Patton Middle School launches master-schedule review, cites student agency and relationships as priorities

Unionville-Chadds Ford administrators outlined a multi-stage review of Patton Middle School's master schedule at the Curriculum & Instruction committee meeting, describing committee formation, data collection, and a prioritization process that produced three core values to guide any schedule redesign.

Dr. Lisonbee (presenter) and Mr. Hoffman said the committee convened steering and full committees beginning in October/November, held a two-hour full committee meeting on Dec. 11 and follow-ups on Jan. 22 and Feb. 5, and used a narrowing exercise (red-dot voting) to move from roughly 15 candidate priorities to three that will guide future design and evaluation. "Prioritize the highest quality instruction for students to match modern day needs" emerged as an overarching mission-style statement, presenters said.

The three core priorities the committee identified are: (1) opportunities for students to cultivate meaningful relationships with adults who advocate for them (advisory/mentor roles), (2) student agency via provisions for unstructured time and supports (Hawk Time, advisory, lunch/recess), and (3) allocating instructional time to courses equitably based on unique requirements (including consideration of PSSA-tested subjects and varying standards).

Staff said the next steps include convening steering and faculty committees to vet the priorities, conducting student focus groups (current middle-school students and selected high-school cohorts), surveying staff and community members after clarifying terms (for example, what "unstructured time" means in practice), and using the priorities as a rubric to evaluate external exemplars. Presenters said any implementation would require substantial time: the high-school lunch-and-learn initiative had a long study and implementation timeline and Patton's work may similarly take years.

The committee did not vote on a schedule at the meeting. Staff said they aim to ground any future recommendation in the three priorities and bring options forward after more data collection and stakeholder engagement; implementation was discussed as a possible target for the 2025'26 school year, contingent on findings and system dependencies.