We
realize that there are a lot of questions and opinions surrounding the
2012-13 District Calendar. This page will be updated regularly with
answers to the questions we see and hear. If you have a question that is
not answered on this page, email MNPSCommunicationsOffice@mnps.org
and we will do our best to address it here. While we may not be able to
answer every question individually, we will answer the most frequently
asked questions here on this page.
Please bear in mind that the final decision
on which calendar to adopt rests with the Board of
Education. Community feedback is welcomed, read and taken
into account, but will not be considered a "vote" for one calendar
or another.
For more answers to your questions, visit our live-blog with the heads of the MNPS Calendar Committee.
Why go with a balanced calendar? Why not stick with the calendar we have now?
Our
new educational standards are much more rigorous than in years past.
You may remember a lot of discussion on this topic in the fall of 2010. (Click here
for more on the higher educational standards.) In order to better teach
to these new standards, it is important to balance our instructional
time. This splits the year into regular, even periods of learning
and breaks. (Click here to see this balance represented visually.)
Balanced Calendar Version I shortens summer break by two weeks, helping
to reduce summer learning loss for all students. This learning loss
particularly affects the 22% of our students who come from a non-English
speaking background and may speak and be exposed to very little English
over the summer break.But the balanced calendar does not just benefit a select group of students; it benefits all students. Any student who is not involved in reading or academic activity during summer break will lose ground.
Version I also includes ten extra days of professional development for
teachers. These educational opportunities for teachers are vital to
helping them better teach to the new standards. Staggering this
professional development throughout the year gives us the chance to
target teacher instruction based on the needs of students and schools at
that particular time in the year.
Is a balanced calendar the same as year-round school? Will summer break be eliminated?
No. In the balanced
calendar options, there is still an eight-week long summer
break. Summer break for the upcoming 2011-12 school year is ten
weeks long. Planning this far in advance (more than a year) gives
families, child care providers and summer program organizers plenty
of time to prepare for the two week difference.
What about summer camps, programs and child care during breaks from school?
Organizations that provide
after school programs, activities during school breaks and summer
camps will adjust to any changes in the MNPS calendar.
For example, this statement comes from the YMCA of Middle Tennessee:
|
For more than 26 years, the YMCA of Middle Tennessee has
partnered with Metro Nashville Public Schools to provide quality before-
, after- and out-of school care designed to foster a love of learning
and nurture the potential of every child. We know that out of school
hours are critical and can have an incredible impact on a child's
development. That's why we're committed to offering kids in our
community the chance to take part in YMCA Fun Company programs whenever
school isn't in session. We structure our Fun Company calendar to
accommodate the school system's calendar, and will continue to do so
should MNPS adopt a balanced calendar at anytime in the future. We would
simply alter our schedule to ensure that quality care is available
during any and all out-of-school hours.
|
Will the balanced calendar extend the school day by 30 minutes?
No. Our school days are
already 30 minutes longer than the state requires. It has been this way
for years. This extra 30 minutes every day allows us to stockpile extra
days to be used for professional development or inclement weather. This
is why we are able to take snow days without having the make them up.
Without this extra time built into the schedule, we would have to make
up every snow day taken.
Are we building in more snow days?
All of the calendar options
include more snow days than the four days in the 2010-11 school
calendar. Balanced Calendar Version I includes ten stockpiled days for
inclement weather. All other versions include six stockpiled days
for inclement weather.
Building in snow days isn't an
arbitrary system of choosing four days over six days or ten days over
six days. Built in make up time has to be carefully calculated and
worked into a tight instructional schedule, while also keeping
to the state mandated 180 day schedule.
Is there research to support a change from a traditional school calendar?
School districts that adopt balanced calendars
often do so as part of larger school improvement efforts, making it
difficult to isolate the effects of the calendar change. Still, there is
considerable research on the learning loss that occurs during
traditional long summer breaks.
- Most students experience summer learning loss and lower income
students lose more ground than their more affluent peers. Over time, the
cumulative effects of summer learning loss increase the achievement gap
between lower income and more affluent students (Harris Cooper et al,
1996).
- A RAND Education analysis of education research found “summer
vacation may have detrimental learning effects for many students…[and]
disproportionately affects low-income students, particularly in
reading…over time, these periods of differential learning rates between
low-income and higher-income students contribute substantially to the
achievement gap” (McCombs, Augustine, 2011).
- The study also found, “the general literature indicates that
low-achieving students need more time to master material and that
spacing learning over time is an effective instructional technique.”
- A 2008 study found “Expanded learning time . . . can be
particularly beneficial for ELLs. . . . Time plays a unique role in the
educational career of the English-language learner. Time affects the
facility of learning a new language and the likelihood of high school
graduation, especially among immigrant ELLs in high school” (Melissa
Lazarin, 2008).
Does a balanced calendar affect summer learning loss or academic achievement?
A study on year-round learning and student achievement concluded “there
is an effective maintenance and improvement of the overall academic
performance of students participating in a year-round education program
in comparison to those on the traditional calendar" (Carolyn Kneese,
2000).
Another study on the effects of modified school calendars on student
achievement and on community attitudes found the average effect on
student achievement was small, but positive, for schools with a modified
calendar and that “students, parents, and staffs who participated in
modified calendar programs were positive about their experiences”
(Cooper et al, 2003).
Why does the balanced calendar call for an extra $20 million? Can we afford that?
Only Balanced Calendar Version I calls for additional
funding. The other three options are "budget neutral." If the
Board votes to adopt Version I, it will be with with the condition
that this extra money is approved in the 2012-13 budget. If
that money is not approved, a budget neutral calendar would be
followed. Remember, this calendar would be for 2012-13, so no
additional funds would be required for the current budget year. It would
not affect the budget process until next spring (2012).
Why not put the additional $20 million into smaller class sizes and technology instead of a balanced calendar?
There is research to
back smaller class sizes and there is research to back a balanced
calendar. What really matters is how that time in the classroom is
spent. The ten additional professional development days built into
Version I allows for specific and targeted staff development to help
with the new, more rigorous standards placed on our students. The loss
of instructional time affects all students.
It's very hot in August. Won't this require the air conditioners to run more and cost more money?
Schools have staff at work
every day during the summer, so air conditioners already run all summer
long. Starting school earlier will not require more air conditioning
than is already used.
Why don’t we start school after labor day?
Over the years, the start of the school year has moved to
August in order to end the first semester before winter break. In more
recent years, this has had the benefit of providing more instruction
days before standardized test dates (TCAP, EOC) in the spring. At this
point, many families prefer to end the school year around Memorial Day
rather than in June which would happen if school started after Labor
Day.
Instead of making all
students go to school earlier, why not hold required summer
programs for those students who need the most help?
By state law, we cannot require students to attend school for
more than 180 days. Balancing instructional time is the goal. Building
in extra weeks during the year for student intersession is a benefit of
balancing the calendar and redistributing time off.
What is intersession?
Intersession is
a period of time when school is not in session, but teachers and
parents can work together for remediation, enrichment, catch up and
extra help. It would largely be for students who need extra help, and
not every student would go to school. Teachers and parents would work
together to decide when a child needs to attend during an
intersession period. Students could also choose to attend school during
an intersession period for further or enrichment or to accelerate in
areas of study. These periods would likely be funded with federal
dollars.
Do intersession days count as instructional days? Are they part of the record of attendance for students?
Intersession days are not considered standard instructional
days, they would be days for intervention with students who need to
catch up or could be used for enrichment with students who need more
challenges. This is the vision for intersession, but the
details are still to be developed. There are many ways intersession
could be used and they will be studied carefully if the board passes a
balanced calendar.
Would the intersession days be like normal school days?
No, they would be for focused work with specific students
mutually identified by the school and family. Families could not place a
student in the intersession without the consent of the school and the
school could not require the student’s attendance without the family’s
agreement.
Will any activity be held at schools during intersession? What will be done if anything during this time frame?
Intersession could be used to provide early interventions to
students who need to catch up or to provide enrichment opportunities,
ACT test prep, intensive computer labs or other instruction. Some
students may pay fees to participate while students who qualify for free
or reduced meals are likely eligible for federally funded
participation. The details of intersession are still to be developed.
Who will decide how the
intersessions will be structured and what will be offered? Will this be a
principal decision or will the district have a plan for everyone?
At this point, the vision is for the district will set policy
and parameters for intersession and principals will decide which
students will benefit from the intervention. The details of intersession
are still to be developed.
Are the "teacher planning"
days the same as what are currently called "planning/records" days? In
Version I, these same days are designated as "teacher professional
development" days. Are they the same thing just labeled differently?
Four of the locally funded professional development days
in Version I would replace the current planning days following each
grading period. There would be 10 professional development days,
offering opportunities for intensive training on the new and much
tougher standards and on teaching strategies. Using stockpiled days for
teacher planning days, as in the traditional calendar, reduces the
instructional days.
On both versions of the
traditional calendar school starts on a Thursday for half a day and then
have Friday off. Why not just start on Monday with a full day?
Our experience is that some students who have not registered come to
school on the first day and some who have registered never attend. It
takes time to properly enroll students, balance classes, issue text
books and lockers, make bus assignments and so forth. School employees
will do that work on Friday, so we are better prepared for instruction
on the first full day of school on Monday. We have taken this
approach for the past two years and found it made
the first Monday of the school year more productive.
Would the testing dates--particularly TCAP-- be changed?
Specific TCAP testing dates are chosen based on an allowed testing window from the State of Tennessee.
Will teachers be paid more for more days worked?
Yes. Teachers will be paid
for the days that they work. If Balanced Calendar Version I is adopted,
teachers will be paid for those 10 extra professional development days,
which is roughly a 5% difference in pay. If teachers work during the
intersession periods, they will be paid for those days, as well.
What about the support employees who service our schools: ed assistants, bus drivers, crossing guards, cafeteria staff, etc?
Bus drivers, cafeteria staff and some other staff work when school is in
session and would continue to work when school is in session under
these calendar options. Support services could work on an "as needed"
basis for intersession periods, based on the number of students
attending school during these times and the services needed. All staff
would be paid for days worked during intersession periods.
These calendar options were first presented and explained during the June meeting of the Director's Parent Advisory Council.
Click here for a live-blog of that meeting and the calendar presentation. |
