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Exeter Township SD outlines daily 43‑minute 'flex' period to boost junior‑high supports
Summary
At the Feb. 3 committee meeting, junior‑high staff described a new daily 43‑minute 'flex' period that provides academic interventions, structured study halls, writing instruction and SEL supports; administrators said the program uses assessment data and teacher input and will be monitored as students progress to high school.
Mr. Brown, a junior‑high administrator, presented the district's new daily "flex" period and described how it has been scheduled and used since implementation. "Flex adds up to 43 minutes every day that the students have the opportunity to attend a flex class," he said, explaining that flex comes immediately after homeroom and was inserted by shortening other class periods by six minutes.
Brown said the district uses both historic data (PSSA) and current diagnostics (CDT and IXL) plus teacher input to identify students who need targeted help. He described three "buckets" of flex activity: academics (targeted math and ELA interventions and tutoring), social‑emotional learning (PBIS lessons and counselor check‑ins), and other enrichment (music ensembles meeting simultaneously and executive‑functioning lessons). Brown reported approximate usage to date: about 37 hours of structured study‑hall time, 17 hours of executive‑functioning/PBIS lessons, 16 hours of IXL diagnostics and 13 additional hours of writing instruction. "Currently, we have a 175, which is about a third of our student population that are receiving either math or additional math or ELA support," he said.
Board members pressed for detail on how flex time is allocated day‑to‑day. Brown said math and ELA supports run every day for identified students; other flex activities rotate on a six‑day cycle so teachers and students have consistent expectations. He acknowledged that some schedule exceptions (for example, two‑hour delay days) reduce flex opportunities and said that likely explains why flex writing hours were lower in staff counts for a reporting period. The board also discussed parent reaction: Brown said direct parent contacts had been minimal and most student feedback was positive.
The board thanked junior‑high staff for creating a schedule that allows tutoring, targeted interventions and music rehearsals without pulling students from core classes. The committee moved the education item assessing field trips to the Feb. 18 voting agenda; ongoing monitoring and follow‑up measures (including how the initiative affects students as they move to high school) were discussed as next steps.
The committee meeting adjourned with no public comment on the matter; the program will remain on the district's monitoring agenda and any formal policy or budget changes will come to the full board at the Feb. 18 voting meeting.
