Use these ideas to help tailor the perfect advisory for your school.
Extended Schedule
An extended schedule, or often an assembly schedule, allows flexibility for extra planning (conferences), grade level assemblies, whole school clean-up, extra start of the year information, and so much more throughout the year. If all students are working on their Science Fair projects, maybe throw in an extended for some presentation time! Use this time as your school needs to help students feel engaged and prepared.
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Student Swaps
In an effort to build cohesion, often one student can poison the efforts of a whole class. We all know those 'clusters' of kids that can't work together, and sometimes making deliberate swaps can help break those up.
Use with caution, and only after conversations are had with the student. This is not 'giving in' but rather doing what will be best for your whole group, and that student in question. They may fit better with another group, and another student out there may fit better in your class! |
Relief Pitchers
How are teacher talents best utilized in your school? Think about how teachers can act as supports for those with advisory classes. For example, the Librarian may not have an advisory, but during Home Court could email teachers and take their class for a day, giving the teacher a break and kids time in the library. Similarly a PE teacher might be better utilized scheduling classes for team building activities, seeing each class about once a month.
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Schedule
Does your advisory time best serve the students? Reevaluate your schedule part way through the year and consider adding/taking away time based on teacher AND student feedback. Consider moving it to a different time in the day. A school had HC as the last part of the day, finding kids were too burnt out to participate. After moving it to first thing, kids were too tired, they then placed it between the last two periods to help it feel like a 'real' class, and it fit perfectly.
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Conferences
Use Home Court as a time to prepare students for conferences, whether gathering work, practicing a script, or sending invitations home. HC teachers are often the ones meeting with the parents as well, so all are able to feel prepared with who will walk through the door.
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Grade Breakdown
Structuring your Home Courts can look many different ways, though the groups that seem to have the most cohesion are based on single grade level groups. Kids are better able to connect and bond over their entire tenure at a school as one group, and it allows flexibility with grade level assemblies/competitions, etc. Consider if looping teachers with kids (often yes) and mixing grades are best for your school.
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Fun/Focus Activity Time!
During an Extended Home Court time students have an opportunity to partake in a Fun activity, or Focus on their work. Often based on Missing Assignments, students that do not have work in will attend a Focus classroom. Set up ahead of time with teachers, often a GoogleSheet will be easiest, and sign up kids for the classes they need- science, math, SS, ELA, etc. It won't need to be their particular teachers, often just a place to work quietly and catch up.
For those kids caught up, they can have FUN! Teachers can host fun rooms, from a game room, karaoke, kick ball outside, open gym, or a movie in the commons- sign up kids on a FUN GoogleSheet. Make sure to announce a Fun/Focus date a few weeks in advance to motivate kids to get their work turned in ahead of time! Use the Sheet as an attendance when time for the event so teachers know where all kids are supposed to be. |
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