| Author |
Message |
    
Cody
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 8:50 am: |     |
With today's snow closing, I believe the District has used up the allotted snow days for the year. So, if we have another closing, we'll have to start pulling days away from the April break. A number of northern NJ Districts opted for delayed (usually 10 AM) openings today. Perhaps we could have as well rather than closing for the entire day. Our District used to do this, but has not for several years. If the question is asked, the answer is always "the parents don't like delayed openings - too inconvenient".
I'm curious to know if this truly is how most parents feel. Given snow days only happen infrequently (please, please, no more snow!), is it more inconvenient to lose a day off a week-long break or to make arrangements to get your child to school 2 hours later? (of course, this assumes the allotted quota of snow days for the year has already been used up).
How do the posters on this board feel? Is the District correct in its assumption? Maybe it is, but I'd like to hear it from the parents themselves.
How do you feel? |
Interalia
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 10:27 am: | |
Over the fifteen or so years I have had children in the district it has been my experience that when the school year was extended into the summer there was minimum attendance. This was due to the fact that the extension of school days overlapped with the start of camp and camp prevailed.
A lot of people plan vacations over school breaks. I certainly would not change a vacation plan to send my kids to school for one day; especially with non-refundable airline tickets, etc.
I recall the days of late openings and for me it was no problem. I can see where it would be for working parents though. Just the same, other districts use this method successfully. |
Ffof
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:12 pm: | |
Guess what? Yesterday's teacher's conference will be held next Monday, so today's snowday puts us one day over our allotment. Say goodbye to Friday of April break - unless of course you have vacation planned already. It will be a wasted do-nothing day at school that day because of the high number of absences; delayed opening is the way to go - we used to do it a lot. |
Janet
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:19 pm: | |
I just checked the school calendar, and schools are closed Good Friday. How about using that instead of the last day of Spring Break, or for Staff Development Day? We already have our non-refundable tickets for Spring Break, and my older son is trying for no absences from school, so this will mess that up. As far as delayed openings, I'm all for them. How can they be any more inconvenient for working parents than a whole day off from school? |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:24 pm: | |
Janet, how could you ask that question? It is a religious holiday, and should be observed. |
Janet
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:36 pm: | |
Sorry, no offense intended - I don't recall our kids having that day off when we lived in Michigan. It may have been a half-day. |
Nursie
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:38 pm: | |
NJ,
You took the words right out of my mouth. What a totally selfish idea. |
Ffof
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 2:41 pm: | |
It's either added to spring break or end of the school year. I vote for spring break.
Anyone know what happened to the "vote" regarding a change to future school calendars with winter/spring vacations? I hope they do away with April break, add a long weekend in March and close school a week earlier in June! (Or full week in March and long weekend in Feb) ANYTHING to get out earlier in the summer!! |
Wendy
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 6:09 pm: | |
Ffof, this is what I know so far about the proposed calender for next year. SOMEA (the teachers' union) sent out a survey to garner opinions from people. Some schools (Tuscan was one) had the funds to photocopy the survey and send it out to their community with instructions for people to return it by a set date to the superintendant's office. We were not given the results of the survey. The survey was not meant to be a vote, merely to get a sense of where people were at. At the last Presidents' Council meeting (a monthly meeting of all the schools PTA and HSA presidents) Jackie Cusack (sp?), filling in for Peter Horoschak, told us that Peter was going to present to the board last night (probably cancelled) his recommendation that the calender be kept at the status quo, i.e., two one week vacations for next year. Based on when Labor Day comes out next year, that puts us as not ending school until about June 27, a date much past when most camps, summer jobs, etc. begin. Only the Kids Kamp and the Summer Enrichment program will probably realign itself to whatever calender our schools have for next year. Every school leader at that meeting was shocked and disappointed in this and we are supposedly sending a letter to the Board about this. I know that principals and nurses think the February break is important because of illness and getting the buildings cleaned during that time. When I asked them how about a long April weekend instead of a full week in April, the short response was that teachers need breaks. It seems to me that once the warmer weather sets in, constructive learning starts declining. A week in February and a 4 day weekend in April (perhaps coinciding with Good Friday) would seem the most advantageous for all. This way if school were to let out earlier, then any extra days for snow could be tacked on at the end without the tumult that it would cause now. This would still allow people to make definite plans for a long weekend in April without being concerned that it would be cut back.
Just as people did to save the instrumental music program in the 4th and 5th grades, this is something that the community could pressure the board for and maybe see some results. God knows, there are people who have been trying for years. Many other school districts have gone to a four day weekend around the Presidents' holiday in lieu of a full week. |
Ffof
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 7:57 pm: | |
Teachers Smeachers! I'm so sick of the teachers union first, kids second! You'd think that the teachers would want to get out earlier in June also (especially those without air-conditioning!) Maybe our respective PTAs and HSAs can rally the masses behind this and try to make the change.
Now, does anyone know for sure about the re-scheduling of the staff development day? I did hear it would now be on Monday, but in light of scheduling an extra day during April break, you'd think that they could have the development day then instead. |
Sac
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 9:10 pm: | |
I've always thought that having two one-week breaks is excessive, but I would prefer to have a single one-week break later in the schedule rather than President's week. At that time, scheduling a vacation is a nightmare because good airfares are blacked out, vacation destinations are packed, and car travel can't be relied upon due to winter weather. Alternatively how about a 3 or 4-day weekend for President's Day and keep the April week. I was so pleased this year that we finally got a week-long break NOT ATTACHED to a major holiday so that we could realistically plan a long-desired trip to Disney World without holiday crowds (regular crowds there are bad enough!) Also, having grown up in the South where school starts in early or mid August (and ends before Memorial Day), I don't quite understand why it is so out of the question to start a little before Labor Day to help alleviate the late June closing. I would be happy to move the start date back to the last week of August or so rather than go so late in June!
On a different note, if it is true that the Staff Development day has been rescheduled for next Monday, then that is far more inconsiderate for working parents than weather-related delays or closings. For the most part, I think that workplaces are at least somewhat understanding of the weather-related issues, but the same is often not true for other school scheduling conflicts. It is hard enough to arrange backup childcare when you have time to plan ahead. Three days is definitely not sufficient notice. I guess I'll wait for the official notice before I protest further ... |
Pcg
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 9:53 pm: | |
Staff development day should be rescheduled for the first day of summer vacation, or Maybe July 5th. |
Spw784
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2001 - 9:57 pm: | |
As a district employee, I have not heard one way or another whether our Staff Development Day has been rescheduled to next Monday. I do agree with Sac, that three days notice is inconsiderate for the rescheduling.
Also, according to the phone call I rec'd on the phone chain yesterday, the BOW meeting originally scheduled for Monday night 3/5 (where I suppose this vote about the calendar was taking place) has been rescheduled to NEXT MONDAY 3/12, same time.
Sac, if we were to start in August, teachers contracts would have to be re-aligned/re-written , as they go from Sept 1 to June 30.
When I was younger, if we used up our snow days, the extras were tacked on to the end of the year, but never running past June 30 (graduation was just moved.. since one still had 2 months notice of a date change). I think they cannot due that nowadays, because of graduation ceremonies and Project Graduation type events that are booked and planned for a certain date. |
Sac
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 7, 2001 - 6:42 am: | |
If they can't reschedule the Staff Development day to the end of the school year and if the impact of rescheduling it sooner is to shorten Spring Break, then why not reschedule the Staff Development day during that April week? Seems a lower impact way to go for everyone and less disruptive of instruction (not to mention family schedules and childcare issues already mentioned.)
I believe that the change from extending the school year to using Spring Break for extra makeup days came about after the horrendous winter of 1993-94, when the year WAS extended and there was much protest about that. I didn't have children in school yet then, but I heard a lot of complaining about it.
Re starting earlier ... even starting September 1, rather than waiting until the Wednesday after Labor Day, would give us a little more breathing room in the schedule many years, although I guess that is not the case for the upcoming year. And teacher contracts can be (and are) rewritten from time to time. That's what was done when they changed to the makeup days in Spring Break rather than June, I believe. |
Sac
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 7, 2001 - 7:02 am: | |
Re the original post (before we digressed into school calendar and makeup day issues) ...
I think that the "too inconvenient" attitude regarding delayed openings pertains to the choice between a delayed opening and an "ontime" opening in cases where those are clearly the choices at hand.
However ... the choice between a delay and a closing is a whole different situation. I think for most parents, whether at home or working, a delay is preferable.
Making these decisions has got to be very difficult in the wee hours of the morning and I don't envy the Superintendent or whoever else has to make the call, but safety should always be the primary concern. |
Ffof
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 7, 2001 - 9:00 am: | |
Sac- How about the long 4-day weekend in Feb with a one vacation in March (not April)? This way those who go south can do so without interference of a holiday AND skiiers are still (pretty much) guaranteed snow (northeast and out west). |
Sac
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 7, 2001 - 10:52 am: | |
Ffof - March would work too and definitely better for skiers. Main downside vs. late April is that it is "high season" for Spring Breaks (Colleges as well as K-12) around the country so there tends to be more competition for vacation scheduling to warm destinations, Disney, etc. Also, if we are going to continue to use that break as the "makeup day" pool, it has to be late enough to be fairly confident that there won't be any more snow days. But those points may be of less concern than some of the other issues that have already been mentioned in this discussion. |
Pnp
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 7, 2001 - 8:55 pm: | |
Nursie - I understand that you were offended with the idea that Good Friday be used to make up the school day. However, Yom Kippur (the most religious Jewish Holiday) has never been observed as a school holiday in this town (as it is in some towns). It makes no more sense to me to close schools on Good Friday than it does to keep them open on Yom Kippur. |
Spw784
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 7, 2001 - 9:21 pm: | |
PnP - We always have off for Yom Kippur (1 day) and Rosh Hashanah ( 2 days) (at least we have in the past several years), when they fall during the week.
That is one of the issues that is affecting the schedule/calendar for 2001-02. Both YK and RH fall midweek, so we are off three days in Sept already! Whereas I believe in 2000-01, both holidays fell on weekend.
Also, isnt Good Friday a Federal or State Holiday? |
Pnp
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 7, 2001 - 9:41 pm: | |
My school calendar does not show either one as a day off. Did I miss it? Sorry if it was my mistake. |
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