A Day at Meridan

While schedules for teachers vary depending on their grade level and content area, below you can see what a typical day for a Meridian teacher has looked like for in-person learning.

Morning Duty

After arriving to their campus for the day, each staff member begins a morning duty post somewhere in the school. Each teacher aims to greet students and parents warmly as they begin their day. Around half of our students live in Ward 1, and a large number of parents walk them to school each day, giving teachers an opportunity to build personal connections with families and briefly discuss progress and classroom occurrences before the start of the school day.

Class Time

Classes at Meridian are small - on average, a teacher can expect to have around twenty students in each class, and often will have fewer than that. Teachers engage in high-quality instruction each day using nationally-vetted, Common Core-aligned curriculum in an inquiry-based environment. Teachers may also use multiple means of engaging with their students, from using traditional paper-based texts to teaching entire lessons on Chromebooks. Throughout the day, teachers might also co-teach with Special Education or English Language Learner (EL) teachers to ensure each student has the support they need to succeed at college preparatory levels. Teachers might also be observed by instructional coaches or school principals and directors to receive the feedback needed to improve their practice.

Intervention Block

Most days at Meridian include intervention blocks organized by grade level. During this time, teacher teams provide instruction at the level needed to ensure each student’s success. Teachers have the support of Special Education and EL teachers in addition to the ELA and Mathematics intervention teachers, creating groups of 5-6 students per teacher. Teachers might provide time for students to work in a blended learning environment, and provide both intervention and enrichment to students. Every eight weeks, teachers meet as teams to look at recent data on student performance and reorganize groups to ensure each student receives what they need during this time.

Planning

Each teacher at Meridian receives at least one hour of daily planning time. During this time, teachers might engage with their teacher teams in using data to drive instruction or unpack the curriculum, meet with a coach or a principal to discuss a recent classroom observation, or use the time to complete other classroom tasks.

Dismissal

At our elementary campus, students are either picked up from their classrooms or picked up in grade-level groups outside of the school. Many of our parents pick up their children, offering another opportunity for teachers to build relationships on a consistent basis with parents and discuss the day’s events.