By Khalida Sarwari
Dozens of parents and teachers packed the Saratoga Union School District’s special board meeting to weigh in on a controversial decision to implement minimum days each Wednesday.
Attendees’ comments to the board focused on why the high-performing district made the schedule change and why the parent community wasn’t asked for its input. Some, mostly teachers, spoke in favor of the new schedule, which has students at Redwood Middle School released at 12:45 p.m. and those in the elementary schools ending class at 12:30 p.m. The schedule went into effect at the beginning of the school year in August.
The purpose of the Sept. 4 special board meeting was to review the rationale for the schedule change and allow parents, staff and the general community to express their viewpoints. About 40 people addressed the board at a meeting that drew a standing room only crowd.
Following a two-hour long public comment period, the board responded to attendees’ comments and fielded a flurry of questions but did not take action, other than agreeing to continue the discussion on Sept. 10.
According to the district, the schedule was put in place to allow staff and faculty time for professional development training. The schedule decision was made by the district administration and approved by the school board in June. Many parents at the meeting asked the board why the change wasn’t adequately communicated to parents.
A petition calling for a reversion to last year’s schedule had garnered more than 300 signatures by Sept. 8. “A compromise of 14 early dismissal days was reached and has been in effect the last six years,” the petition states. “This year the school board quietly voted to increase early dismissal days from 14 to 34 without communicating with the parent community.”
Corinne Vita, a parent in the district, told the board, “We’ve not been given respect. We are stakeholders; we should have been asked like we were in 2005,” she said, referring to the year when parents protested a proposal to create 37 minimum days. In the end, a decision was made to enforce nine minimum days.
Said Vita, “We respect our teachers, we respect our school district, but this doesn’t work.”
Some attendees said the schedule change would cause financial hardship for their family, because they would need to hire a babysitter or nanny to pick up their children from school every Wednesday afternoon. Others noted that instead of being in the classroom learning, their kids would now be tempted to use the time to play video games or participate in other nonacademic activities.
Others said they are worried about the 33-minute class sessions on Wednesdays, arguing that it signifies a drastic reduction in instructional time in the classroom for students. Classes in that span don’t leave time for science labs, physical education activities, art projects and exams, opponents argued.
Concerns were also raised in regard to a parcel tax violation. Reducing instructional time, they said, undermines the spirit of the tax increase, which was put in place to “protect the number of instructional days.”
Some parents questioned if and how teachers would be measured on their progress during their training time.
Advocates of the revised schedule argue it will give teachers more time during the school year to collaborate with each other and create opportunities to prepare for and implement practices such as the Common Core State Standards and new assessment tests in the classroom.
Some parents said they appreciate the consistency of the new schedule and prefer it to last year’s, when minimum days took place on the first Thursday of every month.
Susan Johnson, a parent and teacher at Argonaut, said her kids now use Wednesday afternoons to play at the park.
“I hope the board does not reverse the decision,” she said. “I think it’s wonderful for the kids.”
Echoed Anjali Sridhar, co-president of the Argonaut parent-teacher association, “If you don’t give them a break, they can just burn out.”
District superintendent Lane Weiss said the board meeting was a step toward a resolution. “I’m very grateful that people came out to express their opinions,” he said. “I think it was very beneficial to have a discussion. I believe if we’re patient, we’ll come to a resolution that will address the needs of our kids and district.”
The superintendent said the district is evaluating ways to communicate better with the parent community, and exploring some ideas that were suggested Wednesday night, including conducting a survey on the new schedule and implementing a block schedule on Wednesdays. At this point, the district is open to those suggestions, he said, but would need time to consider them.
“We’re trying to move forward carefully and cautiously and not rush into a decision based on emotion,” Weiss said.
Parents, teachers express their opinions on early dismissal days
