Teachers will be shadowing students of each grade level until Feb. 14 to observe and gather data to help the academic council figure out how to best serve students, according to Division Head for Curriculum and Instruction Ellen Carmody.

“Through academic counsel and the faculty we’re always looking for what’s best for students,” Carmody said. “Whether that’s courses or schedules, we want to do what’s best for students. Does that mean we’re going to change the schedule? No.”

The eight teachers who have or will shadow students are collecting four types of data. The first is noting how many types of engagement, such as teacher to student, student to student, small group and large group, take place during the day.

“I found that there was a lot of variety in the day as far as how teachers conducted their classes,” English teacher Casey Engel said. “There was a lot of good student-led discussion.”

Teacher shadows such as Engel were also asked to note the variety of activity and number of concepts introduced or discussed in each class and throughout the day as a whole. Both Engel and History teacher Jennifer Brown-Howerton found that it was hard to switch mindsets so quickly between subjects.

“The seven-period day is pretty intense to go from one topic to the next seven times a day,” Brown-Howerton said. “Of course for most of [the students] that doesn’t end at 3:10.”

The final piece of data teachers were asked to observe was the amount of homework assigned. After shadowing, Engel said that teachers need to use class time more efficiently to minimize after school assignments.

“My brain hurt at 3:10,” Engel said. “There was no way I could’ve gone home and done homework.”

Librarian Jennifer Campbell shadowed junior Loulya Alabed and Engel shadowed senior Gabby Ong. Half of the teachers will shadow on block days while the other half follow a regular schedule.

“[The teachers] think we only have two hours of homework, but really it’s at least five, plus after school activities that they expect us to do,” Alabed said.

Carmody initially got the idea when two years ago she shadowed a student at Visitation, and realized that she only said a few words the entire day because it was all listening to teachers. It is also part of a national program through the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools.

“It’s a fantastic experience to better understand what students are going through each day,” Carmody said.