Many older D91 students will go to school four days a week with new intervention model

IDAHO FALLS — Idaho Falls School District 91 is transforming its school schedule with most students in grades 7-12 attending in person four days a week under a new intervention model starting next year.

The district’s board of trustees voted four to one Tuesday to designate Fridays as “intervention day” in the classroom starting this fall in an effort to boost graduation rates and increase “student proficiency in math, reading and science,” according to a district report.

Elementary students will still go to class five days a week, but they will be released one hour early on Fridays — a shift from the current late start Fridays model, which will no longer apply.

Middle School and High School Intervention Model

Idaho Falls Superintendent Karla LaOrange explained to EastIdahoNews.com what the new schedule will mean for local students.

“For our students in seventh through 12th grade, they will go to school face-to-face, Monday through Thursday,” she said.

On Fridays, high schools and middle schools will offer an “intervention day” where students who have a D or F in their classes, have fallen behind on their homework, or are struggling with a concept can attend school for four hours and 15 minutes to receive specialized instruction and help tailored to their needs.

Likewise, students enrolled in Advanced Placement, dual credit or honors classes can come in for additional instruction.

For these advanced courses, “teachers can require all of their class to come — not just the ones that need small group or one-on-one (instruction),” LaOrange said.

The new schedule is modeled after successful approaches taken in Jefferson Joint School District 251 and Bonneville Joint School District 93 — with some modifications, according to Idaho Falls School District 91 Board of Trustees Chairwoman Hillary Radcliffe.

“The data (shows) that districts surrounding us that are using that intervention model are seeing great results,” Radcliffe said. “It’s potentially a lot of big changes and really good things for the district.”

The district will closely monitor and evaluate how effective the model is in the coming year at boosting graduation rates and raising reading and math proficiency.

“We really want to emphasize this is not a four-day week. This is an intervention model and we have an intervention school day,” LaOrange said. “Rather than ‘we’re going to school four days and Friday nobody is in the building’ – that’s not what this is. It’s not about budget reductions or anything like that. It is all about restructuring time to better meet the needs of all of our students.”

On intervention days, schools will still be open to all students who want to attend.

“Any student can come to school on Friday,” she said. “So if you are not in an honors or an AP class, and you don’t have a D or an F, or need for intervention, you can still come. You can come to school. You can help tutor. You can come and teachers might do an additional lab to explain a concept. … So if parents want their students face-to-face all five days, they can do that.”

Students who are not required to attend during intervention days will be assigned online work on Fridays – such as assignments, enrichment activities or TED talks.

Elementary Intervention Model

At the elementary school level, students will still attend school Monday through Friday, but they will be released one hour early on Fridays.

“So elementary right now they have late start on Friday. We’re really just shifting that one hour that teachers have in the morning to after school,” LaOrange said.

Interventions in K-6 classes will occur every day and will be individually tailored to the needs of each student – with “practice, exposure and repetition” for those who struggle and advanced learning opportunities for those who are further along.

“I’m trying to expand that thinking of intervention is not just someone struggling. Intervention is you have unique needs,” LaOrange said. “… We’re really going to be focused on reading. That doesn’t mean we’re not focused on math, but we know that the research tells us that the stronger a child can read, it’s more likely that they will perform better in math.”

Students in each grade will have 30 to 35 minutes of small group instruction with all the schools’ paraprofessionals assisting the teachers in that grade at one time to help students develop their reading skills. Then the paraprofessionals will move on to assist students in the next grade level, LaOrange said.

Why the change

On Friday afternoons, during the time that students are released from school, teachers in all District 91 schools will participate in Professional Learning Communities to “analyze formal and informal student learning data, collaborate and plan differentiated instruction based on students’ needs for remediation and enrichment,” according to an April 8 report from the Intervention Committee.

At the middle school and high school level, teachers will have two hours to collaborate and put together evidence-based practices for their students.

In the elementary schools, teachers will have one hour of uninterrupted time on Fridays to perform similar work.

In schools such as Emerson Alternative High School, where District 91 piloted the intervention model, the number of students not graduating has declined 50%, LaOrange said.

That success rate has prompted the board of trustees to expand the program districtwide.

The intervention model was proposed by a committee of 24 teachers, principals and parents who carefully weighed the implications of the proposal.

You can read their full report to District 91’s Board of Trustees here.

On Tuesday, trustees Hillary Radcliffe, Larry Wilson, Paul Haacke, Jeremy Westwood voted for Friday to be the day of intervention, while trustee Shay Ricks opposed. The trustees voted unanimously to adopt the model during their April 10 meeting.