From Superintendent Phyllis Edwards’ note to the School Board for next week’s meeting…
Simone Elder is working on bus schedules and just the other day, we finalized the start and ending times with the high school getting a 15 minute earlier start and the elementary schools (k-3) will be starting 30 minutes earlier. We have been talking for some time now about the extension of the elementary day and this will address it by 30 minutes and make all schools the same number of hours of instruction. I am putting this change in because of the emphasis on a number of areas of concern regarding the school day e.g., recess along with trying to fit everything into the school day. These start and end times will be vetted with the City so they can make accommodations for guards. We continue to work with the City on determining the best routes to schools.
Geesh! My son is already exhausted by the end of the current school day!
Staggered start times for schools might alleviate traffic issues in the morning for those households with multiple children. Dr. Edwards suggesting the additional time in the morning for the K-3 children may be another way to control morning traffic in the City of Decatur: so many schools with the same start time in a small, high density city.
How about taking a survey as to how many children ride the bus in the morning? And finding out exactly how many children rely on that bus? Ms. Elder should look more closely at the problem of empty busses driving down the street every morning. How about a different approach to bussing? And, how about a survey to see if those who want to eat breakfast at school have other means to get there? Then, change the bus routes or have a small shuttle take the early breakfast kids, then the regular busses pick the kids up 20 minutes before school which is more realistic and will alleviate the traffic issues.
I love the idea of a bus strategy that would allow kids to get on a bus 20 minutes before the start of school. I know my children would ride the bus much more regularly if that existed. I don’t know if it’s workable.
STARTING THE SCHOOL DAY ANY EARLIER IS A VERY SELFISH IDEA. THIS IS NOT GOOD
FOR THE CHILDREN. END IT LATER IN THE DAY AND THAT WILL CUT OUT SOME AFTER
CARE. IF THIS TAKES PLACE ALL THE PARENTS SHOULD RALLY TOGETHER TO FIGHT
THIS CHANGE. WHO WOULD LIKE TO PICKET IN FRONT THE SCHOOL OR TO THE BOARD MEMBERS? SHORTEN AFTERCARE!
it seems evident that we need NEW BOARD MEMBERS IF THESE MEMBERS ARE REALLY EVEN SUGGESTING THAT THE SCHOOL DAY START ANY EARLIER FOR 5 YEAR OLDS THEN THEY CLEARLY DO NOT HAVE A UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN OR PARENTS. THE SOLUTION WOULD
BE CLEAR WITHOUT OUT ANY THOUGHT THAT THE DAY BE EXTENDED TO SHORTEN AFTER CARE. CLEARLY WE NEED NEW BOARD MEMBERS…HOW MANY I DONT KNOW.
the meeting is tomorrow tuesday at 6:30 pm at main office on scott blvd..please attend
7:40 is way to early for little people. They don’t need to be in school for 7 hours at this age. Who’s paying for this extra time btw?
I agree – it’s too early! If they want to extend the day it should be in the afternoon.
I wish there was more community input on this. I wonder if the teachers were consulted. It seems like a big change for K-3. One I personally am not pleased with at all. I appreciate there are lots of demands but I am not sure this is the answer at all. I look forward to seeing more opinions here
I agree with adding the time onto the end of the day too.
So, I guess this means that bus riding kids will be picked up beginning at 6:30 A.M. .. and if these kids are in Animal Crackers then they may not be picked up until 6:00 P.M. at the end of the day. A kid this age needs 10-12 hours of sleep according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. To catch a 6:30 bus, a kid needs to wake up at 5:45 to have time to get dressed, shower, etc. So.. that kid needs to be asleep at 7:45 P.M. in order to get the MINIMUM amount of recommended sleep. If they get home at 6:15, then the parents have 1.5 hours a night to interact with them, have a family dinner, read to them, make sure homework is done and get them to bed (and asleep!!) by 7:45.. all while the child is exhausted from a very long day at school.
And this is to get the MINIMUM amount of sleep recommended… I guess they just are picked up and go straight to bed without dinner if they need more like 12 hours of sleep.
REALLY?
Someone in this house is on the edge of their seat wanting to know whether a 15-minute earlier start to the day for DHS means that they will then get out 15 minutes earlier, e.g. at 3:17 instead of 3:32 PM? (Myself, I would like to put in a plug for rounding off whatever time the day ends. An end time of 3:32 instead of 3:30 or 3:35 PM has seemed like an unnecessary level of precision.)
Re elementary school starting earlier–Is there a reason the choice was to start earlier rather than ending later? My reasoning is:
1. If school starts at 7:40, then the buses have to get to school by 7:10 for the free and reduced breakfast opportunity (complete aside: actually, you can pay full-price too if you have a child like mine that prefers the school breakfast to the home version). That means buses probably have to start picking up kids at the beginning of the route around 6:30 AM. Not only will that decrease the overall bus ridership and increase the car ridership, but it will be especially tough on the kids who have no option but to ride a bus (e.g. their parents have to leave for work real early because their workplace is far away or their schedule dictates it. Or is an entirely different type of schedule in the works? It’s always seemed a shame to have the buses pick up so darn early in the morning and miss a mass transit opportunity, but we’ve never figured out another way to get the students who need a school breakfast there in time.)
2. Having school run a little later in the afternoon is probably less hard on the kids and parents. To be honest, when I’m off of work but the kids aren’t, the time between 8 AM when school starts and 2:30 PM when you have to starting heading to the school to get the kids seems awfully short; a little extra time to get something accomplished or more errands done is often welcome.
3. Even a 3:30 PM end of school still leaves time to get to late afternoon sports, classes, and other activities.
4. The axiom that little kids get up earlier than teens is true but that doesn’t mean that getting kids up at 5:45 AM to get dressed, eat breakfast, brush their teeth, etc. to make a 6:30 bus is natural for them. There’s a big difference between waking up at 7:00 AM on a Saturday morning to sneak in some cartoons while the ‘rents are still asleep and getting up at 5:45 AM to go to school!
Some data:
The state of Georgia requires K-3 students receive 4.5 hours of instruction for 180 days or the equivalent of that. Assuming there is no more than an hour of non-instruction time in our schools, which I think is reasonable, this means that Decatur K-3 kids go to school for 220 equivalent days.
The extra half hour being discussed means that they will now attend school for 240 days and a total of 1080 hours overall. As a point of reference, a full-time job is 2000 hours a year.
To MrFixIt’s comments, its highly unlikely the kids mentioned will be in bed asleep by 7:45 which means that we they will suffer sleep deprivation…consistently. How ready to learn do you expect these kids will be by Friday morning?
Now, I take school as seriously as the next person, but this seems to me to be a plan destined for failure from the outset.
My questions to the administration: How do you plan to pay for this? Is this a better use of our money than, say, re-hiring the para-professionals let go in recent years? You certainly realize that an extra 15 minutes at the high school equates to about 2 minutes per class, don’t you? How much instruction can occur in 2 minutes? What plans are you putting in place to deal with the additional discipline problems that are certain to accompany this change at the elementary level?
School board, please tread very carefully on this topic. It is a minefield of problems.
Re going back to a full roster of experienced, well-trained, high-quality (not just a cheap body in the room) paraprofessionals that can help teachers and specialists provide the differentiated instruction that is needed in our inclusion classrooms: I concur!
I understand the natural tension that exists between having a day that is not too long for students vs. covering everything we want for them–academics, enrichment and specialized instruction for those who need it, PE, art, music, Spanish, and some free time (aka “social time”, aka “recess”) to just be children with other children. But another metric to be addressed is the quality of that time. Whether our kids are in school 6.5 hours or 7 hours, that time needs to be high quality and evidence-based. Are we making the most of our elementary school children’s time with teachers and instruction that reflect an up-to-date understanding of human learning and best practices? We need to put as much energy into that as we put into counting the minutes. It’s no longer enough to teach a single curriculum and then judge children by how they learn it. The complexity of the human brain requires that successful schools provide multiple paths to learning and then almost all children can reach their true potential. We have the knowledge base to accomplish that but I’m not sure we have the educational will yet.
I agree this is particularly hard on bus riders but even for those don’t ride the bus this is early. I work it every evening to get a first grader to bed as close to 7:30 as possible and I am shaking her awake at 6:45 am so she can get dressed and have a hardy breakfast at 7:15am (to last her until her 12:15 lunch) and then leave for school by 7:45 to be in the classroom by 8am as requested. And we live very close to school and can walk.
I am confused by the 30 minutes earlier and 7:40am start. It seems 30 minutes earlier would mean a 7:30 start. Both are bad.
I think it is also important to consider how this means an earlier start for everyone in the household. So to get a 4th grader to school and then a 1st grader – if one doesn’t have 2 parents at home in the morning and can’t catch the 6:30am bus then you are dragging them all out of the house to get to school for the earliest child.
I don’t want a longer day at all and I am not a working (for a paycheck) parent but it does seem that the afternoon hours would be less detrimental to family time for many families.
The paragraph submitted above discussing the change doesn’t seem very grounded in a well articulated rationale for this (it may be there but we aren’t hearing it). Nor does it offer any sense of planning or understanding consequences (pros and cons) or seeking comparisons to other schools (a method that has been used to validate other changes – like the calendar in the past).
I wish school started at 9am! On those late start weather days didn’t everyone seem so cheery heading to school. So grateful for the extra hour of sleep.
I think we are on the wrong track if we think just more more more is going to make a difference…in whatever they are trying to make a difference in? Test scores??? I’d like to hear more about the goals.
And paying for? My guess this is more hours but no change in pay.
My bet if we did more to push good sleep, family dinner and fresh air with a heavy dose of customized special summer school and tutoring programs for some kids we’d see big jumps in test scores.
This extra 30 minutes feels like punishment to me.
Re how is 7:40 AM a half hour earlier than 8:00 AM: New math! No, seriously, officially the elementary schools currently start at 8:10 AM. Don’t ask me how that jives with the fact that we are all told that the kids must be in school by 8:00 AM. Many have asked, few have understood.
Class starts at 8:10. The kids need to be in their seats with backpacks, etc put away and necessary class materials ready when class starts. They also need to get any good morning socializing wrapped up before class begins. If I have to begin my job at 8:00, I don’t show up at the office at 8:00. I get there early so that I can really start working at 8:00.
BTW – this makes the early start even harder on kids, parents, and teachers.
At Clairemont, it’s murkier than that because the students are supposed to be in the auditorium by 8 AM sitting down in place with their class as opposed to putting things away, socializing, getting to class. Parents have been genuinely confused in the past because official materials/websites etc. would say 8:10 but their kids were treated as already late at 8 AM. Whatever. With the earlier start at 7:40 AM, lots of things may change. The whole cycle of bus routes and schedules may be changing, especially with Fifth Avenue not be as handy as Glennwood as a hub.
Published elementary (K-3) times are 8.15am till 2.45pm according to CSD website http://www.csdecatur.net/schools/
So a half hour earlier would be 7.45am, though that would be the latest allowed arrival time. Tardy after that, based on the rules as applied at Winnona Park anyway.
Start time seems to vary in each school. Winnona Park requests that kids are in class by 8am, butts in seats or on the carpet ready to start by 8.05am. They stop carpool at 8.05 now, you arrive after that and you have to park and walk your kid to class. But kids don’t get tardy slips till 8.15am.
Punishment indeed. Not happy about this and will attend the meeting to hear more and voice my opposition.
Another unofficial rule! School supposedly ends at 2:45 PM but, if you pick up your child at Clairemont, you better be in the front yard waiting by 2:35 PM. The kids come out in little bursts anytime between then and 2:45 PM. It’s all over, building empty, by 2:45 PM. So school really ends by 2:25 PM as far as I could tell and I was occasionally in the building watching. The kids are just sitting around waiting for their particular call, whether it be Bus no. 65, walkers, carpool riders, Animal Crackers, First Baptist, Color Wheel, whatever. You could pick up another 20 minutes for the school day by just redefining 2:45 PM to be when instruction ends as opposed to when the building is emptied of children.
And yet they are not considered late until 8:15am….
This proposed change doesn’t appear well thought out, and I am curious why we are learning about this on the Metro blog, rather than in a letter from the Supt. It would be a challenge for my family to make the earlier time. I have to drag him out of bed at 7:30 as it is, and he goes to bed by 8pm!
We really struggle with 8 am. My kids just don’t get enough sleep. They are almost never asleep earlier than 8:30 pm and could really use another hour of sleep. This talk of extending the school day is just so ridiculous to me! I don’t want the extra time stuck on the afternoon either. What with homework and everything else, when are kids allowed to play? My first grader complains to me on a daily basis that she doesn’t have enough time to play. It’s so sad. Why are we doing this to our kids?
I don’t think any child that young should be in school an extra half hour a day— at the end of the day or the beginning! That extra half hour will be wasted on sleep and play deprived kids. Some of these kids start kindergarten at age 4 for crying out loud!!! Not letting those kids see the light of day until 3:15 is just as bad as forcing them into school before the sun even comes up on some days.
The money to pay for these 90 additional hours of instruction is far better spent on more parapros or targeted tutoring… or catch up classes for all those breaks during the school year.
Come on CSD – you can do better than this. Family time and free, unscheduled time are extremely important in a young child’s life!! These kids have only been on this planet a few years folks! They are not robots, they are living, breathing little people!!
It does seem like punishment – true dat!
Yes, I agree wholeheartedly.
This strikes me as a bizarre way to announce what is a rather large change that would affect a lot of people’s schedules. For those out there who follow the school board closer than I do, has this been a subject that the school board has been discussing for “some time now?” And I would like to see the rationale in a bit more detail. Dr. Edwards writes that “I am putting this change in because of the emphasis on a number of areas of concern regarding the school day e.g., recess along with trying to fit everything into the school day.” What exactly are the K-3 students not doing in the current schedule? Personally, I’d prefer they extend the day for the 4-5 Academy so they can have more than 15 minutes outside a day and P.E. more than twice a week. My 1st grader is doing well and I haven’t heard anyone complaining that the K-3 school day isn’t long enough.
School Board Meeting Agenda:
Item 1: How can we get more people in Decatur to sign their kids up for private schools?
In the short term, it’s always easier on school administrators if vocal parents leave the system. If you use the private school flight argument with CSD or the School Board, you’ll get a pious avowal that there’s always been families that choose private school and they respect their decision to do so. It’s been suggested many times that CSD conduct exit surveys or interviews with families that leave CSD to monitor why they are leaving (e.g. moving, dissatisfaction, religious affiliation, whatever) but there doesn’t seem to be interest.
Ha ha. EXACTLY what my husband and I began discussing this AM. Cliff Valley is looking REALLY good about now.
Simone Elder is in charge of transportation, not instruction. It seems to me that this decision is at least partially based on CSD’s ability to bus our children to their respective schools, hither and yon. We live in a 4 mile square town. What’s wrong with this picture?
This requires a whole lot more ‘splainin’ than is found in that buried paragraph. There is insufficient justification there. Perhaps it’s been more fully discussed as in “we have been talking for some time now”, but I’ve missed it.
OK, we are supposed to be a big Safe Routes to School district, right? With a de facto start time of 7:30, many families will be trudging out of the house at 7:00 A.M….. IN THE DARK…. with their 5-year-olds to get to school on time. I see a whole lot of driving sleepy kids around in the dark because of this. So much for walking to school.
Also.. I’m super disappointed that Dr. Edwards would try to just slip this through with no input from families. On Facebook, I’m even seeing teachers who were clueless about this until today.
Oh, wait… Dr. E didn’t just tryyyyy to slip it through. It looks like it’s a done deal.
Nice charter system!
Correction, we are a “system charter”, an oxymoron in my opinion.
If they want to look at extending the school day, CSD should look at shortening the school year. Under the new calendar, kids are in school from the first of August until the last of May. I don’t see how adding more time and stress to the children and teachers is going to help fix the problem with Georgia schools. My sister teaches in North Georgia where they tried extending the day by 15 min. this year, but cut the school year. They have seen a dramatic decrease in teacher and student absences which, using my logic, translates to more time in the classroom and less burnout! The solution should not always be more more more. Sometimes, things are more difficult than that.
Very disappointed CSD! Up north- elementary started at 9:00 until 3:30.
This is so sad- k-3 kids going to school at 7:00 am!!!!
I guarantee you see a drop in test scores due to exhausted children by April!
Let your voices be heard! I suggest everyone show up at the next school board meeting – I want a packed house.
This is a ridiculous proposal or mandate with no regards for children & their day.
Dr. Edwards WAKE UP! These kids need their rest, time to be children and your logic is very flawed.
If you have not read, “Nurture Shock,” you should! One chapter in titled, The Lost Hour and describes how around the world, children get an hour less sleep than they did thirty years ago. The cost: IQ points, emotional well-being, ADHD, and obesity. The chapter goes into numerous sleep studies and the astounding effects that even one hour less sleep/ night effect our children.
According to Nurture Shock, sleep loss for teenagers is a special challenge. During puberty, the biological clock does a “phase shift” that keeps adolescents up later. Awakened at dawn by alarm clocks, teen brains are still releasing melatonin. This pressures them to fall back asleep- either in 1st period or, more dangerously, during the drive to school. Which is one of the reasons young adults are responsible for more than 100,000 “fall asleep” crashes annually.
Persuaded by this research, a few school districts have pushed back start times. In one example, a HS changed their start time from 7:25 to 8:30, the results were startling. In the year preceding the time change, math/ verbal SAT scores for the top 10% averaged 683/605. A year later, the top 10% averaged 739/761. In case you are too drowsy to do that math, getting another hour of sleep boosted math scores up 56 points and verbal a whopping 156 points. And students reported higher levels of motivation and lower levels of depression.
Nurture Shock goes on to explain how the loss of sleep has increased rates of ADHD and obesity.
An earlier start time is not the answer! I don’t want to see 30 minutes added on to the day. I am the parent of a kindergartner who is already wiped out at the end of the day. We spend the afternoons at the playground where my child gets the physical activity that she needs as well as a chance to use her imagination and PLAY. There are many ways to improve our schools. This is not one of them.
Thanks for doing what you do,
A concerned, and active parent
Wow: “just the other day, we finalized the start and ending times with the high school getting a 15 minute earlier start and the elementary schools (k-3) will be starting 30 minutes earlier.”
Process and public input FAIL.
Good point. Where’s the involvement of the School Leadership Teams? And if this is spun as a “systemic” issue, then where is the involvement of the System Charter Leadership Team? This is clearly a matter that is of interest to parents. The neighborhood listservs are buzzing with it.
Regarding System Charter Leadership Team (SCLT) and School Leadership Teams (SLTs). I attended the SCLT meeting this Wednesday and can vouch that this topic was not brought to our attention. To my knowledge SLTs have not been informed, nor has their advice been sought. -That said, if you consult the charter, you will no doubt find that the SCLT is completely advisory in nature, and that the SLT’s have not governing authority over school start or end times. However, the SLTs are supposed to be a channel for community input and advice. But there is little which the SLTs can do, if they are not in the loop and if their advice is not sought.
Regarding the lengthening of K-3 school days. It would be nice if there were more clarity as to what “number of areas of concern regarding the school day” means. If longer days mean that we will commit to giving every child every day 30 minutes of unstructured outdoor break time which can not be taken away as a punishment… Then I support it. But until we know how that time will be allocated I’ll withhold judgment. Additional seat time does not equate with additional learning.
If longer days mean less homework then I could support that as well. We are fond of citing a requirement for evidence based research. But there is _no_ research supporting any academic gain for assigning homework in the primary grades. With bus commute and homework, school days can easily run from 6:30a-5:30p. Which means many of our kids have longer days than many adults.
We have great teachers and great schools. I had the opportunity this morning to observe a class at Clairemont. The kids were smiling, laughing and enthralled by a mystery reader. As great as our teachers are at engaging children throughout the day… It is important that our schools recognize that our children have lives outside school as well.
I second the request that elementary school homework as an instructional tool be examined against the evidence that it improves anything. IMHO:
– In the struggling child, it’s one more frustration and failure. If the instructional approach isn’t working at school, it’s not going to work at home either. It just shifts the educator’s failure onto the parents.
– In the child who has already mastered the material, it’s a source of boredom and frustration. Why should the child have to practice something they already know?
– In the child who might profit from the homework, the benefit has to be weighed against the fact that it engenders resentment, resistance, and a view that school is “work” as opposed to “learning”. The home is not the ideal academic environment for most kids. If it was, we’d all be homeschooling our kids.
Unfortunately, until they have their own children doing homework at home, many teachers do not truly understand how homework plays out in reality vs how they envision it playing out. Now some private schools have a program right after school in which students can do their homework with professional guidance (costs extra of course!). If CSD offered that at reasonable cost, we might be the first to sign up.
Karass,
I agree with you 100% on this. You hit the nail on the head.
Meant to also add, particularly regarding “boredom and frustration.”
I don’t want to sign my children up for after school homework help. I just want less homework. Truthfully, for us, it seems to amount to a lot of busy work.
Yeah, I didn’t really mention the private school option of homework “lab” because it’s a high priority for us, I mentioned it because teachers who work in homework labs probably better understand how homework really plays out vs. the idealized concept that may be in the head of a teacher who has never had to supervise or help with homework in real time, .
I agree we have great schools, great teachers, great students (and great parents). I wonder about the administrators. They do not seem so great.
I agree. My second grader spends at least 1 – 1.5 hours on homework EVERY afternoon….that is not including time for special projects. It’s a real challenge to do anything like a music lesson or sports activity during the week, because each of those requires a certain amount of daily practice as well. Not to mention my kindergartener….who has daily homework as well. It has taken her up until now in the school year to feel comfortable about the present length of the school day & she is a well-adjusted, flexible child. I do have concerns about all the pressure we are putting on 5 year-olds for goodness-sakes! I agree that the homework issue needs to be linked to the proposal for increasing the school day. Thank you for raising that issue!
This is too early for our son, who’s entering K. I wonder what time Dr. Edwards arrives at work?
I can tell you that our teachers and administrators arrive early and work late. Most of our principals have evening meetings and/or events most days of the week. They work very hard for our children. I have no doubt that Dr. Edwards’ day is considerably longer that our childrens’.
I know that they work so hard. Dr. Edwards included. Which is one of the reasons I personally would like to know if the teachers had input here. I really do want to support what they think is needed and how to implement it. The bit of input I got today suggests they weren’t aware.
I would love some context from education wonks out there (Garrett?…) about how this puts the total hours and start times in comparison to other school districts, other states? I know friends in other states fighting the reverse problem of hours and days being cut severely. Are we going to have more hours than most.? I think if you put yourself in an unusual situation – more hours than most – you have to ask if we truly understand what we’d be getting here.
I think the homework issue is related – it’s this idea of MORE school, MORE work will make a difference. ANd as stated above the research isn’t very persuasive about homework.
Of course this is a “first world problem” – but when we learn of important changes on a blog or by reading a comment deep within board notes about an important issue THIS is the forum for discussion. Frankly would many think of attending next Tuesday’s board meeting without this discussion?
You can look at page 413 in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report “Education at a Glance 2008” at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/23/46/41284038.pdf.
Or jump to the spreadsheet containing the data: (http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/402183135853)
Children age 7-8 in OECD countries average 770 hours of compulsory instruction time per year, and in the EU 19 countries 783 hours. Note: I’m not sure how to determine the amount of “instruction time” our children receive each day.
For the purposes of this report, compulsory instruction time is defined as: “Instruction time for 7-to-15-year-olds refers to the formal number of 60-minute hours per school year organized by the school for class instructional activities for students in the reference school year 2005/06.”
It would be great if there were an authoritative answer to this question. However purely speculating that subtracting time set aside for snacks, lunch, recess, and other breaks amounts to 1-1.5 hours per day would give 5.5*180=990 to 6*180=1080… or 990 to 1080 hours per year. Note: art, music, pe, etc. are classified in this report as instruction time. Or looked at a different way, assuming 180 days of school, our children would require 4.35 hours of compulsory instruction time per day to reach the EU 19 average of 783 hours.
Which brings us back to the question of “what does CSD intend to do with the extra time”? More time does not necessarily equate with more learning.
Found a better answer to your question at the National Center for Education Statistics (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/annualreports/data/xls/daylength0708.xls)
The average length of the school day in elementary schools in the U.S. is 6.7 hours.
Nearby States:
Alabama: 7.0
Georgia: 6.8
Kentucky: 6.7
Mississippi: 7.1
North Carolina: 6.7
South Carolina: 7.0
Tennessee: 7.2
Florida: 6.5
The earlier start time is great for us and our kiddos. We are often (like now) sitting around waiting for school to start. Plus (big plus) we will be able to get to work earlier, thus leaving earlier, so we can get home for homework and afterschool activities at a slightly more reasonable hour.
Wow. You have children who get up early, get ready, and then are sitting around waiting for school to start? Can I send my children over to see this and perhaps get inoculated with whatever is going right in your house? But it’s probably genetic, and recessive at that. Please count your blessings!
Well, fortunately for you, you can drop your kids off as early as 7:30 for school as it is. They can eat breakfast there or you can send them with some fruit or something so they can sit with their friends and socialize. It’s great to have a personal schedule that allows for this sort of thing, but there are families who don’t have kids who are morning birds or who don’t have flexible work schedules that allow them to arrive early and leave early.
I agree: For me this ultimately translates into getting to work earlier and having more flexibility at the end of the day to get home earlier and spend more time outside with the kids, particularly in the many school months when it is getting dark between 5 and 6 pm. Also, when I’m home earlier it usually means getting kids to bed earlier.
I agree with the new hours. Additional instructional time is a valuable enough priority for my family that it is worth any small inconveience to get my children there on time. I have alot of faith in my children that they will handle the change and benefit from it.
I believe that our teachers are professional and skilled in pacing the school day to enhance learning. At the elementary level, it might be very constructive to have more time focused on basics, and at the high school, the students need to be able to focus during longer instruction time as a prerequisite skill for higher learning.
I understand that resistance to change is a common first response, but giving new hours a chance – and talking it up to our children instead of complaining – might reap some rewards. I, for one, feel disingenuous worrying about my children’s academic competitiveness and then complaining about a few more minutes of instruction during the school day.
I agree that teenagers need their sleep and their body clock is set for a later wake up time. I wonder if other interests which compete with school work account for lack of sleep. Their world needn’t be entirely school based; however, 15 minutes away from facebook spent in an AP lecture isn’t misspent.
This schedule change qualifies as a minor adjustment in the lives of most families.
Um. Worst idea ever. Agree with everyone here, especially appreciate your post Cindy on Nuture Shock. This is ridiculous!
This stinks. It means everyone in our house has to get up 30 minutes earlier. And that means I’ll have to get up at 5:20, and get my 5 year old up at 6:30, when she’s miserable waking up at 7 now. Making bedtime earlier is really, really difficult for working parents who have a limited amount of time to make everything happen at night and actually spend time with their kids.
As much as I dislike this for my own reasons, I think the adjustment will be easier for me than for others who don’t have some flexibility in their work and childcare schedules. I’m willing to bet a lot of CSD parents can’t just march into their employers and demand a 30 minute shift in schedule each way. The community definitely deserves to be heard on this point.
Everyone please remember that leaving your comment here does not make it heard by school board members! Please email your board members and attend the meeting next Tuesday!
Yes, please email Dr. Edwards too. I did and she replied to me but I am still confused and totally opposed. Attend the meeting and voice your opinion.
Did she offer any additional information about this change and the rationale for it?
She talked about having to balance the demands for more time in the school day from administrators, demands for more activities in the school day from parents, the challenge of the bus schedule since we’re losing Glennwood as a hub and adding a school at 5th Avenue and also there is the crossing guard logistics.
I’m still feeling confused and hoping for more explanation. Will attend Tuesday night in the hopes I hear a lot more detail as to why our K-3 kids need more time at school.
Personally I’m opposed to my kids spending any more time at school and the earlier start time would really feel like a punishment for my 1st grader.
How does moving the K-3 school start to 15 minutes before the start of 4/5 Academy instead of 15 minutes after the start of the 4/5 help with bus issues…? It’s still a 15 minute difference.
I bet I can name the administrator who’s pushing hardest for a longer school day – that’s an easy one.
What additional “activities” are parents “demanding”? – if there are parents who know what these “demands” are.. please post here. Why not have these “activities” after school so that CSD can honor the needs of children who need rest and families who need family time. My first grader has an hour of homework every night… how would this fit in with a SEVEN hour school day?
I’ve about had it with CSD – I used to be a huge supporter….. but very little that comes from central office has made any sense in the last few years. It’s like they are aliens from another planet or have wax in their ears or something.
Sadly I feel the same way. I have been supportive for 6 years now but am growing very weary of the endless changes and all the stress over what will be changing next. I too have a 1st grader with too much homework each day, he is not having fun at school, drags his feet every day and asks to just stay home.
Dusting off the private school application….
If you are being serious, you better turn in those apps soon! Schools have been conducting entrance exams for the past few weeks.
Entrance exams for first graders? Are low-scorers denied admission? I have zero experience with private schools.
I would contact the school you are interested in and ask that question. I’m pretty sure that all private schools conduct some sort of admission testing. I’m only familiar w/ the Kindergarten application process. Each of my children had an admission test, which was more like an observation session and not a formal test.
I have submitted an application and depending on what happens and what feels right for my child, I will make a decision in the next month. I have other reasons to be looking at other options for my child but this possible change pushed me to take that final step. Some schools have already closed their admissions but some take applications until their classrooms are full so it’s not too late by any means.
From my experience evaluating various private schools, there is no test. Just an application form, teacher evaluation by current teacher and school transcripts. Then a visit where the child can see the school, meet their potential teacher and visit the classroom. It’s also a chance for the admissions staff to meet the family and ask the child some questions, which perhaps can be seen as an interview but not a test.
I am talking about K-3rd private school admission process, I imagine there may be tests when you get to higher grades.
It’s already too late to apply for financial aid. The private school world has its own culture and rules and regs. It’s a lot more customer friendly than public schools but you still have to conform to that world.
“It’s a lot more customer friendly than public schools but you still have to conform to that world.”
It’s very funny that you use the phrase “customer friendly” in your comment. Last night a friend of mine and I were talking about this issue and he very correctly stated that most Decurites were really looking for “Customer Service” from their school instead of education for their children.
Well, more power to you folks switching to private schools–maybe CSD won’t be crowded after the exodus, but, folks, please, keep paying your taxes.
That’s always been my big worry. That CSD will lose the community will to pay enough tax and provide other community support to maintain the mostly excellent school system. (We all may argue about WHAT makes it excellent–the School Board vs the teachers vs the families vs the community–but if folks didn’t care about CSD, they wouldn’t bother to read this). CSD is small enough that it wouldn’t take much to unravel. There was a time when a much lower proportion of City of Decatur families attended CSD and the schools were nowhere near as good, even on the northside. Even though it feels good to say “good riddance”, I think it would hurt Decatur if a higher percentage of families who could afford it chose to send their children to some of the excellent private schools in the area.
How can we not pay our taxes? I live in the CDS district, pay my taxes and pay private school tuition for my 3 kids. I’m not sure there is a way we could get out of paying our taxes.
No one individual private school family could not pay their taxes. But voters could insist on lower millage rates and City Council persons could keep them so low that CSD had a hard time coping. And local residents could stop paying attention to their schools which would lose all the volunteering, donations, PTO support etc. There’s parts of metro Atlanta that are mostly high income but the public schools are abyssmal because there’s not enough local constitutents who care about them.
Gotcha! I’m not complaining or trying to get out of paying our taxes, btw. We moved here for a reason and knew how much the taxes were on top of the extra tuition we pay.
BTW, I knew we couldn’t go forever in this thread without getting the old Decatur Metro standby post: “If you don’t like it, you can leave”. It’s right up there with “control your children/pets” and “zombies”. 🙂
Karass, I never said good riddance or if you don’t like it leave–parents on this post are throwing around the switch to private schools as if it’s some kind of threat.
Now, if a family has the resources to both live in Decatur and send their kids to private school, my question to them is why post this on DM? Why are you complaining about something that bothers you so much while, at the same time, you have the means to alleviate the problem? Do it, go for it–no one is stopping you or begging you to stay.
That said, add the extra time at the end of day, school’s out 3:15.
Actually people have asked me to stay and I will be happy to keep my kids in CSD as long as it’s working for them. If it’s not working for them I am thankful to have the means to give them a better option. But moving one or both of my kids to private school is not an easy decision and I don’t mean it as a threat, more as a sad fact that it’s something I am considering yet again because of this development.
But first I will participate in the discussion and will do what I can to be heard, as I have always done. Our small school system encourages this participation and I have spent 6 years paying attention, attending meetings, voicing my opinion and helping out as much as possible at the schools. I hope to continue to do so but do grow weary of the seemingly endless changes.
I think Karass is correct and many will agree that it will hurt our schools to lose families that have dedicated so much time, energy and efforts in our school system. I really hope to see a lot of people at the meeting on Tuesday!
I don’t mind if families leave CSD because it cannot provide a religious education, or small group setting, or Montessori or Waldorf educational system. Those are good reasons for folks to exercise their personal choide to select private schools. But I do worry if folks choose private school because of the perception that CSD is not providing the academic, social, or emotional environment that children need to reach their full potential. The fact that CSD does it a lot better than our sad, sad, neighboring school systems is only partially relevant, especially given the Georgia keeps fighting with Alabama and Mississippi to be last in educational rankings for the whole country. If CSD loses voter support or the contributions of its highly educated, highly committed, extremely generous (with time and money) families, it won’t matter that it’s no worse than DeKalb or Atlanta City, it will decline, motivating even more families to leave, hurting the whole community, hurting real estate values. Teachers would no longer enjoy working here for slightly lower salaries and then an erosion of teacher quality would add to the erosion of CSD.
I hope my doomsday scenario is off-base but the time to worry about it is ahead of time, not when it’s too late.
Please attend the board meeting and ask why there is so much homework. -And for the evidence based research which shows any academic benefit from assigning homework in the early primary grades. There is no such evidence.
The Case For and Against Homework
Robert J. Marzano and Debra J. Pickering
http://www.marzanoresearch.com/Fdocuments/GSASR_HomeworkArticle.pdf
Although teachers across the K–12 spectrum commonly assign homework, research has produced no clear-cut consensus on the benefits of homework at the early elementary grade levels. In his early meta-analysis, Cooper (1989a) reported the following effect sizes (p. 71):
l Grades 4–6: ES = .15 (Percentile gain = 6)
l Grades 7–9: ES = .31 (Percentile gain = 12)
l Grades 10–12: ES = .64 (Percentile gain = 24)
The upcoming meeting? Is homework on the agenda? Or is this part of the discussion of the length of the day? A trade? If you’ll stop giving my children homework that makes everyone in the family including the dog cry every evening then I’ll be ok with a slightly longer day especially since then I might have a chance to go to the bathroom between work and picking my kids up?
Or did you mean speak up in another forum?
The problem with speaking up about homework is that there’s always some horrified looks from other parents who believe that you don’t care about your child’s intellectual development and work ethic. Some parents truly believe in homework the way my father believes in the American flag. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard some variant of “My child is in a Bridges class but he/she never brings home any homework and I don’t think he/she is learning a thing….”
I brought up homework in the context of what it would take for me to support lengthening the school day. I.e. recess every day for every child and/or reducing the homework load. Many people mistakenly assume our children have recess every day.
I too am familiar with the folks who think if the homework packets aren’t thick, then the kids must not be learning. Or they won’t be disciplined… or whatever. I’m not sure how to answer that other than continuing to point out that there is no evidence based research that homework has any significant academic benefit in the early primary grades.
There is an opportunity cost to longer school days and hours spent on homework. There is a decreasing return on investment. The time taken from other pursuits should have quantifiable evidence based research justifying academic gains expected in return for the extra time taken. I.e. I would like to know how the time will be used before either endorsing longer school days or coming down against it.
So my question returns to how Dr. Edwards and our Principals intend to use the extra time? More instruction time does not insure more learning. However, decreasing homework as a trade-off for lengthening school days seems like a no brainer. Especially as there is no evidence to support any academic benefit from homework at K-3 anyway.
Recess in Elementary School: What Does the Research Say
Jarrett, Olga S.
http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/recess.html
“The results of spending one-third of the school day in formal and less formal physical education, in art, and in music were increased fitness, improved attitudes, and slight improvements in test scores. These results are consistent with the findings of a meta-analysis of nearly 200 studies on the effect of exercise on cognitive functioning that suggest that physical activity supports learning (Etnier et al., 1997). ”
McREL News Room
What high-quality education research says about …
Extended School Days and School Years
http://www.mcrel.org/newsroom/hottopicExtendedTime.asp
“However, in recent years some notable extended time initiatives have produced gains in test scores, graduation rates, and college attendance, including the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), which increases the amount of time students spend in school by nearly 60%, and Massachusetts 2020. Conversely, a $100 million effort in Miami to extend school days by one hour and add 10 days to the calendar produced no significant benefits.
In its Expanded Learning Time Toolkit, the National Center for Time and Learning asserts that adding more time to the school calendar can be effective, but only when it accompanies a larger effort to rethink the process of schooling:
“Successful implementation of expanded learning initiatives occur in tandem with other reform strategies and practices that take place through the redesign process. Without conjoining expanded learning time with the redesign principle, more time risks being ‘more of the same’ and a promising school improvement strategy becomes a band-aid… Lengthening the school day, school week and/or school year for any significant amount of time requires leaders to rethink school reform in a way that is not incremental.””
Darn, I can’t guess the administrator like you can. I hate that!
Re going from huge supporter to not as much: That’s unfortunately the natural trajectory for parents in public school. You get the most wonderful prek and/or kindergarten teachers and your child is eager and happy and you just love your community school and can’t understand all those grumps with complaints, then…..life goes on. Your child doesn’t get the services they need or your school is closed or you are reassigned or the calendar changes or the day is lengthened or electives are dropped or grading becomes incomprehensible etc. or you get that one teacher that has been moved around and all the parents with inside info avoid and you naively and trustingly ask questions or speak up and….you either get disappointed or labelled as a traitor or quietly leave for private school or whatever. Some of this is inevitable; public school systems are a form of government and bureaucracy and one cannot expect first class, individualized service all the time. But we ARE a small school system with caring, involved, volunteering, donating, dedicated parents and teachers. And we ARE a system charter. And we DO have influence besides using our feet to leave.
So I commend this blog for being one of the places that community members can speak up, respectfully and kindly, but also firmly and persistently. And as others have said, speaking up here isn’t enough. Speaking up at School Board meetings and giving direct feedback to specific CSD administrators and School Board members, especially in writing (FOIA-able) is also important.
Very well put.
A neighbor seemed to think that this time change was really a way to help out DeKalb County in some way since it is their school buses that CSD uses… (I was partly paying attention so I am not sure I am getting this right).
Conjecture around that possibility for the time change?
I wouldn’t think so. our buses are Dekalb County’s alright, but they are dedicated to CSD and are parked within the city limits–I don’t see how Dekalb County would care what our hours are.
I don’t think it’s a DeKalb County issue but I HAVE wondered all along if the logistics of bus scheduling is what is what tipped CSD into this decision that they evidently were considering for a while. Our multi-level schools are challenging to address with cost-effective transportation. Few ever seem happy with the early pick-ups and the long rides for those in the hub and spoke system. Hence, the large proportion of children who go by car except in nice, warm weather when a fair amount walk, bike, unicycle, or scooter.
Given that some buses are consistently fairly empty but the stops still have to be serviced for those children who need the transportation, I wonder if vans would be a better choice or “short buses”. The increased use of the latter might remove some of the stigma of being a “short bus kid”.
This change is not well thought out and is going to continue to find a tremendous amount of resistance and (if passed & forced down the throats of all involved) resentment from parents, educators and students. I would hope CSD, would have the sense and awareness to know that this change is not the best decision and take a different course of action.
Yeah – looking foward to longer schools days in additional to all those all those week long breaks in the school calendar – NOT. For me, that means even less time with my kids – I don’t have enough time off during the year to spend with them during those breaks. Earlier start times means earlier bed time in theory any way – I see less sleep in our family’s furture. If the day has to be extended – add to the end of the day not the beginning. No wonder we have those week long breaks now – the kids (teachers/staff) will need to recover from the longer days. CSD – bad idea – please everyone that can go to the CSD board meeting on 3/8 and make your voices heard!
I agree with almost everyone here. This is a major change and the reason for it is not clear. If there is a good reason, ok. But I have not heard one.
CSD PLEASE EXPLAIN!!
Great…let’s just make our little ones even more rushed to get out the door, only to be upset and frustrated by the time they get to school. It’s already stressful trying to get them dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth…all while packing lunches and juggling the younger siblings. What a way to start the morning!!!
There are some interesting comments on the Free for all Friday regarding this issue as well.
I think one is to remind everyone that while this change doesn’t have the input it should, nor does it seem to me grounded in full assessment of the issues, it wasn’t done vindictively. I do appreciate that there are so many factors to balance, many stakeholders and I don’t envy the job.
We are right to ask for more clarification and a thorough weighing of the issues at stake and I am hoping we can have a productive conversation.
I’d also like to chime in about some discussion regarding “Waiting for Superman” and the KIPP schools and their success in longer school days and more homework positively impacting kids. I don’t know the research but I do believe it has been shown that for some kids more is better to play catch up for inadequate early childhood education or to compensate for a lack of educational support at home.
Now of course EARLIER may not be better. But some schools can show that MORE is better when it comes to achievement for their students. These results can be misused though and we need to think about what makes sense for our community.
I also wonder if central office is aware of the variations in the “Really Reallies” on start and end times. If I usually walk in my school at 7:50-7:55 and now I can walk in the door at my school at 7:40 it must seem ridiculous to someone who sought to implement this change to have me so upset about 10-15 minutes. So getting clear on how these things get implemented is important. Thus I’d like to hear from teachers and principals.
Lastly – My guess is that some chunk about this is bus schedules and if we have bus schedules driving these choices we really have the tail wagging the dog.
Respectfully, I look forward to learning more
I guess since we are “getting” an entire week off 3x’s during the school year plus 3 full weeks of holidays for family and rest time thanks to this crazy new school calendar, we can just ignore the exhausted children the 6 weeks in between those breaks. It’s feast or famine.
We are working parents of 3 children in 3 schools and we are killing ourselves to make all the drop offs, pick ups and this alternative school schedule work now.
Per the Clairemont Parent Handbook that was mailed to every family in August — (pg. 9) “Students are tardy after 8:15 a.m. and must come to the office for an admission slip before going to class.”
I look forward to speaking personally with any Clairemont parents that have questions about our arrival and dismissal procedures.
Sincerely,
Erin Wheeler, Principal of Clairemont Elementary
Thanks for being part of the conversation!
I am very curious to know more about how the bussing is going to work, anyway, with 5th Ave. Has anyone seen any preliminary schedules, or plans?
Can everyone relax until we hear the justification for the change? I too am not excited about a half-hour earlier start but why not give the benefit of the doubt until we have more information?
Without this blog and without the neighborhood listservs, there might not have been more information until it was too late.
Because there is no justification for making 5 year olds get up before 6 a.m. every school day. Because we cant’ go three months without some dramatic change in this school system. Because none of the “justifications” were mentioned and no known families or SLT members were even notified that this was coming down the pike until it was a done deal. Because working families have enough stress without dealing with the latest fad in school administration every couple of months.
The “benefit of the doubt” train left the station yesterday.
“Too late” for what? This is 15-30 minutes we are talking about here, not the end of the world.
FIrst world problem, to be sure.
It’s kind of a last straw sort of thing.
I think many of us are upset because it’s “finalized”. That’s the word used in the superintendent’s report. It’s not an action item…there’s no vote. I don’t know that we would get any more information if we didn’t get together, go to the meeting, and ask for it. Or inundate our board members with emails/phone calls when I know they are already very busy. Do the K-3 teachers like this?
I would love to know what teachers think. I asked one teacher and she looked at me in surprise and shock. Hadn’t heard a thing about it.
I agree and for some issues, teachers who spend 6.5 hours (and who’s counting?!) with our children everyday have the best insights. And I don’t think they are heard enough by CSD. My understanding is that, in general, CSD is pretty good about maintaining teacher morale. We pay slightly less than surrounding systems so need to offer better working conditions and comraderie. But I’m not as sure about listening enough to what teachers THINK. Teachers often seem as out of the loop as the parents.
Spoke with my good friend who is a CSD K-3 teacher this afternoon. They had NO idea. Most heard from parents at dismissal time. They were not included or even clued in. AND, It seems per CSD’s latest press release that teachers will not be paid for this extra time. My friend included that this change means K-3 teachers will have to report to work at 7:10/15…many who have children of their own to get to daycare/school.
sarahph: AMEN!! – you said exactly what I was about to type:
1. Regardless of getting a “justification”, it’s fair for folks to vent their furstrations with a change that seems to have already left the station –to vent their concerns on the imapct to their children and lives and list questions that are arising in their minds.
2. History is why folks won’t relax. How many times have we seen a CSD decision that seems to have ocurred in a vacuum, had no public input ? How many times have we seen issues like that occur, raise viable concerns and issues and then have them be reversed or revised to more rational, amenable options based on the additional information supplied by parents, community, etc.?
“Waiting for more information” feels like silence is consent to me…
I am just sitting back and watching the show. So glad that others are finally waking up to the insanity and having the same complaints I’ve had for years. I truly hope to see many of you at the board meeting.
Yup, this one can’t be blamed on northside vs southside.
1. I welcome a longer day for most of the reasons Dr. Edwards stated.
2. I fail to see the reason for an earlier start over a later ending time.
3. I’m sure there is nothing sinister to the “final” decision, just professionals trying to do their jobs (albeit in a vacumn,apparently)
4. If this doesn’t have something to do with the buses, I’ll eat my hat.
5. CONTACT YOUR SCHOOL BOARD! If you can’t make the meeting, e-mail them.
6. I am a supporter of public schools – you can influence a small system like Decatur. Try getting into an argument with a private school, they just kick you out.
7:40 is too early! If our kids have to spend more time at school, LET THEM STAY LATER – not arrive earlier. Don’t cut into the few hours that FT working parents have to spend with their child before school and in the evening. NO ONE WINS.
Our children need their rest plain & simple.
The School Board needs to listen to our concerns as parents and registered voters.
Show up on Tuesday night and let them know how you feel.
March 8, 2011 BOE Regular Monthly Meeting (6:30 PM, Central Office)
I met the members of the school board several months ago and they were all very nice and approachable. They stressed that they rely on emails (vs. blogs) to know how the community feels about any topic. If you feel strongly, please also send a note to the following:
Board members:
Mrs. Valarie D. Wilson [email protected]
Mr. Marc J. Wisniewski [email protected]
Mr. John Ahmann [email protected]
Mrs. Julie P. Rhame [email protected]
Mrs. Bernadette J. Seals [email protected]
Superintendant: Dr. Phyllis A. Edwards [email protected]
In addition, some of these board members have not had K-3 students in a long time. It may help for them to be reminded of how a long day can take its toll on a young child and the family.
Hear, hear! I will add that besides email, attendance and public comment at a school board meeting is also heard by all on the school board meeting.
And while CSD has made many decisions in the vacuum in the past, I would hate to see the general goodwill generated by this recent redistricting be forgotten. I plan on emailing & attending the next meeting to voice my concern over this bad decision.
I don’t have kids but this still impacts me. Today, to make an 8:30 work meeting start time up in the Vinings area, I have to leave my house by 7:15 at the very latest just because of the amount of traffic involving College and/or DeKalb Ave near the schools. I time this to miss all the congestion around those areas which if I do get caught in makes me late to the meeting. Starting school 15-30 minutes earlier now means I will need to leave my house by 6:45 just to make it on time to a meeting that minus school traffic is a 30 minute commute tops. It seems it would make more sense adding any time to the end of the school day rather than the beginning. Not only would it be better for the kids for all the reasons already expressed by so many others (bus schedules, breakfasts, etc.) it wouldn’t impact either morning or evening rush hour(s).
And Jodi… you will see far more cars too b/c more parents will be driving their K-3 kids instead of walking them in order to try to make the 7:40 start time without depriving their little ones of sleep and because it’s dark at 7:00 A.M for a good part of the year..
I’ve not read much beyond Cindy’s post re: a recent book — NURTURE SHOCK. I’m in the process of reading it now. The chapter entitled “The Lost Hour” (which Cindy summarizes nicely) is a compilation of the most recent research concerning our children’s need for sleep and the consequences for lost sleep. What CSD has proposed flies in the face of that research. Yes, I’m concerned for my rising K student, but I’m equally concerned for the teenagers. I would have thought that CSD would follow the good advice of the experts — start school later for adolescents and keep the start time reasonable for the little people. 7:40 is obnoxiously early.
I will be at the Board Meeting. Never been. Will go now. I hope to see lots of you there.
Well, here is my letter, for whatever it’s worth:
“Hello.
I recently learned of Dr. Edwards’ decision to move the start time for k-3 schools in Decatur 30 minutes earlier, a decision that “just the other day” was “finalized” (according to Dr. Edwards’ note to the school board).
This decision will have a large impact on literally thousands of people in Decatur, and it’s troubling that it was apparently made with no public input or consultation with the School Leadership Teams or the System Charter Leadership Team. This is especially disappointing after the exemplary openness and public dialogue that accompanied the recent redistricting plans. After that process, even families who may have been unhappy with the final result felt they had a chance for their concerns to be heard, whereas I am afraid that this process will spark anger and resentment among many parents. I expected better of CSD administration.
As far as the substance of the decision (as opposed to the process that led to it), Dr. Edwards’ note doesn’t make entirely clear the reasons for the change–they may be good. But as the parent of children ages 7, 5, and 3, with youngest having just started receiving special education services at College Heights, I can report that this is an unwelcome change. I believe that many other parents feel the same way, and we should take time to carefully consider the pros and cons before making such a decision, to ensure that whatever benefits it may have outweigh its obvious costs.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
There are many things that I do not get at the CSD: Reports cards, school calendars, class schedules at the HS — mostly administrative things.
No complaints with the amazing teachers 🙂
My 10th grader is in AP Chem. There is one other AP Chem class. One of the two classes is scheduled for eight minutes more per meeting. That could mean not enough time. My child is in the shorter class and I kinda feel ripped off. It is incomprehensible to me that that kind of thing can go on. Also, I have no clue where and when my HS-ers are in what class, on what day. The block schedule is gone; now each day has 6 or 7 periods (?). One of the periods is called “zero” (NEW math, I guess). Every day, there is a double-period of a single subject — 5 meetings per week over four days, so one day per week you miss a subject. YIKES! It makes it harder for me to be involved because the schedule is convoluted.
SORRY to play this card … I grew up and was schooled in NY, where things just made sense and are still run pretty much the same way now as when I was a student 25 + years ago, and with great success.
I, too, am losing faith in CSD and this is only our fourth year, with all my experience at the HS level only.
Where is the competency and the logic? This system is small and intimate — are there too many staffers at the admin level, are there not enough, are the goals and/or mission statement not clearly defined, are our leaders qualified? Many people look up to CSD and I can appreciate that. I mean, look at the Dekalb County system. But with the taxes paid in our small municipality, I expect the schools to be of a higher caliber, along the lines of a magnet school.
There are several top admins that are totally addicted to change for change’s sake. They cannot go more than three months without making a major change. This school day issue would not be nearly such a big deal if there were dozens of other nonsensical changes before it that make parenting more and more difficult: calendars, school closures… then reopenings, schedule changes, pedagogy changes, incomprehensible report cards, etc., etc.
I wish they’d just knock it off, sit down, and teach for a “change.”
Please do not implement this change. My kids are sleep-deprived enough already. It is next to impossible to have them in bed and asleep early enough with 8 am start time. I do not support extending the day in the afternoon either. The school day is long enough. My kindergartner had homework every day after school. Kids need time to play! I would support more recess, but not at the expense of extending the school day.
To reiterate what others have said: Email is best when communicating with board members.
Board members:
Mrs. Valarie D. Wilson [email protected]
Mr. Marc J. Wisniewski [email protected]
Mr. John Ahmann [email protected]
Mrs. Julie P. Rhame [email protected]
Mrs. Bernadette J. Seals [email protected]
Superintendant: Dr. Phyllis A. Edwards [email protected]
I love how the superintendent is absolutely oblivious to the fact that making a unilateral decision that affects so many families without pursuing our input is not very… well, democratic. Just another “No Child Left Behind” piece of insanity that completely misses the point: of childhood, of education, of where and how real learning takes place.
I guess many of you are not watching/reading the news ? Or have experienced a huge system outside of the CSD box? You are lucky to be getting a public school that you are… Is 7:45 to 3:00 so bad or different?? The grass isn’t always greener on the other side… I think it can work fine. I am a little puzzled if this never went to the school leadership teams?
All I can add to this is my opinion, which is , “NO. This cannot happen!” All of you have made excellent arguments why this is not good for the school communities, the children, or the community at large. On a personal note, no one in our family is a morning person, and we all struggle to get up early enough as it is. I kept my 4 year old home today from Pre-K because she was falling asleep at the breakfast table, despite sensible bedtimes all week! My 7 year old nearly breaks down crying every day over having to do homework, even though she is a bright girl and doing well in school.
UGH. This just makes me sick. Adding the time at the end of the day is not an option, either–at least not for K-3, but I can see adding it to HS (although my opinion may change when I have a HS age kid!)–for the same reasons: it is still time out of the day that they could be playing, sleeping, or just being kids, for heaven’s sake.
If the administrators do not listen to us and go ahead with the earlier start time, I will be happy to organize a protest in the form of continuing to show up for school at the much more sensible hour of 8:10, as we have been for 3 years now. Who’s in? 😉
HKS – I’m in! I was thinking that as well. A protest in the form of having everyone show up at the ‘normal’ time. Which of course requires work on their part as multiple and constant tardies i believe gets flagged in their system to follow up on all children who fall into this bucket. If you look at one of the previous comments that outlines the reality of the new morning situation – for bus riders, that wake up call comes at o-dark 5:45am. Sounds like something from the military handbook to me – for KINDERGARTNERS! I have just written to the entire board as I will be out of town during Tuesday’s meeting. I hope many of you show up and they listen.
Count me in on any sort of organized tardies. At least it would get the issue in the news – and people need to understand that school pressure is getting way out of hand.
See… Race to Nowhere – excellent documentary about how schools have gone too far.
I’d be in too.
This brought to you by the same CSD board that gave us ridiculous report card formats. paralysis of analysis.
After reading the comments on the homework side of this thread, I have some thoughts:
1. I’m not alone in wondering about the evidence-based value of homework. I think it might actually work against students reaching their full potential because it engenders fatigue, resentment, cynicism, failure, which work against children’s innate capabilities to enjoy and engage in learning. Even adults, and especially children, learn and accomplish more when they are engaged in their work and allowed to develop their passions.
2. Many of us would be willing to bargain with CSD: Keep the younger kids in school a little longer in the afternoon but give them back some time for creative play and physical activity during the day and curtail homework that stifles that important play and exercise after school. I would argue that this is true all the way up through 4/5 level. Even in middle school, homework should be carefully crafted to enhance and stimulate learning, not stifle it. Actually, it’s probably true for high school and adulthood too, but I’m sorry, at some point, these kids are going to have to start fighting for themselves! (Student sit-ins?!)
3. I am coming to the conclusion that education as a field (so I’m not identifying CSD in particular here and I think only a very, very few private schools are any better) is not keeping up with what the rapidly explosive field of neuroscience has discovered about learning in the brain. It’s not about quantity of learning but about the multiple and individual ways that the brain learns. If NCLB or the State DOE or anyone sincerely wants to see true, sustained gains in test scores, especially in subgroups of children that learn in unique ways, e.g. autistic or dyslexic children, they need to go way beyond the concepts of standards (kind of scarey that “standards” were ever a revolutionary innovation! Duh!), and use the biologic evidence of how almost all brains really can master material if the educators can identify and use the appropriate methods of teaching. And the most amazing evidence shows that not only do “special” kids learn better with neuroscience-based instruction, all kids do! Even many of our gifted and high average kids could achieve a higher potential. I am pretty sure that many senior educators and many teachers and specialists in CSD get this concept–hence the use of terms like “differentiation” and “multiple ways of learning” in the spiels that we hear. However, I am also convinced that that this understanding is not being implemented on the ground level except in scattered, isolated instances. Even some of our most talented teachers don’t seem to be routinely implementing methods and techniques based on the neuroscience of learning. In talking with them for years, I’m convinced that they just haven’t had the necessary education and training. I’m sure they would do a fantastic job if they had more modern findings and skills at their fingertips. This is an issue of not working more and harder as educators, but working smarter.
There is an individual in our community who seems to have done a lot of personal research in this area, I guess it’s a passion for him–our own Garrett Goebel. He is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn more about the neuroscience of reading and learning. I am not going to be surprised if, once his children are older, he gets a PhD in education and specializes in this area. I hope he does. I hope even more that CSD taps into the knowledge and interest of him and others in the community with neuroscience and brain learning expertise. Why not?! It’s free and complements the adminstrative and educational expertise and experience of CSD staff.
love the student sit-in thought– my sr year of high school our AP English teacher assigned a huge (to us) research paper for the last 3 weeks of school. All students rallied in protest, got the paretns fired up/calling the teacher and school, and then– no research paper (other, more manageable essays instead). Students, you do have power!
There are probably many reasons why education doesn’t keep up with neuroscience and is slow to implement new methods based on findings in the field. However, the comments on this blog provide one obvious explanation. If changing start times by 15 or 30 minutes leads to so many parents crying that the sky is falling, can you imagine the uproar over the frequency and magnitude of curricular and instructional changes, some at a paradigmatic level, that would be required in order to align educational methods with the latest research findings in neuroscience?
Good point. And that’s where the SLTs and SCLT and other parent involvement on CSD work groups and other settings comes in. If parents are involved in the discussion of changes from the beginning and are able to give feedback on proposed changes, they are less likely to react so strongly after the fact. SLTs have been asking to have more forums to involve parents, e.g. about gifted instruction changes, but the response often from CSD is “If you do that, you’ll have a riot on your hands…” But the funny thing is, when you actually have those kinds of meetings, they are nowhere near as scarey as administrators fear. It’s the meetings AFTER changes have been made with no chance for parent input that are more intense and stressful.
It’s interesting to read so many complaints about longer school days and the negative impact on our children. I am curious to learn how much ‘screen time” the same children have per day and if any parents are willing to trade screen for school time.
More school time is an opportunity, not to be squandered, but put to good use.
Don –
Excellent point! I, for one, am not opposed to an extended school day. There have been multiple times my children tell me they don’t have enough time to even finish their lunch as it is- and they don’t dawdle. And i would welcome recess every day. My pain point is the early morning timeframe they seem to be proposing for the many reasons listed here already. My request is to extend in the afternoon instead – and for them to outline exactly how that 30 minutes will be used.
My daughter tells me there’s an article in DHS’ current Carpe Diem about high schoolers and their need for sleep and trouble getting up early for school–I have yet to get my hands on a copy but am interested to read it.
I agree that teenagers need their sleep and their body clock is set for a later wake up time. I wonder if other interests which compete with school work account for lack of sleep. Their world needn’t be entirely school based; however, 15 minutes away from facebook spent in an AP lecture isn’t misspent.
This schedule change qualifies as a minor adjustment in the lives of most families.
Sorry, but 30 minutes earlier with kids who will be 7, 5, and 3 y.o. next fall, 2 at Oakhurst, and 1 at College Heights for special ed, trying to get them all ready in the morning, isn’t “a minor adjustment.” It wouldn’t be a major crisis, but it’d be pretty damn annoying. The oldest already requires a lot of prodding many mornings to get out of bed and ready, and getting everybody fed, washed, dressed and ready to go is not fun now. I wouldn’t want to set my alarm for 6:15 to start shaking people awake at 6:30…
Oh, and I’m in a much better position than those who have to put their kids on buses. What would the earliest K-3 pickup times be next year if this goes through?
I am truly amazed at how silly this is. A 5 yr old really needs another 30 minutes? To “fit in” more stuff? That is ridiculous. How about we aim for quality instead of quantity. My young kids shouldn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to get to school on time. I also don’t think the day should be extended–my goddness, how many hours do they expect these young children to sit in school???
I am not for a half hour earlier for K-3 either, but it does make sense to have the K-3 schools start earlier than the 4-5 academy. For most of Decatur the K-3 schools are closer to home so it might be easier for parents with kids at both schools. I am at work at 7:15 so my husband has to get all three kids to school by himself– it would be easier for him to get the little one to school first, then drop off the middle kid at 5th ave on the way to work and have our oldest walk to school. But what about having the K-3s at school at 8, 5th Ave at 8:15 and the hs and renfroe start the same as now and add the 15 minutes to the end of the hs day
I also don’t see how this makes all the schools the same number of hours. It seems Renfroe is shorter–or am I miscounting?
Oops, I think I did miscount Renfroe’s hours.
To make my life personally better 5th Avenue should run from 8:15 to 3:15 so I won’t need after school care for my middle child next year, but CSD doesn’ t operate for my personal convenience.
As is universally true with ay proposed change that affects many people, the most vocal are those who are opposed to the decisions. I’m not a teacher or school administrator, just a parent of 3 children who attended CSD schools. My grandchildren (and their adorable parents, both Decatur grads) are hoping to move back to Decatur soon, so their children can enjoy the same community and education that they enjoyed.
So here are my questions:
– Are most of you opposed to this change, or are there many who approve of the change but are hesitant to voice their approval? If so, why? Speak up, be heard.
– Have you regularly attended Board School meetings? It was hard to find the time, but I did when my kids were in school, and the information I gained was immeasurable in my ability to agree or disagree with the Board. If you haven’t kept up with Board actions, reacting after the fact is not viable.
– Are you presenting factual information in your responses, or just opinions and personal information about the inconvenience? I saw some factual information, but most was not.
– Are you aware of and do you appreciate the amazing education that CSD provides your children, especially in comparison to other nearby public systems? Our school system is a rarity in public education, both locally and nationally. I moved here 30+ years ago entirely because of the excellent school system, and I never regretted my decision.
– Are you aware of the remarkable leadership that your current administration has provided, especially in comparison to one particular prior CSD administration? Study the history, and you’ll see the vision and commitment that Dr. Edwards has led and inspired. You elected your School Board, most of whom have served CSD for many years – they are also devoted, caring CSD parents, people who have your children’s best interest at heart. Talk to them. Try to refrain from disparaging the leaders of our system when you make your case – they work very hard for our children every single day.
– Are you aware that this change in school hours has been a topic of discussion since my youngest child was in elementary school 15 years ago? One writer cited the functions and melatonin levels of the teenage brain, which was studied and verified years ago. The experts recommend that, when schedules must be adjusted, young children should start school earlier and teenagers must start school later for maximum educational instruction results.
– Is this proposed schedule change a direct result of reducing transportation expenses, since a reduced number of buses can be utilized to transport all students? Although I can’t personally verify this, economizing and reducing expenses may be a large factor in this decision. The recessive economy and school funding cuts have placed a huge burden on the quality of education in our city and in our state. As is true of our personal finances, if CSD cannot live within its budget, there will be far greater ramifications for all of us.
Just trying to stimulate a deeper thought thread for our community.
Decatur Mom and Grandmom:
+10
Thank you.
(Read as: folks, the sky is not falling.)
I have read this entire thread and have come to the conclusion that many of you may be having a knee-jerk reaction. Believe it or not, sleep deprivation is under your control. You are the parent. Homework is under your control, too. You are the parent. For some, this is how they know what their kids are learning, for others, if it looks like busy work, then it is not required. You are the parent, so use your judgement for what is best for your child.
I do question how well thought out the early school start time is, though. I have always thought that with the size of the district, K-3 busing could all but be eliminated, and busing for 4th grade and up, would be appropriate for those living more than 1 mile away. Starting school a little later would further support this, because more parents would be willing to let their children walk/bike to school when it was light. So start K-3 at 8:30 since they will not need busing, and keep the other schools’ start times as is. Then open up the discussion for extended school days to accommodate more recess and other programming.
Serious question: Do we parents really have a choice about whether our children do assigned homework or not? If the teacher assigns homework, wouldn’t we be undermining him/her if we let our child not do it because we found it to be busy work for our child or it overwhelmed them or it made them start to hate reading or learning? In my children’s classes, homework has been checked. Not doing your homework has an impact on things like rewards in class and how you spend your day–you might be asked to stay in from recess to complete your homework. Not sure if it affects computed grades, but it might and it definitely affects those non-academic items on the progress report. I knew one parent who used to let their child not do their homework in second grade and suffer the consequences but in the end she got frustrated with the whole classroom and put her child in private school. Occasionally, on particular evenings, I have found homework to be just the last straw for a struggling, distraught child who was about to go to bed late and then be even worse off the next day. In those cases, I’ve excused my child, emailed the teacher, and written a note, but I never do this on a regular basis. (Unfortunately, some teachers are still not very adept with email–and the First Class system doesn’t help–so one is never sure whether one did the right thing). I assume that if the school and teacher find homework to be important, and if I still have enough faith to send my child to that school, I should abide by the school’s practices. Not true?
In my 5 years in this school district, the worst experiences with homework have been the time-consuming spelling exercises in 2nd and 3rd grade. (my youngest started here in 2nd grade so I cannot speak to earlier grades). So much of it was busy work that I adapted it to something that could be completed in 15 minutes instead of 1 hour. Homework should be completed in 30 minutes at the elementary grade level and then add another 20-30 minutes of reading. Some teachers may not realize that what takes an adult 15 minutes to do (look for spelling words in a newspaper) takes a student many times longer. My son had a lot of homework in 5th grade (single male teacher with no children), but not my daughter (who happened to have a teacher with school-age children). So as a parent who knows their children and plays an active part in their education, I think it is our responsibility to adapt a homework assignment if it causes distress or frustration.
Hear hear! You nailed it.
The format and nature of online commentary seems to draw out complaints rather than support. An outsider reading this blog would think our school board is a bunch of selfish liars. The reality is that the board enjoys support and respect from most of Decatur, aside from the couple dozen constant complainers here.
That’s the beauty of blogs. If you like what’s posted, you can feel vindicated and in good company. If you don’t, you can believe that it’s just complainers. Blogs should be looked upon as good for stimulating discussion and not a replacement for a true vote or scientific survey. And it’s hard but no one should take anything too personally, e.g. it may have felt like folks were saying “selfish liars” but I don’t think I actually saw that phrase or the equivalent. I have to say that there seem to be a lot of new posters on the CSD-starts-earlier threads. They seem to be fairly new to the system and unsure how to swing the earlier start times.
“The reality is that the board enjoys support and respect from most of Decatur, aside from the couple dozen constant complainers here.”
With all due respect TeeRuss, I suggest that you look at the voting results from the last school board election. Valerie Wilson won by 26 votes ( a mere couple of dozen plus 2 ) and Mark Wisnewski won by about 155 votes. Sometimes constant complainers shed light on important issues.
And most of the constant complainers I know spend countless hours supporting our schools and most of the school boards initiatives.
+ 10
\u1F44D
I am also STRONGLY against an earlier start time, especially K-3! Does anyone know when this is an agenda item at the CD School Board meeting ?
Huh? “THEY” decided to change the start time and it is “FINAL”. Did someone die? This is a paper decision and it can be changed if there is enough of an uproar about it. There needs to be a communicated plan so we can orgainize and protest in an effective way.
I am unclear why this decision was “MADE” in a vacuum when there was so much input regarding school calendars. I think it was executed this way because the time change is not to benefit the kids in any way and can not be presented and supported in that light.
This is a TINY TINY TINY physical school district! Surely the bus schedulers can continue to run buses to get the kids to school ! A bus is a resource and its issues can be solved with different resources, or better schedulers.
I suspect the earlier time has more to do with improving traffic flow into Decatur than enriching our children’s lives. There are few major corridors into the City, and with the redistricting, our kids now pass over these roads in greater numbers during the business 8am rush hour. IF the school changes the start time and gets the kids to school earlier, they are not slowing down traffic. And, our business community is happier.
Color the problem with the facts. The kids do not need to go to school earlier for any benefit to them.
Thanks to Decatur Mom and Grandmom for your thoughtful insights.
I understand that some parents don’t favor this time change. We have had two children in CSD for many years – the elder is a senior this year. We have weathered many minor tweaks as well as large changes in our system. Almost every change has worked out for the best.
This time adjustment is in no way a “hardship”. It may not be preferred by some parents, but try to keep your focus on quality of instruction and curriculum.
For example, have any of you given thought to math at Decatur High next year? Will we stick with Math 1, 2, and 3 or will we return to the traditional math curriculum with Algebra1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 followed by Analysis?
I consider the 10-year rule. Will it matter in ten years? Four years of math instruction prior to college? Big yes!
Start time for elementary school? Not so much…
Thanks, Don, your 10-year rule is one I frequently use for perspective. Quality of curriculum and educational instruction should be the paramount concerns. Of course, traditional math instruction is more important than when the school day starts.
The “hardship” occurs when we discover – after the fact – that we’ve focused on things that prevented our children from receiving the quality education that would have ensured their success in our global economy. Let’s make sure that never happens in Decatur.
Completely agree with quality vs. quantity of instructionl being the most important issue. That’s why aspects of these CSD start-time threads that are of most interest to me are those dealing with homework and the quality of instruction. We have many kind of learners in CSD and we have to make sure that all of them reach their potential; we could even be doing better with our typical learners.
Math is an extremely important issue for CSD and one that families with only early elementary school children may not yet aware of. The issue of the State high school math curriculum which is already being questioned and revamped is affecting students every single day now in high school (and 8th grade for the advanced math kids).
DM: This would be worth a thread into its own. Some CSD parents are math educators themselves and probably could weigh in with their expertise. To the best of my understanding, it’s not just the high school curriculum that needs examining. CSD math scores are concerning given the high performance in general of its students and the amazing amount of school and family support around it. I know some have questionned the use of only Everyday Math for our elementary curriculum. Some private schools employ multiple curricula knowing that some learners need a different approach than others. For example, many children who have difficulty with reading have strengths in math but they cannot develop them with curriculum that is highly reading-based. Knowing this, the Clairemont School Leadership Team used a different curriculum for its Saturday Math Academy that it developed to prepare children who might not do well on the State’s math CRCT. Given that many of us do not completely understand the issues in math education, but I suspect that the recent explosive advances in the neuroscience of the learning brain are relevant, this might be an excellent discussion for this blog.
“I suspect the earlier time has more to do with improving traffic flow into Decatur than enriching our children’s lives. There are few major corridors into the City, and with the redistricting, our kids now pass over these roads in greater numbers during the business 8am rush hour. IF the school changes the start time and gets the kids to school earlier, they are not slowing down traffic. And, our business community is happier.”
And don’t forget…. our city is in the process of narrowing most of those connector roads as well.
Please help me understand why we can’t extend the school day for elementary students. Many parents (like me) work all day and a longer day won’t affect sleep or work. Homemakers (like i used to be) would just have more time for taking care of their responsibilities without kids in tow.
If it’s a traffic issue, start schools later for high school kids. It’s known that they don’t get enough sleep anyway, why get them up early? Keep them in school later, less time to make poor decisions without supervision 🙂
p.s. as a single, working mother, it would be a major problem getting my two young children to the bus at 6:20. We already have to be there at 6:40!
One common theme throughout the CSD-starts-earlier thread, whether one thinks the day is already long enough or it’s ok to lengthen it if recess is guaranteed and homework is reduced or if one doesn’t have a strong opinion, is that most folks would prefer that the day be lengthened in the afternoon rather than in the morning. There were exceptions but not many –a poster who’s children are ready and waiting to leave way before the start time and a parent or two who have no trouble with getting after school activities, homework, dinner, bath, prayers, and bed all done in time to get a good night’s sleep and have no trouble getting up in the morning. So if I were CSD, I’d consider whether everything they want to achieve could be achieved with extending the day in the afternoon instead of the evening.
Meanwhile, I think that other good issues came up as sidebars in the discussion–issues with the suitability of homework, the math curriculum, and quality vs quantity of instruction.
Whoops, I meant extending the day in the afternoon instead of the MORNING (not EVENING as I mistyped although that’s an interesting concept. Maybe if educators had our children every evening for a semester, handling Scouts, book clubs, church activities plus homework, 30 minutes required reading, cooking dinner, eating dinner, cleaning up after dinner, bath, and bedtime, they might understand the passionnate response on this thread more. 🙂 Yes, many educators have their own children but that gives them insight into two-five children, not into all of our children. Out of 350 different children in an elementary school, 350 different personalities and ways of learning are involved. Frustrating, but true.)
I also posted this elsewhere but am worried enough to triple post (sorry in advance if this results in moderation). I hope I’m misunderstanding and panicking unnecessarily:
I just noticed that also on the agenda, besides the preK cutbacks and start-earlier items, is an RIF (reduction in force). This seems to me potentially more concerning than anything else we’ve been discussing even the hallowed homework issue. As much as I think there’s some quality of differentiated instruction issues that CSD badly needs to address on the ground level, I recognize that all bets are off if the same number of teachers and staff will be asked to do more. And I pray that CSD doesn’t have to do what happens in so many other industries–cut the lowest earning staff whose families are least likely to absorb the financial shock, least able to find alternative employment in this economy, and may have to turn to public assistance.
Any insights anyone?
She only just suggests a PLAN for a RIF, not anything set in stone. Still it might warrant a post of its own…
We are opposed to the earlier start time and longer school day for our rising Kindergartener. We strongly prefer to keep the school day start time the same, or would even prefer a shift to a later time if a change must be made. We feel that the earlier start time and the longer school day will result in a sleep deprived child who will hardly be able to focus at the end of the school day. Research shows that later school start times result in improved student attendance, increased readiness to learn during the first period of the day, improved academic functioning, and better attention at school. We would be on-board if we started slightly later, not earlier!
These kids are too young to be at school and then possibly aftercare for 10+ hours. I agree with all the comments that the extension should be at the end of the day in order not to extend the days for the kids who do aftercare whose parents cannot change their work schedules.
Great, well thought-out letter from Dr Edwards sent home today with the elementary students.