CASE STUDY
A small rural school added a daily flex block for support and enrichment, but spreadsheets kept putting students in the wrong place. With Minga, the schedule takes minutes to build and students choose activities that matter to them.
- 4,780flex block check ins in two months
- 15%drop in hall pass use
- 137flex block activities created in two months
Houston County High School
Solutions used
THE CHALLENGE
A Flex Block That Ran on Spreadsheets
Houston County High is a small, rural Title I school. To close learning gaps, it added a daily flex block: students who needed help got intervention, and everyone else picked an activity. But tracking it all in spreadsheets took hours, and students often landed in the wrong place. Some who needed help slipped through, while strong students sat in filler activities. With little structure, students also wandered the halls, and conflicts from outside school spilled into the building.
Key problem areas:
- Limited funding and pressure to make every resource count
- Building schedules in spreadsheets took hours each week
- Students were misplaced or disengaged during flex block
- Too many students in the halls without accountability
- No clear, fair hall pass process
When you have 40% of your population that you’re trying to put into study halls, you’ve got 60% that need somewhere else to go. How do we get these kids to know where they have to go and how to get there?”
THE SOLUTION
Build the Schedule Once, Then Duplicate It
Principal Josh Rutherford first looked at Minga for digital hall passes and check ins, but flex period scheduling turned out to be the bigger win. He now builds a schedule once and duplicates it.
Students who need intervention are placed where they’ll get it, and everyone else chooses an activity. Teachers see where their students should be in a few clicks, and check ins confirm attendance. Digital hall passes keep students from grouping up in the halls.
What Minga offered:
- Build, assign, and duplicate flex schedules in minutes
- Student choice for enrichment activities
- Check ins that confirm who attended each session
- A few clicks for teachers to assign students and create sessions
- Digital hall passes that show where students are
Our flex block used to be chaos: manual tracking, session switching, and spreadsheet adjusting. With Minga, the majority of our flex block issues have been resolved. I can set up our schedule in minutes. I build it once, duplicate it, and it’s done. Minga has taken what was quite a chaotic time by nature and design and given a layer of order to it all.”
THE OUTCOMES
Flex Period Scheduling That Keeps More Students in Class
Schedules built in minutes
Admins build the schedule once and duplicate it, instead of rebuilding spreadsheets every week.
Flex block attendance you can check
The school secretary confirms attendance through check ins instead of tracking it by hand.
Choice keeps students engaged
Students who pick their own activity are less likely to skip it, and complaints have dropped.
More ways to learn
Teachers can host flex sessions during planning time, and the school has hosted guest lectures from visiting professors.
15% drop in hall pass use
Staff can check where a student is at a glance, without searching the halls.
A full picture
Flex attendance and hallway data live in one place, so staff spend less time chasing students.
We have to try to remove obstacles that can get kids in trouble, cause when you write a kid up for being in the wrong place, it just kinda sucks. Giving kids a lot more choice in their schedules has given them the opportunity to do something that’s their doing. It removes that level of control in education. Now the kids are choosing where they’d like to go.”
See How Minga Can Simplify Flex Period Scheduling at Your School
Get results like Houston County High. Schedule a 30-minute demo and see how Minga can help you simplify flex period scheduling.
