Planning Periods

Just another curious question. How much planning time does everyone get each week?

I get 2 35 minute planning periods each week. Hopefully I will have more next year, because 7 hours with no break 3 days a week is proving to be challenging. hmy:

 

This year, contractually, we have 240 minutes of planning time during instructional time each week.

 

We get 90 minutes a day. By contract, we get 45 minutes of that guaranteed. Usually, the other 45 minutes are used for conferences, meetings, covering classes, etc. Occasionally, I'll have a day with the full 90 minutes.

So, between 225 and 450 minutes a week. Often around 350.

 

As of Monday we will have four 30 min planning periods per week. Last year we had five 40 min. This year we've had zero as we had to go with our students to their specials. As of Monday we no longer need to do this so will have prep 4 times a week, the fifth day is library and we have no librarian so we still need to take them to that. I am very much looking forward to once again having prep time even though it's less than last year it sure is better than 0 min every day!

 

Curious: how do you determine planning time? Is it when your students are at their "specials" or is the contract time before and after school?
We have one "special", a compute lab for 1/2 per week although she is not always here so this week, nada...

My contract hours are 7:55-3:10, with kids from 8:25-2:40. We usually have yard duty 3 times/week. I do my prepping usually after our meetings or tutoring so between 3:30 and 4:30 is when I am making copies and planning for lessons....technically, I am not "paid" for that time.

 

An average of forty minutes a day.

 

30 minutes meeting/planning time before kids are let in each morning

40 minute prep while kids are at special each day

1 hour duty free lunch/recess each day

 

I get a 30 minute prep each day while my kids are at gym or music. However, lately I've had children throwing fits and refusing to go to gym/music so I haven't had much prep time.

 

I have 45 minutes every day. We also have 30 minutes of "contract time" before school starts, but that is often taken up with meetings or things like RtI or staffings.

 

We have 40 minutes a day while the students are at specials.

 

I have 225 minutes of prep time each week (45 mins per day while kids are at special). I also have a 40 minute duty-free lunch period.

 

Almost identical, but we only have 15 minutes of planning/prep in the a.m.

 

We have 40 minutes per day while students are in P.E./library.

 

Approximately 45 min a day, but often some days are taken up by meetings or staff development so it's not every day

 

Three 30 minute periods. I've had 2 on the same day before, and I hated it! That meant 3 days with the kiddos 100% instead of 2. (We have lunch duty, recess duty, and afterschool bus/car duty)

 

2 hrs and 15 mins daily.

 

WOW I cannot believe how much planning time some schools have!

I actually have a lot for California (I'll wait for other California teachers to respond - I've always noticed other states have far more) because I'm in a charter.

I have a 20 minute morning recess and a 35 minute lunch every day. we do not have duty during those times, but I don't really consider those planning times, especially the lunch. A 35 minute lunch goes by remarkably fast...

As for actual planning periods, I have two 30 minute time blocks each week during music and art. I also have 45 minutes twice a week while the kids are at PE, but that time is very often used for our grade level meetings. We also have a 30 minute PE time every other week. So I guess that's 150 or 180 minutes each week, but those PE times are almost always used for meetings, so it's usually more like 60 or 90 minutes each week.

 

We get 40 min a day while they are at specials. Our principal is very adamant about the fact that it's planning time, not a break. We have grade level meetings once a week during our planning period.

 

I'm not sure what is in our contract, but here is my daily breakdown:

Monday: 60 minutes
Tuesday: 75 minutes
Wednesday: 30 minutes
Thursday: 30 minutes
Friday: 30 minutes

Plus we have:
Before school: 45 minutes
Lunch: 60 minutes, 30 of it is duty-free
After school: 15 minutes
*I don't really count this time, though, because it is almost always taken up with meetings.

 

We are on a 6 day rotation schedule and I have 4 30 minute planning periods, 1 40 minute planning period and I have to take my kids to computer lab. We also have a 40 minute duty free lunch, 40-55 minutes in the morning before kids (depends on if you have duty) and 15-30 minutes after school (again, depending on duty).

 

45 minutes to an hour a day, broken up into 3 or 4 -15 minute periods. Then there are about 2 hours of specials a week, some of which is taken up with grade level meetings and RTI planning. That's not a lot in a manipulative-heavy primary classroom.

 

I wouldn't get much done in 15 minutes. By the time I ran to the bathroom, straightened a few things, I'd have 5-8 minutes left, and then I'd be 'what's the point!'

 

For those who have planning or break during recess, who monitors the children? Assistants? Or do teachers rotate responsibilties? I've never been in a school where all the teachers don't go out for recess.

 

Back 'home' we had lunch ladies. Each class had a lunch lady- they would take them to lunch and recess. Each lunch lady would have 3-4 classes (not at a time!)
They were PT employees- often parents or retired teachers.

 

Our state mandates a 30 minute duty-free lunch, and I've never heard of a place around here that gives the kids 30 minutes so they have to arrange it so that classroom teachers are getting their lunch while the kids are at lunch/recess. At my last school all of the non-classroom teachers had lunch/recess duty because we could schedule our duty free lunch at another time during the day. I had one or both duties every day b/c I wasn't a classroom teacher. At my current school lunch/recess is mostly monitored by paras because we have tons of them. Specials teachers have to go out once a week I believe. At the school I student taught at, the kids had 30 minutes lunch and 30 minutes recess (which is absolutely unheard of around here) so the teachers on the grade level all rotated. You had one day a week where you had to go out to recess, and of course on that day you still got the 30 minutes where the students were at lunch.

 

All teachers have 60 minutes/week supervision duty. This could be before school, at recess, while the students are eating lunch, or after school bus duty. Each "duty" is anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes and we never have more than 30 minutes a day. We do have some input into when/where we prefer our duty to be. We also have paid lay assistants to help with supervision, although they aren't always very effective.

 

We only have 3 specials a week, 35 minutes each. 1 of those, computer, I have to be with the students. Art/music rotate each week on one day, and PE is once a week. We are only contracted to have 30 minutes after the kids leave for planning, but often that is used for meetings. Our 30 min. lunch is also duty free, but we have to monitor recess for our own students. I guess it's just hard that the kids don't get specials time. Art/music every other week is not enough for them OR teachers. :|

 

We get 192 minutes per week, which is often taken up by conferences or IEP meetings. We also have 30 minutes each day for duty-free lunch.

I think I want to go work in czacza's district!

 

Honestly, if all teachers were given so much time without students the profession would be greatly improved. It would allow teachers the time to do what they need to do in order to bring their very best when students walk through the door and it would reduce the stress brought about by working so much after school or the weekends.

 

Specials don't exist in my part of CA. The only (paid) planning time I get is 40 minutes before the students arrive and 5 minutes (yes...5 minutes) after school ends.

We have a 20 minute AM recess. I use that time to plan; however, I have duty one week/month. I also have a 50 minute duty-free lunch.

Now that I'm reading other posters' responses, I'm starting to feel "gypped"!!!

Oh...one more thing: Our 40 minute AM planning time is only given 3 out of 4 weeks each month. One week/month is spent doing before school yard duty!

 

YTG, so all music, art, technology, literacy appreciation, and physical education must be incorporated into the regular classroom? That's a lot!

 

JustMe...that's why I'm always so worn out. Yes--I teach art, music, P.E., etc. You name it--I teach it! We don't have other teachers come in to teach those subjects.

One more thing: We don't have scheduled library time, either. Yes--we can set up an appointment with the librarian to have our kids come in to do research or whatever, but most teachers don't do that. Even if we do sign up for library time, we cannot drop our kids off. We must stay with them during this time.

 

Ha, I should print this out and show it to my team.

They want to file a grievance because we're supposed to get 64 minute preps every day and we've only been getting 60.

 

We have supervision aides at my school. It's not normal for CA at all. I'm at a charter.

 

This is why I was waiting for a CA response because this is the norm for California. I student taught in two separate southern CA districts and this was the norm there as well. I worked as an RSP aide at a school with "specials" teachers (they were not called that - that is not a CA term) - but their jobs were FULLY funded by the PTA. It was the only time I've ever worked in a high income area and the difference in what they got was unbelievable.

When I got my job at my charter and found out I would have (GASP) duty free RECESS and LUNCH and wouldn't have to teach music, art, or PE (although we do not have a librarian), I about died. I couldn't believe my good fortune!

But it seems that other states still have it better than I do. lol. Oh well.

What is literacy appreciation? (ok, I understand what the term means - I mean what is it as a class?)

Also, do other states actually have technology TEACHERS at the elementary level? Wow....

 

Some! My school doesn't because we elect to have language instead. It seems totally ballistic to me that a school would not have specials teachers. "Integrating" does not get the job done.

 

I definitely do my best to integrate as frequently as possible. I'm actually pretty obsessed with art and integrate it with pretty much every subject.

We rarely get to the computer lab, though, and it'd be nice to have a tech teacher.

When you say you have "language class"...does that mean the students learn a foreign language? Most of my kids speak Spanish (as do I). Does that count as language class? :haha:

 

We have 55 minutes a day and duty free lunch. The kids go to music and PE daily and have computer class and a library lesson every other week. We also have about 45 minutes after school. Sometimes meetings take place during these times - weekly team meetings and about 2 staff meetings a month.

 

Oh, oops...library class and yes, computer applications or something similar. Yes, some schools around here have certified technology teachers at the elementary level. If not, then at least classified adults who work closely with students in the lab. I guess with more technology in classrooms by way of mobile labs this position will change.

 

Sorry, YTG! I didn't mean to imply that you weren't doing a good job. I more so meant that it seems IMPOSSIBLE to plan all those subjects!

Language is foreign language, yes. We are a "language academy" so the district gave us 2 bonus positions for French and Spanish. (For now....they cut those positions next year and we are trying to find a way to keep them. ) My kids are mostly Spanish speaking too, but I still think it's good for them to study/retain it.