All-new Citizens Calendar Committee
by Bryce Inman | Link to this postIn a little more than two weeks the School Board will meet for a work session at which time they will begin their first discussions about the make-up of the 2007-2008 calendar. Once again, ALL options are on the table for the next calendar . . .including a full-blown year-round calendar.
Due to our ever-growing membership and the immediacy of this next battle, the Citizens Calendar Committee has used the lull of these last several days to streamline our organization, formalize a structure and develop short-term and long-term strategies that will carry this group into the future for as long as a year-round calendar is being proposed as a viable option for our county.
Starting in the next few days, look for the following:
•Regular notification of important upcoming dates to watch
•Newsletters detailing the most recent “facts and fiction” about year-round schools
•Information about what your School Board member has been saying about the issue and how they've been voting
•What you can do to help preserve a traditional calendar for all of Williamson County
A hearty “thank you” to all of you who worked so hard to win the battle for the 2006-2007 calendar. Please join us as we continue our work on the next calendar.
2 Comments:
One thing that I was left wondering after the January 17 School Board meeting was where teachers actually stand on the calendar issue. According to the caption in The Tennessean, at least two of the "ladies in blue" were teachers. I understand that over 60% favored some aspects of the balanced calendar, but I'd like to know exactly what they find attractive. I don't know much about their union, and from their resounding silence during the weeks leading up to the Board's vote; I take it that the union leadership likes it that way. I'm sure the focus day question will also be heavily influenced by the wishes of the union. Is there a way we can learn more about the teachers' issues? Maybe their concerns can be addressed within a traditional calendar. Thanks for all that you guys have done so far. I'll be watching for information updates.
P.S. I'm sending out emails tomorrow as followup to all the Board members. (Dr. Sharber announced at the meeting that this week is School Board Appreciation Week.)
K Caplan,
It's nearly as hard to quantify the results of the teachers' survey as it is to discern any truths from the phone survey given to the parents. Both surveys were deeply flawed (a point I won't belabor here), but it's common knowledge that most teachers were handed a quick "yes or no" survey one morning, told not to discuss it and have their answers handed in by the end of the day.
In general, we've found that teachers who favor the "balanced" calendar fall into two groups: a) teachers who feel that students are too stressed in school and need a 2-week break after every 9-week school session to be refreshed, and 2) teachers who simply like the idea of a 2-week break for personal reasons. The Citizens Calendar Committee believes that neither of these schools of thought is in the best interest of our children's education.
By far the largest studies on this issue show that these 2-week breaks are counter-productive. Any perceived refreshment the students may gain is greatly overshadowed by the interruption of the steady flow of learning. Teachers in Williamson County have pointed out to us that October is actually one of the most productive months of the school year. After the first 9 weeks, students are starting to hit their stride and make terrific educational advances during this month since their are no "natural" breaks due to holidays. Throwing in an artificial 2- week break in October simply throws a wrench in the continuity of studies and it takes a week or two after each break to bring the students back to where they were before the break.
As to the second group of teachers, while we love them and empathize with their desire for a break, this simply isn't in the best interest of our children.
We're delighted that you're following up with the School Board members. Our blogs have been quiet as we've been catchiing our collective breath after the big push to retain a more traditional calendar for 2006-2007. We have been having meetings and lengthy discussions as we take a closer look at what we believe are the most important considerations for the use of time in school. As posted in this blog, we're on the verge of launching a new effort to educate and communicate as the School Board prepares very soon to develop the 2007-2008 calendar.
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