Wednesday, February 6, 2002

Balanced calendar doesn't equal longer school year

I read with great interest the article and editorial discussing the proposed calendars for Fayette County schools. To say the least, I am disturbed by the tone of both. I felt Ms. Zhuño's letter was written with flowery language that hid flaws in logic. Your headline of "Longer school year ahead" also sent an invalid message and I would like to address each.

Let me preface my remarks by stating that I am a parent of two Fayette County students and, like Ms. Zhuño, am an educator. In fact, I have served as an administrator at a school using a schedule similar to those proposed and now work with schools throughout the country to help them improve student achievement. I also lack the luxury of relatives in the area to care for my children during vacations.

Simply put, the calendars DO NOT mean more school days. Your headline and Ms. Zhuño's comments infer the opposite. Day care costs will not increase. Ms. Zhuño wants readers to believe they will. Yes, day care costs may occur in September or February, as she states, but a person using minimal budgeting skills would understand that money was saved from the summer costs of day care. Quite simply, the number of days required for childcare will not change.

Ms. Zhuño speaks of "Extended Care Intercession" as an opportunity for the schools to take over raising our children. Let me make this clear, schools do not want the job of raising the children. A lack of family structure has placed this role upon them. Fortunately, Fayette County educators have had to do minimal work in this area due to the makeup of the community. Ms. Zhuño doesn't want the schools to "raise her children" but thinks day care can do the job. I find this a very interesting attitude that could become a focus of another discussion.

I particularly enjoyed Ms. Zhuño's comments on allowing a kid to be a kid. Upon moving to Georgia, I was told by many that the best months to plan outdoor activities were the March­April and September­October time periods. Seems to me that these would be great times for kids to get outside and play. As for the dog days of summer, I think having a student inside an air-conditioned school works far better inside an air-conditioned home watching television. During August, my neighborhood was void of children outside playing during the day. Cooler evening temperatures brought many outside.

To address the concerns of teacher's taking classes, I too, have experience in that area. Throughout the time I was working with the balanced calendar, I took classes to expand on my degree. Not one time did I have a conflict that kept me from meeting the course requirements. Yes, I did miss a class to go on a fall vacation and had to make arrangements with the professor. In addition, not one of the teachers within our system expressed concerns about the calendar negatively impacted their plans for education.

Most importantly, the state of Georgia and the country as a whole have clearly defined the upcoming task for schools. Schools must improve student achievement to catch the rest of the world. At no point does Ms. Zhuño's or your article discuss the impact on student achievement. I firmly believe we must learn from those who are doing things better. European and eastern countries have periodic breaks throughout the year rather than an extended summer.

I know from experience that the change in calendars resulted in increased attendance, reduced violence (i.e., fights) and helped increase student achievement. In addition to the improvements directly related to student achievement, the faculty, staff, students and teachers at my previous school were thrilled with the change. Parents found the fall break an excellent time for family vacations and teachers planned educational trips for clubs and classes to various sites. We annually had a group tour Europe during the fall break and a neighboring school sent the soccer team to England for a week.

I would like to share a couple of recommendations for the system if they choose one of the proposed calendars. I encourage the school system to communicate and work with childcare givers and parks departments to plan for these breaks. Also, the breaks should align with other dates on a school calendar. We placed our fall and spring breaks at the end of nine-week grading periods.

I find the idea of a full week at Thanksgiving intriguing. With the preponderance of transplanted families in Fayette County, the idea could improve overall attendance and eliminate parents sending a message to their children that vacation is more important than school when required to make travel plans that pull students out of school.

I commend those who developed these proposed calendars and encourage the board of education to adopt one. The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and to expect different results. To catch the rest of the nation and the world, Georgia schools must use practices that have proven effective for others.

Scott Warren

Fayetteville

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