions. More details are forthcoming and we will schedule forums to give families the opportunity to learn, discuss, and share thoughts about the changes. As always, thank you for your faith in the work we do.

Mary Newman

TSA Head of School

How the High School Day Is Changing

Classes start at 9am

There is extensive research showing that "delaying school start times is an effective countermeasure to chronic sleep loss and has a wide range of potential benefits to students with regard to physical and mental health, safety, and academic achievement." American Academy of Pediatrics
Students will still be able to arrive at school before classes begin. See the Weekly Schedule below. We will send more details about that later.

Students take only two academic classes at a time (A and B blocks)

Reducing the number of different academic subjects that students are managing at a time reduces what neuroscientists like Dartmouth Professor G. Christian Jernstedt call "interference," and enables student brains to consolidate learning. TSA faculty worked extensively with Professor Jernstedt and have been using principles of neuroscience to improve student learning for over 5 years.
Much has been written on the idea of "depth over breadth," showing the long-term benefits of exploring fewer topics in depth, rather than covering large swaths of content at a shallow level.
Refer to the report from the National Institutes of Health: New Insights in Human Memory Interference and Consolidation

Academic Classes meet for 90 minutes

Longer class times allow for more in-depth exploration of topics, more authentic lab experiments in science, multi-disciplinary projects, student collaboration, and built-in study time. Students will have the opportunity to get work completed in class, with support from their teacher, rather than taking separate "study halls" supervised by teachers who may not have all of the information necessary to guide students in completing their work.
Important: the 90-minute classes will not be longer versions of what we are doing now. Teachers are redesigning their courses to take advantage of the extended class time, building in space for students to have voice and choice in what topics are investigated.

How the School Week Is Changing

Academic classes meet 5 times per week

Meeting every day of the week for 90 minutes per day brings an intensity to the course that connects directly to the brain-based principles of learning. Students are steeped in only two subjects at a time, building skills and knowledge every day for longer chunks of time, immersed in the material, rather than juggling 5 subjects with day-long gaps between classes.

Weekly Schedule

Early Morning	Arrival/clubs/meetings/study groups
9-- 10:30am	A Block
10:30-- 11am	Advisory/All School Meeting
11-- 11:30am	Lunch
11:30am-- 1pm	B Block
1-1:15pm	Break
1:15-- 2:15pm	M: Seminar (Session A) T: Elective classes begin W: Dismissal Th: Elective classes begin F: Club
2:15-- 3:15pm	M: Seminar (Session B) T/Th: Elective classes continue F: Forum

Electives

Students will continue to have a robust assortment of electives to choose from each year. Elective classes will continue to meet for two hours each session, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

How the School Year Is Changing

Instead of students taking about 5 different academic courses spanning the entire year, students will focus on just 2 academic courses at a time in each "module." Each academic course will take 3 of the 8 modules over the span of the year to cover all the required material.

2021-- 22 High School Calendar
Note that a more detailed school calendar will be available soon.

Orientation	August 30-- September 3
Module 1	September 6-- October 1
Module 2	October 4-- October 29
Module 3 begins	November 1-- 5
Interim	November 8-- 19
Thanksgiving Break	November 22-- 26
Module 3 continues	November 29-- December 17
Early Winter Break	December 20-- 31
Module 4	January 3-- 28
Chain Reaction Week	January 31-- February 4
Module 5 begins	February 7-- 18
Late Winter Break	February 21-- 25
Module 5 continues	February 28-- March 11
Module 6	March 14-- April 8
Spring Break	April 11-- 15
Module 7	April 18-- May 13
Module 8	May 16-- June 10
Last week of school--- no classes	June 13-- 17

Course Selection

This spring, students will use advisory time to think about next year and the courses they want to take. They will work with their advisors to register for courses in much the same way they always have, but the modular schedule will allow for increased flexibility and choices.

Spring conferences will be a time for parents/guardians to hear from advisors about each individual student's progress towards meeting TSA's graduation requirements and to make decisions about next year's courses.

Note: Assessment of coursework will continue to be proficiency-based, and students will continue to use coursework as evidence of their progress towards meeting TSA's Graduation Requirements.