Our Innovative Schedule
MIDDLE & UPPER SCHOOL SCHEDULES
DVFriends faculty and administrators developed our current schedule in response to the needs of our middle and upper school students. The 2022-23 daily schedule for grades 6 - 12 includes 4 longer-duration academic blocks each day (lettered A through G) with non-academic blocks or breaks between each. Most of the academic classes are 65-minutes long with middle school's last block shortened by 10 minutes to allow for an end-of-day advisory period for executive function support. The students’ courses rotate through a 7-day schedule so that teachers see their students at least every other day (4 times in each 7-day rotation).
This schedule allows students and teachers time for deeper dives into content and skills development, flexibility for different modes of instruction (whole class, small group, or independent work, exercises, discussions, learning games, and more), and opportunities for one-on-one time with students within a class period. During the extended advisory period, advisors provide direct executive function support, encourage students to develop a deeper understanding of their learning needs, and coach students on self-advocacy.
Community is a critical aspect of the DVFriends experience, and this schedule includes planned times for community-building during all-school Gathering and Meeting for Worship, Community Time, and lunch/recess. Often clubs and committees will meet during unstructured times such as Community Time and lunch.
Middle and Upper School Schedule for 2022-23
Our Lower School follows a more traditional elementary school schedule that corresponds to their learning needs. Their day includes academic blocks for language arts, math, and World of Discovery, which includes integrated units combining the disciplines of reading, writing, science, and social studies. Executive function supports are built into each academic block as well as an end-of-day check-in to help students learn organization, time-management, and prepare for successful completion of assignments each night. In addition, students have dedicated time in our Makerspace, clubs, recess, and a rotation of enriching specials including music, theater & movement, physical education, diversity, critical thinking, and art. It's a full day of engaged learning in many different modalities tailored to our students' learning needs.
