Flex Time Mastermind Group:
Maximizing Flex Time + Intervention Periods in Middle & High Schools
With more middle and high schools across the country looking for ways to provide opportunities for their students, whether additional time during the school day for interventions, enrichment, clubs, and more, we've decided to start a Mastermind group to bring school leaders together to learn, grow, and better serve their students. While there is no cost to join the group, we do want to ensure it is time well spent, as we know school leaders have little additional time available, so we do have an application process.
Purpose
The purpose of this Mastermind Group is to bring together school leaders from across the United States to work together and help each other enhance the impact of their flex time and intervention periods by presenting best practices, sharing resources, and helping each other overcome challenges.
Criteria to Apply
All interested parties that meet the baseline criteria below must apply for admission here:
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Be a school leader (e.g. principal, dean, assistant principal, teacher leader, or comparable position) in a middle or high school that is charged with a large leadership role as it relates to flex time and/or intervention and enrichment within their school building
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Already have a flex period in place or be committed to starting one in the near future (those in early exploration stages will be considered on a case by case basis)
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Be committed to their own growth and helping others grow
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Be open to share ideas, ask questions, and support their peers with honesty, respect, and compassion
Benefits
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Mutual Support - in this group you will be surrounded by others with similar positions who understand many of the challenges you face firsthand but have a different perspective, experience, background, and context. Given this, members can lean on and support each other to overcome the challenges they each face and help identify new goals to pursue.
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Differing Perspectives - given the group is intentionally comprised of leaders in different contexts, you’ll have access to others that understand much of each other’s context while providing a perspective to see things from a different point of view that you otherwise might not be aware of and can help each other improve their approach.
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Resources - everyone in the group will bring with them their own set of skills, network of people, and access to resources that they can share with the group. This helps members save time in not having to recreate the wheel and start from scratch, as well as spark new ideas.
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Accountability - this group can serve as an accountability mechanism in achieving your goals and continually improving. If nothing else, it serves as a reminder to reflect on the progress you’ve made and inform how you’d like to approach the future.
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Networking - given the nature of this group, you’ll have access to people that you likely wouldn’t have otherwise. While this is likely to impact your current work, it can also lead to other professional relationships that could be beneficial to members over time, whether engaging in topics related to their current role or exploring new roles altogether.
What to Expect
Big picture, you should expect to be an active participant of a community of people in similar roles looking to achieve similar goals in similar contexts that bring different perspectives, ideas, and challenges to the space.
On a more technical level, you should expect the opportunity to:
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Participate in a closed Facebook group that creates a safe space for open, ongoing discussions
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Attend monthly virtual presentations that focus on a member’s context, sharing their best practices and most pressing challenge to get feedback from the group
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Access to resources from other group members that could help you save time and/or spark new ideas for your own context
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Over time, there will also be opportunities for smaller group spaces for specific affinity groups that could benefit from additional time with others that have a specific overlap of context (e.g. groups comprised of those working in a middle school, high school, specific state, or school with a particular type of schedule)
Structures
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Closed Facebook Group with Discussions + Resource Sharing
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Monthly Meetings Around Best Practices + Overcoming Challenges
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As Needed: Additional Space for Affinity Groups
Have questions before applying? Email James Bacon at jbacon@edficiency.com to learn more.