New year, new advocate schedule?

Yes. And it will begin Monday, Jan. 23.

In fact, all LISD high schools are making modifications to their current advocate schedule. This has caught some students off guard and created feelings of uncertainty, but the change was put in place to prevent the district’s CTE classes from having their funding pulled by the state.

According to Dean of Instruction Stephanie Chisholm, students in all Texas high schools must be in CTE classes for a total of 450 minutes every two weeks. If students are not in class for that much time, that district is out of compliance, which results in a loss of funding.

Currently, LISD’s high school classes last 81 minutes long, and that doesn’t equal enough minutes of instruction during each two week period. Because of the need for more teaching time, administrators made an adjustment.

The goal Rouse administrators kept in mind while creating the new schedule was to allow students to spend each advocate period with a teacher they had earlier that morning, or will have later in the day.

For example, each A day, students will be in an A day class for advocate, and each B day, students will be in a B day class for advocate.The exception will be on Fridays, when students will attend their regular advocate class, the same one they currently have. Fridays will also be an iChoose day.

The process and procedures for the new advocate schedule will require students to remain in their new advocate class each day where attendance will be taken just like in their regular classes.

Although the final wrinkles are being ironed out for the plan, students can be assured that no matter what class they have, whether it’s a regular core class, a CTE class, an ACC class or an off period, there will be a place for them to go.

By Monday, Jan. 23, when the new schedule starts, all students will know the location of their new advocate class, and teachers and administrators will be ready to go.