| Scheduling > Scheduling an elementary school

Scheduling an elementary school

Typically, a School Administrator creates an elementary school's initial schedule in the Planning Calendar [>>]. At year end [>>], the Planning Calendar becomes the Active Calendar [>>] and the administrator continues to make adjustments to the school schedule throughout the school year. Some scheduling tasks can only be completed in the Planning Calendar and others can only be completed in the Active Calendar thus the administrator may need to switch between them [>>].

The general scheduling procedure for an elementary school is:

Set up scheduling elements [>>]

Set up a schedule structure [>>]

Set up multiple tracks [>>]

Set up homerooms [>>]

Set constraints [>>]

Set subject scheduling rules [>>]

Class setup [>>]

Student schedule creation [>>]

Assign default terms and meeting patterns to courses [>>]

Build the school's master schedule [>>]

Load student schedules [>>]

Assign resource services [>>]

For the purposes of elementary scheduling, the following terms are useful:

Homeroom: A group of students, usually in the same grade, who spend most of their time together. In a homeroom, students have attendance taken and receive instruction in core subjects, such as Math, Language Arts, and Social Studies. For example, Homeroom 1-A is a Grade 1 homeroom where twenty-five Grade 1 students spend most of their time.

Class: A group of students who meet regularly to receive instruction in a subject from a specific teacher. For example, Band 4 meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 pm with Mr. Bell providing instruction for thirty Grade 4 students.

Subject [see Subject framework setup >>]

Room: Specifies the location of classes not taught in the homeroom. Typically, in elementary schools, classes are taught in the homeroom. If a class is not taught in the homeroom, you can specify a different room. For example, all computer classes are taught in the computer lab in room 102.

A scheduling structure is necessary if the administrator wants to assign specific meeting times to specific classes or create a multiple track schedule. An elementary scheduling structure involves the following:

Defining scheduling groups [>>]

Defining day patterns and Special Days [>>]

Setting up bell schedules [>>]

Setting up meeting patterns [>>]

Keep in mind:

Every student in an elementary school must be assigned to a homeroom. A student's current grade level must match a grade level assigned to his or her homeroom.

The administrator can choose to automatically assign subjects to a student, based on the student's grade level. As a result, all students in a particular grade receive instruction in the core subjects associated with that grade, such as Language Arts, Math, and Social Studies. A subject can be taught either in the homeroom or in a different room. For example, multiple homerooms in a grade can be scheduled to take Grade 5 PE together, which is taught in the Gymnasium.

The administrator can automatically assign a student to classes based on that student's homeroom. For example, the administrator can designate Social Studies 4 as a subject whose classes correspond to specific homerooms. As a result, students in Homeroom 4-A are automatically assigned to the Social Studies 4 (4-A) class.

The administrator can create enough classes to accommodate all the students in a grade who are taking a particular subject. For example, if there are ninety students in Grade 3 who are taking Computer Applications and the administrator wants to limit the class size to fifteen students, he or she can create six classes.

Students automatically receive a schedule of most of their core and specialty subjects (also known as non-academic subjects), based on the homeroom and grade assignment. The administrator can adjust class rosters to accommodate exceptions, such as team teaching [>>].

Table 56: Permissions pertaining to elementary scheduling

To	You need this permission	Set to	Details
Switch between calendars.	School Setup > Define School Calendar	Yes	[>>]
Specify calendar day exceptions and Special Days for the Active Calendar.	School Setup > Calendar Day Exceptions	Delete	[>>]
Create and edit day types.	School Setup > Day Type Setup List	Yes	[>>]
View the subject framework.	School Setup > Subject Framework / Course Catalog	View	[>>]
Schedule core and specialty subjects.	School Setup > Subject Scheduling	Edit	[>>]
Schedule core and specialty subjects.	School Setup > Subject Framework / Course Catalog	View or Edit	[>>]
Add, edit, and delete buildings.	Facilities Management > Buildings	Delete	[>>]
Add, edit, and delete buildings.	School Setup > Secondary Scheduling Setup	Yes	[>>]
Add, edit, and delete rooms.	Facilities Management > Rooms	Delete	[>>]
Add, edit, and delete rooms.	School Setup > Secondary Scheduling Setup	Yes	[>>]
Set up the scheduling structure.	School Setup > Secondary Scheduling Structure Setup	Yes	[>>]
Define schedules for classes.	School Setup > Classes	Yes	[>>]
Define schedules for classes.	School Setup > Secondary Scheduling Setup	Yes	[>>]
Define class or homeroom constraints.	School Setup > Define Constraints - School	Delete	[>>]
Schedule a student into a class for which the student exceeds the constraints.	School Setup > Override Constraints	Yes	[>>]
Assign default classes based on student homerooms.	School Setup > Subject Scheduling	Edit, Delete, or None	[>>]
Assign default classes based on student homerooms.	Students > Edit Student Schedules	Yes	[>>]
Re-assign default classes based on student homerooms.	School Setup > Subject Scheduling	Edit	[>>]
Re-assign default classes based on student homerooms.	Students > Edit Student Schedules	Yes	[>>]
Create resource services.	School Setup > Resource Services	Delete	[>>]
Update the scheduling statistics.	School Setup > Change Planning Schedule	Yes	[>>]
Assign resource services to students.	Students > Resource Assignments	Delete	[>>]
Assign resource services to students.	Students > Edit Student Schedules	Edit	[>>]
Set up homerooms for scheduling.	School Setup > Homerooms	Delete	[>>]
Assign homerooms to students.	Students > Assign Homerooms	Yes	[>>]
Make changes to student schedules.	Students > Edit Student Schedules	Yes	[>>]

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