D65 Dismissal Day #2

A quick glance at the D65 calendar for the month of October would leave any working parent of a school-age child out of breath.  Last Thursday was a non-attendance day (Yom Kippur), this Monday the kids were off for Columbus Day, and today is another early dismissal.  While holiday observances and professional development time for teachers are not in themselves a bad thing, the problem in my view is the cumulative effect that such an erratic schedule has on both children and their families. 

Let’s start with the students.  I admit, I am not a teacher or academic researcher but the notion that fewer instructional interruptions would lead to better educational outcomes seems just plain common sense. Also, when we have growing numbers of children being required to participate in extended-day and summer remediation programs because their reading and math skills are not up to par, wouldn't more time in school for everyone, not less, be the way to go?

As for families, some have argued that schools are not responsible for adjusting their schedules to suit the needs of parents in our community.  While I agree that the primary purpose of schools is to educate our children, there is no denying that they also play a vital role in caring for them while mom and dad work.  In fact, the American school calendar was originally designed around the needs of agrarian families whose livelihood depended on having children home over the summer to help on the farm.  Clearly, the symbiotic relationship between school schedules and family economic security has already been well established.  I might add that many districts, including D65, operate before- and after-school programs, leaving no doubt that they are already in the childcare business.

So, if a more consistent school schedule would be good for children and mean less stress for parents juggling work and family demands, the question we should all be asking is why haven’t we made this a priority?

This year will be my fourth year serving on the D65 Calendar Committee and I still haven’t heard any compelling arguments for why things have to be the way they are.  Yes, it’s true that we cannot control if major holidays fall on a weekday when school would normally be in session (although, apparently, every state doesn’t consider Columbus Day a school holiday as I learned in traveling to Wisconsin on Monday).  However, we do have the ability to ask for permission from the Illinois State Board of Education to hold school on certain “optional” ones, like Pulaski Day.  And, as I recall, over half of the districts in Illinois are doing just that.

Each school district also has the flexibility to decide how they organize professional development time for teachers.  Depending on the number of days and hours teachers are contracted to work (a point of contention in the continued stalled negotiation with the D65 teachers’ union), this could mean full-day institutes or shortened training sessions held over the summer or throughout the school year.  But, the point is that early dismissals as we have known them aren’t the only model, and if/when we have them is entirely up to us.

During our calendar deliberations last year, the parent members of the committee including myself asked that no early releases be scheduled during October given the number of other days students would have off this month. Obviously, we didn’t win on that one, but we’ll continue to push for as many full days and weeks of school as possible when we start planning next year’s calendar.

What changes would you like to see in the D65 calendar?  I'd love to hear your ideas and suggestions for how it could work better for you and your family.  Join the discussion here or e-mail me at rhonda@parentswork.org.