starting school in August

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School Calendar Deja Vu

This year school began on Aug. 8.

Back in August of 2015, thousands of parents signed an online petition pleading with the Glendale Unified School District to begin the school year later.  For many, the early creep of the first day of school infringed on summer plans and enrichment programs.   Besides, it wasn’t that many moons ago when school began after Labor Day in September.

After months of meetings at school sites and the formation of a calendar committee comprised of teachers and parents, the new school year will start on Aug. 16 – a mere six weekdays later than the current start of school.

The new calendar, revealed before the Thanksgiving break, was approved by the school board with a 3-2 vote.  The end of the school year will be three days later meaning that the complete school year calendar remains at 43 weeks.

Summer vacation stays at 9 weeks, 4 weeks for those children enrolled in summer school.

So, what was the point of all the machinations of seeking input from all stakeholders and then coming up with basically the same plan that has been in place for the past few years?

That’s what parent Sarah Rush would like to know.  She and many others are dismayed that despite the protestation of starting school later, nothing changed.

“It was an overwhelming consensus that our 18,000 families wanted a longer summer and a start date after the third week of August,” Rush said.  “If public outcry is unheeded, then all of the meetings were a waste of our time and taxpayer funds.”

Board Member Greg Krikorian who along with President Armina Gharpetian voted against the new calendar sympathizes with those parents who are upset that the start of school wasn’t delayed later.

“We need to put students and parents first,” Krikorian said.  “Family time is crucial.”

Rush encourages parents who feel likewise to let their opinions be heard by emailing school board members and attending the Dec. 13 meeting.

Curiously, school districts neighboring Glendale have easily figured out how to plan 180 instructional days that accommodates the wishes of families.

While Burbank schools have pushed the start of school up to mid-August, they have kept the year to 41 weeks due to fewer days off, leaving 11 weeks of summer vacation.  Next year Burbank children return Aug. 14 but end May 24 before Memorial Day.

And La Canada schools while providing two additional days of instruction still contain the school year within 42 weeks.

Yet somehow Glendale can’t seem to keep schools open long enough between August and June so that school can start later and end earlier.

While the curious Friday day off before the Labor Day weekend has finally disappeared, the full week off during Thanksgiving does not help to shorten the overall calendar.   And as many educators can attest to, ever since GUSD has been closed for a full week, a teacher never quite gets the kids’ attention back since in a few weeks they will be off for nearly three weeks.

Think about this:  From Nov. 11 through Jan. 8, amounting to 55 calendar days, students are in school for 21 days, or 38 percent of the time.

Here is how the calendar can quickly be fixed.  By eliminating the three days off before Thanksgiving, school could start on Monday, Aug. 21, or end on June 1, cutting the calendar to 42 weeks, providing an additional week of summer vacation.

There.  Problem fixed.  No meetings needed.   A year’s time not required.  Less than ten minutes really.

In this space, I have proposed a joint meeting of GUSD and BUSD school board members to see if a common calendar could be agreed upon.   That never occurred.

For those parents who feel that their voices are not being considered should keep in mind another calendar, an election one that ends on April 4, 2017.  That’s 110 days away—without days off.

 

 

 

 

Leave a comment Posted on Go Set a Watchman, starting school in August, To Kill a Mockingbird

Call the Early Start of School as Sumfall

One of the most asked questions I get as a teacher is why does school start so early in August instead of September.

Even though the change took place several years ago, as both a parent and a teacher I still am not used to summer ending with so much of the season remaining.

When Glendale children return to school on August 10 (August 8 next year), only 54 percent of summer days will have transpired leaving 46 percent to come as part of the fall semester.

We should rename summer vacation sprummer or at least rebrand the first semester as the Sumfall term.

Educators who work summer school only get two and a half weeks off before the new year restarts.   That is not enough time to recharge one’s batteries in a field as demanding as education. The same goes for students who attend summer school; they get three weeks off.   So their summer vacation is basically the length of winter break.

The main reason why districts began the August shift is for secondary school students to finish their semester before winter break, the notion that kids having two weeks off diminishes their retention level when upon their return final exams commence shortly thereafter.

Such thinking gets canceled out, however, since for the past few years Glendale students have had the whole week of Thanksgiving off, meaning they still end up returning for only a couple of weeks of class before finals.

Meanwhile, the elementary school students don’t need to start so early since they don’t take final exams making semester breaks meaningless.

Often overlooked is how hot it is in August, and that despite most classrooms having air conditioning, children need to play and exercise outside, something that frequently gets curtailed with heat advisories.

Some states such as Florida have passed laws to push back the start of school to late August. The New York and Chicago districts, number one and three in terms of size in the country, continue opening school the second week in September.

Over the years I have found few people in favor of an early August start date so why aren’t school districts listening?

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Update on Harper Lee’s “Go Set a Watchman”

As I commented last time, publishing the early version of Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” was a mistake. Now that I have read the book, I can confirm that it was a monumental mistake.

There are parts of “Watchman” that exhibit a talented writer; however, the story is plotless and I found myself struggling through long-winded passages where essentially nothing happens. And then there’s the less than idyllic portrayal of Atticus—not the righteous father figure he epitomizes in “Mockingbird.”

What bothers me most is that by seeing how Lee originally intended to tell her story about racial issues in the South compared to the altered version two and a half years later in “Mockingbird,” it is clear that Lee’s editor in 1957 Tay Hohoff deserves much credit in reshaping the novel.

It goes to show how even in a field like writing which is viewed as the result of an individual’s work one can’t assume that the author did it alone. What “Watchman” proves is that Lee needed significant assistance.

Sales for “Watchman” have substantially slowed down since its initial release two weeks ago perhaps due to negative reviews and word of mouth.

Let’s hope this doesn’t ignite a trend of publishing early drafts of other great novels. I wouldn’t care to read a version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” where Ebenezer Scrooge wakes up still a miser, and ends with the death of Tiny Tim.