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#11
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Those dreaded Early Release Days--VENT
chiam margalit wrote:
I'm just thinking out loud here about my least favorite part of school, the early release day. They drive me a bit nutso too. We have half days every Monday. It's not horrible with 1st-6th grade, but it's horrible in kindergarten. I wish for kindy that they'd just alternate so that AM kindy went for the entire half day one week and PM kindy went for the entire half day the next week (or something like that). It seems they've no sooner left than they're coming back home! Anyway, the main thing I wanted to mention is that there's a really lovely program around here that I'd almost certainly be taking advantage of if I needed coverage. One of the local martial arts studios runs an after school program. They pick your kids up from school, take them to the studio, sit them down to do their homework, give them their martial arts lesson, and then they have time to play games or whatever until you pick them up at something like 6-6:30pm. Better yet, whenever there's an early closing (like every Monday, teacher work days, or whatever else), they pick your kids up whenever school lets out-- FOR NO ADDITIONAL FEE! And the program is only something like $80/week! (That's very reasonable for around here--you'd be hard pressed to find after school care for any less, and it likely wouldn't include help with homework, daily martial arts lessons, or additional time for early release.) I was quite impressed with the program. And having seen some of the kids perform at the talent show, I'm pretty darned impressed with the kids' martial arts abilities as well! Seems like you could use one of those programs in your area, or something similar. Best wishes, Ericka |
#12
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Those dreaded Early Release Days--VENT
"Beth Kevles" wrote in message ... : : Hi - : : I'm actually in favor of banning early release days, unless they are : scheduled on the same day every week of the school year. Sure, for : parents who use a daycare that runs on the school calendar, early : release is no big deal. And for many parents (like me) who have : flexible jobs or who are at home, early release can be fun, extra time : with the kids. But I wind up with quite a few children over for : playdates because their parents have after-school arrangements with : caregivers who are NOT on the school schedule, or parents who get home : from work when school lets out. For these parents, early release is a : nightmare. (So are snow days, and early release or late start due to : weather, but most employers are far more understanding about : weather-related childcare issues.) You all are probably going to hate this, but my district--the largest school district in Colorado--is actually considering a 2-day furlough for all district employees this year. This is due to severe budget shortfalls, and one of the reasonings behind this decision is that it *will* put it in the parents' faces, it *will* inconvenience them, and in the end they'll *notice* that our district is so out of money that it has to completely shut down for 2 days this year. Believe it or not, the teachers are actually supporting this decision--hey, it will mean a cut in my paycheck, but maybe it's time the tight-fisted "no more tax increases" crowd start to notice things like this. Hell, we haven't bought new biology books since 1989--we can't even afford to buy a classroom set for each biology classroom, so we continue to use books that are so outdated it's embarassing. Of course, don't get me started on all the **other** budget issues.... -- ColoradoSkiBum |
#13
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Those dreaded Early Release Days--VENT
Jenn wrote in message ...
In article , Banty wrote: My school district arranged with a local community college to have an after-school program, but of course it wasnt' free. Problem was, though, for early release, the after school program didnt' run on those days. School was out - school was out. It had to do with the need to have a certain number school personnel around during the program (custodial, etc.) Banty when my kids were in elementary and middle school the after school programs ran on early release days and snow days -- pretty much any non school day -- they were not free -- the program required parents to pay for the care and I imagine that there was an extra charge for those days [can't remember] The providers of aftercare in my district - who are not really affiliated with the schools themselves - just this year started providing care for early release and even for some of the days off for staff development. Well, they did have the rare day of care last year and the year before. It was sporadic and it was usually at only one out of the 6 elementary schools in the district. I guess the demand for extended care and all-day care has gone up because now they have care at nearly all of the elementary schools and it seems to be for nearly all of the early release and other non-standard days off. It does cost extra and it is held at the school buildings. I'm not certain if custodial staff must be there. (When we have our evening neighborhood association meetings at the elementary school, the *principal* lets us in and out! I think she works 24 hours a day...) However, this is all at the elementary school level. I have no idea what I'm going to do in middle school. Heh...bus my older child to the elementary school where the younger ones are so that he can "help" the extended care staff, maybe? Saaayyy, not a bad idea. - Bev |
#14
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Those dreaded Early Release Days--VENT
"ColoradoSkiBum" wrote in message
... You all are probably going to hate this, but my district--the largest school district in Colorado--is actually considering a 2-day furlough for all district employees this year. This is due to severe budget shortfalls, and one of the reasonings behind this decision is that it *will* put it in the parents' faces, it *will* inconvenience them, and in the end they'll *notice* that our district is so out of money that it has to completely shut down for 2 days this year. Believe it or not, the teachers are actually supporting this decision--hey, it will mean a cut in my paycheck, but maybe it's time the tight-fisted "no more tax increases" crowd start to notice things like this. our state (and some others) had a teacher's strike recently. it's funny, you would not find a parent who thinks teacher's pay shouldn't be increased, yet at the same time some parents interviewed for the media were also saying how inconvenient it was. i'd suggest to them you can't have it both ways - if there's a need for radical action to solve a problem, the parents of the children seeking an education have to be supportive of that whether it inconveniences them or not - they are the ones who benefit in the end, after all. this half-day thing from the o.p. otoh - i've got no idea what that's supposed to be about. (?) kylie -- www.rdj.com.au |
#15
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Those dreaded Early Release Days--VENT
0tterbot wrote:
this half-day thing from the o.p. otoh - i've got no idea what that's supposed to be about. (?) I'm not sure about precisely what her situation is--it sounds like her half day thing is sporadic. In our district, elementary school classes are only half days every Monday so that the teachers have half a day for planning. I'm all for teachers having planning time, but the half day on Monday thing is a *royal* PITA for parents. Personally, I'd rather they took the same amount of time and spread it around so that there were standard start and end times. I've been getting better at dealing with it, though. Best wishes, Ericka |
#16
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Those dreaded Early Release Days--VENT
In article , Ericka Kammerer says...
0tterbot wrote: this half-day thing from the o.p. otoh - i've got no idea what that's supposed to be about. (?) I'm not sure about precisely what her situation is--it sounds like her half day thing is sporadic. In our district, elementary school classes are only half days every Monday so that the teachers have half a day for planning. I'm all for teachers having planning time, but the half day on Monday thing is a *royal* PITA for parents. Personally, I'd rather they took the same amount of time and spread it around so that there were standard start and end times. I've been getting better at dealing with it, though. Yeah - I was thinking of some jobs where it would be worse to have the 1/2 scheduled on a certain day of the week, rather than better. We have some full days, but they're scheduled, and all parents get a school calednar at the beginning of the year. *Our* bugaboo here in upstate New York is wintertime unscheduled closures - snow days, delayed openings due to weather and road conditions, and early dismissal due to weather and road conditions (including *anticipated* weather and road conditions). If there are a lot of snow days being taken, our school district goes to early dismissal and delayed openings whenever possible since somehow these don't count as 'snow days', even in combination (although of course instructional time is lost). Which leaves us parents hugging radios and checking websites if there is so much as a frozen sprinkle overnight. That is such a large and unpredictable scheduling reality that around here every parent has to have some kind of plan in place for having the kids at home. Scheduled 1/2 days is just peanuts. Banty |
#17
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Those dreaded Early Release Days--VENT
"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message ... 0tterbot wrote: this half-day thing from the o.p. otoh - i've got no idea what that's supposed to be about. (?) I'm not sure about precisely what her situation is--it sounds like her half day thing is sporadic. In our district, elementary school classes are only half days every Monday so that the teachers have half a day for planning. I'm all for teachers having planning time, but the half day on Monday thing is a *royal* PITA for parents. Personally, I'd rather they took the same amount of time and spread it around so that there were standard start and end times. I've been getting better at dealing with it, though. Best wishes, Ericka That seems excessive to me-why not just have the kids come an hour later every day? I almost wonder if they've cut back on support classes so there isn't enough planning time available in the school day to make state mandates? In my district, we're given 1/2 day at the end of every grading period to get grades and records together. Which means 5 a year. Parent conference and other administrative days and holidays are full days. And, except for weather (which could occasionally force early release, if the A/C breaks in a school), all of these are announced not only from the beginning of the year, but a year in advance. So there's really no excuse for not having made plans in advance for scheduled days. And, in general, the community centers, Y's, JCC, etc here which have afterschool programs for older kids tend to have special activities on those days, as do some businesses like Putt-putt, Chuck-E-Cheese's, and movie theatres (which would let one parent handle a whole bunch of kids, and take the burden of entertainment off the parent). |
#18
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Those dreaded Early Release Days--VENT
On Thu, 30 Oct 2003 23:13:16 -0500, Ericka Kammerer
wrote: 0tterbot wrote: this half-day thing from the o.p. otoh - i've got no idea what that's supposed to be about. (?) I'm not sure about precisely what her situation is--it sounds like her half day thing is sporadic. In our district, elementary school classes are only half days every Monday so that the teachers have half a day for planning. I'm all for teachers having planning time, but the half day on Monday thing is a *royal* PITA for parents. Personally, I'd rather they took the same amount of time and spread it around so that there were standard start and end times. I've been getting better at dealing with it, though. Best wishes, Ericka The school systems I've been involved with print a calendar at the beginning of the year listing all the holidays, teacher workdays, etc. I always marked them on my calendar to avoid surprises. |
#19
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Those dreaded Early Release Days--VENT
"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message
... In our district, elementary school classes are only half days every Monday so that the teachers have half a day for planning. That seems excessive to me-why not just have the kids come an hour later every day? I almost wonder if they've cut back on support classes so there isn't enough planning time available in the school day to make state mandates? I have no idea. It wouldn't surprise me to find that we don't *have* any state mandates ;-) But it would be a bit easier on many parents if they just figured planning time into every day. In my district, we're given 1/2 day at the end of every grading period to get grades and records together. Which means 5 a year. Parent conference and other administrative days and holidays are full days. Here, the teachers usually get two days at the end of the grading period. For instance, the kids have next Monday and Tuesday off for teacher workdays, teacher conferences, and voting (many of the polls are in elementary schools). And, except for weather (which could occasionally force early release, if the A/C breaks in a school), all of these are announced not only from the beginning of the year, but a year in advance. So there's really no excuse for not having made plans in advance for scheduled days. Aside from weather and emergencies, we do know about the early release days in advance, which I'm sure is a huge improvement over having them sprung on you! Best wishes, Ericka |
#20
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Those dreaded Early Release Days--VENT
On Fri, 31 Oct 2003, Ericka Kammerer wrote: "Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message ... In our district, elementary school classes are only half days every Monday so that the teachers have half a day for planning. That seems excessive to me-why not just have the kids come an hour later every day? I almost wonder if they've cut back on support classes so there isn't enough planning time available in the school day to make state mandates? I have no idea. It wouldn't surprise me to find that we don't *have* any state mandates ;-) But it would be a bit easier on many parents if they just figured planning time into every day. In my district, we're given 1/2 day at the end of every grading period to get grades and records together. Which means 5 a year. Parent conference and other administrative days and holidays are full days. Here, the teachers usually get two days at the end of the grading period. For instance, the kids have next Monday and Tuesday off for teacher workdays, teacher conferences, and voting (many of the polls are in elementary schools). And, except for weather (which could occasionally force early release, if the A/C breaks in a school), all of these are announced not only from the beginning of the year, but a year in advance. So there's really no excuse for not having made plans in advance for scheduled days. Aside from weather and emergencies, we do know about the early release days in advance, which I'm sure is a huge improvement over having them sprung on you! This is my experience too. The school calendar is approved the spring of the year before. I know when I leave school in June exactly what the schedule is for the following year. |
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