U-46 details shift to 6–8 middle school model with advisory period, new schedule and curriculum plans

The Board of Education of School District U-46 on Jan. 13 heard a detailed update on the district’s planned shift to a 6–8 middle school model, including schedule changes, an advisory period, new curricular resources and a phased professional-learning plan.

The presentation, led by Assistant Superintendent Anat Acevedo and Julie Shoemaker, U‑46’s middle school executive director, described a steering-committee process rooted in Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) guidance and a four-subcommittee structure focused on curriculum, transition, scheduling and advisory work.

District leaders said the middle school philosophy guiding the work emphasizes support for students’ physical, cognitive, psychological and social-emotional development and aligns middle grades to high-school pathways and academies. The committee’s guiding principles include being student centered, culturally relevant instruction, skill development (for example, executive functioning and self-advocacy), optimized school-day structures, community connections and collaborative teacher teams.

On scheduling, presenters described an eight-period day plus a 28-minute daily advisory. The typical academic periods are about 42 minutes each, with a four-minute passing period between classes. The advisory period is intended for social-emotional learning (SEL), relationship-building, targeted academic support and interventions. The district recommended standardizing advisory at the third period across the middle schools to reduce tardy issues that can occur at first period.

Presentation slides and speakers cited contract language in Section 8.21.1 of the teacher agreement that, beginning in the 2026–27 school year, sets a maximum instructional load for middle school teachers of 22 clock hours of student contact per week. That structure was described as five regular periods plus the daily advisory, with the advisory intended to be supported by district-provided lesson plans so teachers are not required to create all advisory content from scratch.

Curriculum updates were announced for math (Reveal Math), literacy (a middle-school resource from EL Education under pilot), and science (Carolina for grades 7–8, with district plans to extend resources to grade 6 when grade 6 is shifted into middle school). Social studies will move to a new middle-school-focused sequence, described as global studies plus American studies and a civic/economics strand. Presenters said elective offerings for grades 6–8 will include year-long options such as orchestra, band, choir and AVID (AVID noted to be for dual-language students), with world language offered for grades 7–8; 6th and 7th graders will have rotation options composed of 9-week mini-courses.

Presenters noted three middle schools — Ellis, Kimball and Abbott — had already piloted advisory this school year and offered early data. The district reported preliminary, site-level results showing a slight increase in average weekly attendance at two schools, a decrease in written referrals at two schools (with Abbott showing an increase largely attributed to tardy recording practices) and a substantial decrease in out-of-school suspensions across the three sites. District staff cautioned the data cover a short implementation window and that some programs (for example, character-education materials) started in October, so fuller effects will appear after a full year of implementation.

Next steps outlined by the presenters included developing detailed advisory lesson plans for grades 6–8, reviewing and adopting internal and external resources to support advisory lessons, and planning professional learning for middle school staff. A communication plan lists upcoming stakeholder events: U‑46 employee Zoom sessions, ETA representative assembly briefings and voluntary school staff meetings led by principals.

Board members asked a range of operational and instructional questions during the session. Topics included whether rotation courses are yearlong or composed of 9-week modules (presenters said rotations are yearlong sequences made of two 9-week classes), how grading would work for rotation courses (each nine‑week rotation is graded independently), teacher preparation for advisory (district intends to provide ready-made advisory lessons) and how schools will choose advisory placement in the daily schedule (district recommended standardization at third period).

Speakers emphasized the phased nature of implementation, continued stakeholder engagement and the district’s plan to provide training and resources to staff to ensure consistency across sites.

The board did not vote on the schedule or curricular adoptions during the Jan. 13 meeting; presenters described plans and next steps and staff said additional approvals would follow as curriculum or staffing changes are formally proposed to the board.