Linda Scheele

1. Casa Tutorial Committee Report
Prepared for the December 15, 2009
Staff Development Session at
Casa Grande High School

2. Some students use
tutorial wisely...

6. Some students don't...

10. A Brief History of Tutorial...
(Donna Reed)

11. ...used for self-directed learning...

13. ...focus on students
who are not succeeding...

15. ...extra time, attention, support
(that some students need
to be successful)...

17. ...environment where students
can focus in small groups with
assistance of teacher...

19. ...proper implementation
with all stakeholders on board =
increased student achievement...

21. ...effective in increasing
student performance
for the majority of attendees...

23. A Brief History of Tutorial
@ Casa...
(Sharon Roberts-Cagle)

24. A Brief History of Tutorial
@ Casa...
It was part of our switch from a six-period schedule to a
block schedule.
Students were thought to need a longer break after 100
minutes of sitting in class, and having a long tutorial and
then a long lunch seemed conducive to that outcome.
Teachers needed a break to go to the bathroom and the
copy room.
(Sharon Roberts-Cagle)

25. A Brief History of Tutorial
@ Casa...
Tardy problems were reduced because there was no
longer a reason to be tardy after such a long break.
Except for sixth and third when students return late from
lunch, tardies are not nearly the problem they used to be.
(Sharon Roberts-Cagle)

26. A Brief History of Tutorial
@ Casa...
Students are able to go to class on an A day, write a draft
of an essay or complete homework problems, come back
to that class the next B day for editing or homework help,
and then turn in the new-and-improved assignment on the
next A day.
(Sharon Roberts-Cagle)

27. A Brief History of Tutorial
@ Casa...
It was never believed that all students would use tutorial
at all times.
However, tutorial does support those students who want
and seek out help.
(Sharon Roberts-Cagle)

28. What does Casa staff say
about tutorial?

37. Go to SurveyMonkey.com
(ask a tutorial committee member for the login information)
to read the comments.

38. What do Casa students say
about tutorial?

42. So how do other high schools
handle tutorial?

43. Piner
(No tutorial.)
(Tom Kinney)

44. Elsie Allen
(No tutorial.)
(Tom Kinney)

45. El Molino
(No tutorial.)
(Tom Kinney)

46. San Marin
(No tutorial.)
(Evelyn Tseng)

47. Armjio
(No tutorial.)
(Anna Koval)

48. Windsor
(No tutorial.)
(Anne Osterlye)

49. Napa
(No tutorial.)
(Maria Walker)

50. Petaluma
(Not sure.)
(Linda Scheele)

51. New Tech
Grade-level support classes
Teachers keep office hours
Advisory: 30-minutes long, twice per week spent "delving into"
their "Student Success Skills"
Students with poor grades and a free period are placed in a class
with a teacher who has a prep
(Anna Koval)

52. Lowell
They have what’s called “registry.” As for what they do during
registry: "not a whole lot most of the time."
Sometimes the students take surveys, or fill out papers.
Sometimes the counselors come in and work with the students.
Reg runners make announcements.
Peer resource students work with the freshman regs.
Students stay in the same reg for four years and graduate as a
group, with their reg teacher handing out their diplomas.
They have a committee examining the reg structure now.
(Anna Koval)

53. San Rafael
They have tutorial.
They have advisory.
Sometimes it’s one, sometimes it’s the other.
Whatever class you’re in, it’s the room you stay in.
Advisory is like a homeroom and the curriculum is like Study
Skills.
Tutorial is like a study hall.
(Donna Reed)

54. Tamalpais
On Mondays, they meet with every class with 5 minute breaks
between periods.
T&Th they have periods 1-4 with 2 breaks.
W&F periods 5-7 and tutorial.
Tutorial is an hour.
It’s Period 5 > Break > Tutorial > Break > Period 6 > Lunch >
Period 7.
(Donna Reed)

55. Montgomery
"Guided Study" -- obligatory for everyone.
There’s a 5-minute window at the end of period/block 1/2.
Whatever class they’re in before Guided Study, they stay where
they are.
They can get a pass to go to another class, but it must be pre-
arranged the day before, and there’s only a certain number of
passes that can be handed out.
If they are going to another class, they have to sign out and sign
in.
No one’s wandering around after the 5-minute window, and the
campus supervisors enforce it.
But it’s more like an SSR period/study hall for doing homework.
Few students use the time to get help, but they can, of course.
(Anne Osterlye)

56. Sonoma Valley
Bell Schedule...
They have 2 types of tutorials:
A+ on Mondays and Fridays
Tier on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
A+
M&F every student goes to A+.
But the periods rotate every week. So, for instance, on Monday, every student goes to their
1st period class, the next week on Monday, they go to 3rd and so on.
If you can figure out the schedule for A+, you should get an A+!
Tier
Tiers are different. Tier 3 has all As, Bs, & Cs. Tier 2 has 1 F or D. Tier 1 has multiple Fs and/or
Ds.
They all meet for 35 minutes. At that time Tier 3 students are excused for lunch 15 minutes
early; the rest all have to stay. 11th and 12th graders can leave for lunch if they’re not in Tier 2 or
1. 10th and 9th graders do not get off-campus lunch, regardless of Tier. Tier 3 students are
assigned to a teacher with a student-to-teacher ratio of 30:1; Tier 2 students = 20:1; and Tier 1
students = 10:1. The Tiers are reevaluated every 6 weeks. Teachers chose what type of Tier to
work with, and most got to work with their first choice Tier.
(Maria Walker)

57. Maria Carillo
Monday is an all periods day and is shortened for meetings etc. similar to our Wednesday
meetings.
Each period is approximately 50 minutes long.
The day ends at 2:15.
Tuesday through Friday they are on a block schedule.
They have silent sustained reading for ten minutes at the end of first block (they stay in their first
block class).
The students stay in the same class for Advocacy, which is used for studying, meeting with teachers,
and all the other stuff we would like our students to do during Tutorial.
If a student needs to leave the class to visit with another teacher or go to the library it is pre-arranged
and the student brings a pass/note from the teacher they will be visiting. The student must return to
Advocacy at the end of the period. After Advocacy the students are released for a 15 minute break
before their next block.
This is basically the schedule they had when I was a teacher there a few years ago and it seems to
work well with their staff and the students actually do work during the Advocacy time.
Separate attendance is taken for Advocacy as if it is another class and because arrangements have
to be made ahead of time to meet with teachers "wandering" the halls is not a problem.
The teachers I spoke with like this approach because they know how many students will be coming
into their Advocacy ahead of time and can plan for it rather than a "drop in" system.
(Joanna Martin)

58. Irvington
Tutorial:
Students request a pass to tutorial, which is approved by the receiving teacher
and returned to the advisory teacher.
Student goes to tutorial during designated time.
If students do not arrange for a tutorial pass, they remain in advisory.
Some students will not need tutorial and may be assigned as mentors to high-risk
students.
During two days at Irvington High School, what really stood out was that this time was
used for academic purposes.
There were no students wandering the halls.
Students were actively engaged in a wide range of activities during the period.
Some students were quietly doing homework in their advisory class.
Other students left advisory for tutorial in another classroom.
(Diane McNamara)

59. Irvington
Advisory is broken into three components.
Monday/Tuesday: Reading
Wed/Thursday: Tutorial (movement for completed passes only)
Friday = TGIF: School-wide activities.
“Leadership” provides activity/lesson on a topic
Examples include: scheduling, cheating, college planning, etc.
Advisory Classes:
Used for school-wide programs and is mandatory for all students.
Heterogeneous classes (all grades and levels) randomly assigned to students
About 20-24 students in each advisory class.
A place for students to get to know one another and an adult well.
4 Purposes of Advisory:
Getting to know self and others (school community)
Academic/Study Skills (Goal setting, career planning, etc.)
School Business (attendance, grades, registering for classes, etc.)
Community (our identity in the larger community (of Fremont) and how we can
serve)
(Diane McNamara)

60. What are we doing
about tutorial now?

62. What else can we do?

63. We're not sure but
we'll figure it out together!

64. We need to do something,
though, because...

65. Tutorial can be even better!

66. If we all agree to make it that way!

75. :)

76. Casa Tutorial Committee
Members:
Tom Kinney. Sharon Roberts-Cagle. Maria Walker. Mary Lim.
Jolene Thinnes. Joanna Martin. Grace Cottle. Evelyn Tseng. Donna Reed.
Diane McNamara. Christiane Traub. Anne Osterlye. Anna Koval.