Better D65 Calendar In Board's Hands

As promised, the D65 administration has offered a revised calendar plan for next school year.  This proposal was shared yesterday with the members of the Calendar Committee and will be presented to the School Board on Monday, March 17th for their consideration and approval.  While the plan draws on some of the creative ideas that have emerged from recent community dialogue, it fails to address widespread concern about the growing trend toward taking school time away from students to give teachers professional development training.  The latest calendar proposal includes even more early release time (19.5 hours vs. the 16.5 hours in the original calendar presented to the Board in early February) and provides for only 17 full, uninterrupted weeks of school compared to 20 in this year’s calendar.   And, it also continues the practice of mid-week early dismissals which many parents find difficult in coordinating work and child care schedules.  The fact is, we can do better.  The new calendar proposal includes several positive features - including moving and consolidating some teacher training to Friday afternoons as well as planning one of these sessions to coincide with a day when D202 will not be in session – which demonstrates that change is possible.

Parents and other concerned community members are urged to come to the School Board meeting on Monday at 7:00 p.m. to send a strong and clear message to D65 leaders that while we value professional development for teachers, this cannot come at the expense of even fewer hours of instruction for students.  And, Board members should be asked to vote no on any proposal that expands early release time beyond the administration’s original request (which already represented a nearly 25% increase over this year’s level).  By simply eliminating two of the proposed Wednesday early dismissal days, this goal could be achieved.  The result would be a calendar that: gives the teachers and administration all of the professional development time they initially asked for, spread over the school year in regular intervals; provides parents with fewer mid-week scheduling disruptions so they can better balance work and family responsibilities; and, most importantly, preserves more time in school for our children.

Anyone interested in speaking to these issues during the public comment period at the Board meeting, should call Pat Markham at 847-859-8067 no later than noon on Monday.  Additional information, including the proposed calendar, can be found in the Board packet posted on the District web site.  The community is also encouraged to communicate its views on the calendar by contacting the Board at schoolboard@district65.net and signing the online petition being organized by ParentsWork at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Evanston-school-calendar which will be presented at Monday's meeting.