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Darien middle school adopts ‘teal’ team model; board raises questions about class size and equity
Summary
District leaders presented a revised Middlesex (MMS) master schedule built around a mixed‑grade “teal” teaming model intended to balance class sizes and co‑taught sections. Board members asked for detailed fall data and comparisons to prior years on class sizes, discipline and PLC time.
District staff presented a finalized master schedule for Middlesex Middle School that will use a hybrid teaming structure (including a smaller “teal” team that combines sixth and seventh grade sections) to balance class sizes and protect co‑taught special‑education ratios for the 2025–26 year.
Kate (district staff/lead for scheduling) told the board the work used Aspen scheduling software, student course requests, teacher recommendations and teacher‑leader feedback to test four teaming models before selecting the present model. She said the chosen model allows the district to “keep the number of classes at 25 lower and schedule comfortably for our co taught sections.” Staff said co‑taught sections are being kept below 50 percent where feasible and that teachers’ schedules were shared earlier than last year; caseloads for special‑education staff were to be shared by July 1.
Board members pressed on how the teal model affects teacher planning time, teacher workload and student experience. Several members said the teal team sizes will be noticeably smaller — staff said teal teams at sixth grade are expected to be about 60 students while other teams approach 90–100 — and one member called the resulting variation “inequitable.” Board members asked staff to return in the fall with: - Team‑level headcounts and teacher counts for 2025–26; - Comparisons of discipline and behavior incidents year‑over‑year (for example, office referrals, detentions) since the 2022–23 year before personnel reductions; and - Implementation data on co‑taught class ratios and PLC timing, including evidence that teal teachers have access to grade‑level planning and PLCs.
Staff said hand scheduling will continue through the summer for special‑education programming and the master schedule will be communicated to families in August. Several board members asked for historical comparisons that include the 2022–23 school year as a baseline because personnel reductions since then have affected team structures.
Board direction: Staff will return in the fall with team‑level enrollment counts, teacher assignments, special‑education caseload balances, and behavior data to help the board understand programmatic and discipline trends under the new model.
