INCARNATE WORD HIGH SCHOOL'S MODULAR SCHEDULING SYSTEM

IWHS operates on a two week cycle with "M" week being the first week in the cycle and "A" week being the second week in the cycle. Each day is broken down into 17 different time periods called "mods." Most mods are 20 minutes long, with the lunch mods (mods 8 through 12) being 26 minutes to allow more time to eat. There is also a 3-minute pass between each mod to allow students time to move from one class to the next. The times for each mod are listed on the right hand side of the schedule so that the student has them for easy reference. Each morning starts with a morning advisory at 8:00 a.m. Each student is assigned to an advisory of about 20-25 students of the same classification (i.e. all freshwomen, all sophomores, etc.). After advisory, each student proceeds with her schedule for the day. There are five lunch mods, mods 8 through 12 and each student is scheduled into one lunch mod each day. After mod 17, there is an afternoon advisory meeting. Advisory is designed to announce any necessary information and call students to the office for messages. Dismissal occurs at 3:20. Every other Friday, on Friday "F", the faculty gathers in the afternoon. On this day, students report to afternoon advisory after mod 14 and are dismissed at 2:10. There is an activity period every Wednesday, on Wednesday "C". No classes are scheduled at this time for any student so that the community can gather for assemblies, liturgies, club meetings, or other business. Each class also has reserve time. This is a two mod period, once each cycle, dedicated to a class meeting. Each grade level has a different time (Freshwomen at one time, Sophomores at another, etc.).

Each IWHS student takes a minimum of 5 courses and may take no more than 7 courses. Our students are not "tracked" according to grade level. In many courses there is a mixture of freshwomen through seniors. Most students carry six or seven courses. Please note that courses do not all meet for the same amount of time. The amount of lecture time is determined by each Department. A Biology class may meet for two mods the first time it meets each week and for three mods the other two times. The two mod meeting is for lecture and explanation and the three mod meetings are to accommodate laboratory work. All laboratory science courses have longer scheduled meetings. Students are expected to spend extra time in each teacher's Open Labs for individual work. Any Honors or Advanced Placement courses are designated as such on the student's schedule. Our students are not tracked as Honors or Regular students. The student, in consultation with her parents, teachers, and the Academic Dean, selects those courses in which she wishes to pursue Honors.

The time on a student's schedule that is not otherwise designated is referred to as "unstructured time" and this is when a significant amount of the learning takes place. This is specifically not referred to as "free time." During this time, the student must be in one of four places - the Library, the Study Hall, the Testing Center, or an Open Lab. The Library should be used for research, watching assigned audio-visual material, using the reference materials, and checking out books. It is not designed as a study hall. If a student wishes to sit quietly and read her history assignment, she should choose Study Hall. This is a supervised room designed for silent, individual study. Since classes do not meet every day, teachers are freed from class period evaluation by maintaining a separate Testing Center. Students are expected to report to the Testing Center during their unstructured time to take whatever assessments their teachers have assigned. The last option is the cornerstone of our modular system - the Open Lab. If a student needs to polish an English paper she has written, she may choose to visit her English teacher so that she can receive more guidance in her revisions. She may opt to do her math homework so that if she encounters difficulties with a problem set, her teacher is there ready to help. The emphasis is that the student determines where she needs to best spend her time. She should plan her day the night before so that she is not in the halls deciding her unstructured time. With her own schedule, the student receives an Open Lab Availability Chart which shows which teachers are open each mod of the cycle. If a student has difficulty understanding how to schedule her unstructured time, her advisor and the guidance counselor will work closely with her until she feels confident with the modular system.