The initiative, called Target Time, is one of several significant changes Principal Marcia Hoerl and her team have put in place to strengthen learning outcomes for all students.
“Target Time provides short-term, focused support during advisory periods,” explained Hoerl. She said the idea behind the program is to create time for interventions without interrupting core instruction.
“We now have three different times each day, during advisory, when we can do interventions. Students aren’t missing instructional time for it,” she explained.
She noted that the concept builds on successful strategies from high-performing schools, and said that Bayfield Intermediate School Will Machallister is running a similar intervention in his building. To make it work at BMS, Hoerl credited Counselor Nicole Machallister and Assistant Principal Laurel Slye for “working tirelessly to design the new daily schedule that made Target Time possible.”
“This has been very many years in the making,” said Hoerl.
To give families a clearer picture, advisory is built into the schedule at different times for each grade. Sixth graders begin their day with advisory from 7:55 to 8:30 a.m., while seventh graders meet in advisory at 9:05 a.m. after their first class. For eighth graders, advisory comes later in the morning at 10:10 a.m. Recess and lunch are also staggered across grade levels, easing congestion and giving students more breathing room throughout the day.
“What we’re trying to do through progress monitoring is catch kids early, and get them assigned to work with a specialist during Target Time,” Hoerl said. The model uses small groups of students who work with teachers or intervention specialists for two to four weeks at a time.
“We’ve just started it this week, so we don’t have outcomes yet, but we are very hopeful that we can reach more kids this way,” she stated.
Seventh and eighth grade social studies teacher Mark Poettgen told his students the program offers, “an opportunity to get extra time in math, work on GT goals, and literacy,” and assured them the process would be simple and supportive.
“Students will go to a Target Time teacher during advisory to work on specific target areas to help students improve together,” he said.
Another new support program is Wolverine Prep, a new first-semester elective for sixth graders.
“That transition can be hard, so this is for kids who need a little extra support,” Hoerl said. She explained that the course focuses on building organizational skills, study habits, and critical thinking to help younger students adjust to middle school.
“It will help some of our sixth graders, and teachers will continue to recommend new kids who may be struggling with the dynamics of being a middle school student,” Hoerl explained.
The school has also adopted a new co-teaching approach in English Language Arts classes.
“It puts an interventionist in the room with the content expert,” Hoerl said, indicating that the program pairs general education and special education teachers in the same classroom. It is especially beneficial for students with IEPs, who are able to receive more support while remaining engaged with their peers.
“We’ve found it is a really effective way to meet students’ needs with IEPs,” Hoerl stated.
The BMS principal said there are additional benefits of a restructured daily schedule. Grade levels are now separated into their own blocks of time, bells have been eliminated, and lunches are staggered.
“The kids aren’t in a crazy hurry to do all of these tasks,” Hoerl said. “It has given us so many opportunities in our day to provide a much more learning-focused school.”
Daily reading time is part of the advisory structure as well, and students also practice math, vocabulary, and reading skills, and take part in community challenges like spelling or geography bees.
“The whole school just powers down, which is super cool, and it has definitely improved literacy in the school,” Hoerl said.
With Target Time, Wolverine Prep, and co-teaching in ELA classrooms, Bayfield Middle School is taking bold steps to ensure every Wolverine has the support they need to grow and thrive.
“It is a slow move, but the arrow is going the right way. We will be tracking a lot of data along the way,” Hoerl professed.