Teaching · For Teachers

Every bell of the day,
and every minute of the year.

Set the first bell, the passing time and the blocks of the day in order. The builder gives every bell time and the dismissal, counts the instructional minutes, sizes class periods to a dismissal time and adds up a year of instruction across regular, early-release and assembly days.

Build a scheduleWhat you get
$19one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $19

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the For Teachers toolkit, $79 for 72 items.

The schedule builder

The worked example is made up: a middle school with a regular day, early-release Wednesdays and four assembly days. The required hours are an example figure; enter your own state’s. Nothing you enter leaves this browser.

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What you get

Teaching · For Teachers$19 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
Every bell time and the dismissal bell for each schedule you build; the instructional minutes in each day and how long the school day runs; class periods sized evenly to a dismissal time you choose; and, weighted by the days each schedule runs, the minutes and hours of instruction in a year, compared with the requirement you enter, with each class period’s minutes under every schedule. The bell schedules print, copy as plain text and download as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Principals, assistant principals, schedulers and office staff who set bell schedules; teacher leaders and committees weighing a schedule change; and district staff checking instructional time across buildings.
Format
Browser tool. Works on a phone, tablet or computer; the bells move as you type. Up to eight schedules. Prints the bell schedules; copies them as text; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the For Teachers toolkit ($79) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The For Teachers space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Name the schedule, set the first bell and the passing time, and enter how many days a year it runs.
  2. Add the blocks of the day in order and mark each as a class period, homeroom, lunch or other. Only class periods count as instruction; mark homeroom as a class period if your state counts it.
  3. To end the day at a set time, enter it under Fit and the class periods are sized evenly; leftover minutes are reported, not hidden.
  4. Duplicate the schedule for early release, assembly or testing days and change what differs.
  5. Enter your state’s required hours, read the year and the period-by-period comparison, then print or copy the schedules.

Build a schedule

How the bells and minutes are worked out

Clock arithmetic on the blocks you enter.

1 Lay the blocks end to end, with passing time between7:50 am3:14 pmBlocks404 minhomeroom, 7 × 52, lunchPassing40 min8 gaps × 5 minutesDismissal3:14 pm7:50 am + 444 minutes2 Count only class periods as instructionRegular day364 min7 periods × 52Homeroom, lunch, passingnot countedunless your state counts them3 Weight each schedule by the days it runsA year of instruction1,056.1 hours160 × 364 + 16 × 245 + 4 × 301 = 63,364 minutes1 Blocks end to end7:50 am3:14 pmBlocks404 minhomeroom, 7 × 52, lunchPassing40 min8 gaps × 5 minDismissal3:14 pm7:50 am + 444 minutes2 Only classes countRegular day364 min7 × 52Lunch, passingnot countedhomeroom too3 Weight by daysA year of instruction1,056.1 hours63,364 minutes over 180 days
The worked example: a regular day from 7:50 am with seven 52-minute periods, homeroom, lunch and five-minute passing ends at 3:14 pm and holds 364 instructional minutes. Mixed with 16 early-release and 4 assembly days, the year holds about 1,056 hours.

The day

Each block starts when the one before it ends plus the passing time, so the dismissal bell is the first bell plus every block and every passing gap. Instructional minutes add up only the blocks marked as class periods. Fit evenly takes the time to the dismissal you choose, subtracts passing and every block that is not a class period, and divides what is left among the class periods in whole minutes; any remainder is reported so you can place it.

The year and the rules

Each schedule’s instructional minutes are multiplied by the number of days it runs and added together. States set required instructional time in days, in hours, or in both, often different by grade band, and decide what counts toward it: some count homeroom or passing time, some do not. The page does not hold any state’s rule. Enter your own requirement in hours and mark blocks so they match what your state counts. Federal law does not set a length for the school day or year.

Sources

  1. National Center for Education Statistics. State Education Practices, Table 5.14: number of instructional days and hours in the school year, by state (nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform).
  2. Education Commission of the States. 50-State Comparison: Instructional Time Policies (ecs.org), on minimum days, hours and what counts as instructional time.
  3. Silva, E. (2007). On the Clock: Rethinking the Way Schools Use Time. Washington, DC: Education Sector.
  4. National Center for Education Statistics. Schools and Staffing Survey, 2007–08: public schools averaged about 180 days a year and about 6.6 hours a day.

The worked example, including its required hours, is made up. The page adds minutes; it does not know or apply any state’s instructional time rules, which decide what counts and how much is required. Your schedules stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.