9/12/98 - 9/23/98
The Auburn Bulletin9/12/98
Article: Parents speak out on ACS proposal
By WILLIAM WHITEAuburn Bulletin
Concerned parents sharing their feelings on year-round schools, a report on block scheduling at Auburn _High and the approval of more than 550 new computers highlighted the Auburn City Board of Education regular meeting in the multi-media auditorium Tuesday night.
Before parents presented their views, the Board adjusted the night's agenda to allow Superintendent Mick Martin to acknowledge letters and present his report on Alternative Calendar/Extended Year Exploration Committee, which he co-chairs with Assistant Superintendent Suzanne Freeman.
But before they could begin, Board President Carol Pittard spoke to the standing-room only crowd about various committees' work on an extended year calendar since 1992, and referenced three different parts of "Auburn 2020" which was adopted and approved by the Auburn City Council this summer.
There are no additional student days being considered. There will still only be 176 student days on a single track calendar, which has all teachers and students on the same academic and vacation schedule.
A year-round school calendar could be compared to a university's quarter system which takes breaks of several weeks between the school's terms throughout the year. The term "multiple-vacation calendar" is used by some school systems to describe their year. After exploring the extended year calendar, both the 1992 and the 1997 committees kept the traditional calendar.
The board president said the committee's purpose is to serve in an advisory capacity. "No decision has been made," Pittard said. "We don't know enough about it to make a decision. The board will make a decision on the superintendent's recommendation." Pittard said the board would make its decision in December, and said all documentation will be available to the public at the Auburn University Library, the Aubum City Library and the Central Office.
In his report, the superintendent explained the four phases the work of the extended-year committee will follow:
ß Phase I - Gather information. ß Phase II - Share information. ß Phase III - Secure input from faculty, parents, students and community. ß Phase IV- Make recommendation.
Martin said some of the vehicles for securing input included: scientific polling, surveying, town meetings and the collection of written input.
One of the 10 people who spoke to the board about the year-round school was a student who expressed the concerns of her fellow students who haven't heard what is going on. "Tell the students about what is happening," 10th grader Rachel Bailey asked of the board. "We need to know about it."
Several of the parents asked the board if it was necessary to make a recommendation in December. They felt the time frame was being rushed. Others were seeking an answer to what problems in the school system prompted action by a committee.
This looks like a solution looking for a problem," said Chris Newland.
Michelle Ramsey presented the board with a list of questions she would like answeredrelating to things the year round school would impact. "We need a little more time," she said. "December doesn't allow enough time."
She requested and was denied a list of the names of committee members.
The committee increased its numbers by about a third up to 50 members at the Sept. 1 meeting. A breakdown of the members is- 10 PTA representatives, 17 Auburn City School employees, a board member, six community representatives and 16 parents. The committee meets on Oct. 1 at 3:30 p.m.
In his report on Block Scheduling to the Board, Auburn High School Principal Mike Self presented an overview of survey results, ACT scores, SAT scores and areas of concerns.
The report by Self and Cathy Long showed survey results from faculty, parents and students as being positive about the new schedule.
Some of the comments from students and parents included:
ß Liked taking fewer classes at a time. ß Liked the opportunity to schedule more classes. ß Concerned about the pace of instruction as being too fast. ß Need for more instructional variety - less lecture.
Self showed the ACT Scores in English, math and science as being above both the state and national averages. The ACT composite scores for 1997-98 locally were 24.5, at the state level 21.4 and nationally 22.1. He showed that a similar difference has been seen in scores since the 1993-94 school year.
He showed the Board a downward trend in reading comprehension for both the current junior and senior classes revealed by the SAT Comparison Scores.
The current junior class scored 72 in the eighth grade, 65 in the ninth and 55 when tested in the 10 th grade.
The current senior class scored 65 in the ninth grade, 61 in the 10th and 62 when tested in the 11th grade.
Self listed some other concerns with block scheduling:
ß Need for more classes. ß Need to reduce class size. ß Need for more teachers. ß Need for a master schedule. ß Eliminate quarter classes ß Re-organize speech/ ninth grade English. ß Equivalent money spent or career/technical as part of dual enrollment.
During the unfinished business portion, the Board approved the purchase of more than 550 computers and printers which are expected to be in the schools, set up and ready to use by Sept. 30.
They also approved the purchase of technology equipment for the middle school
During the new business, the Board approved the superintendent request to declare two of the 13 portable class rooms as surplus so they can be sold. He said the system needed to continue to maintain 11 portables.
The superintendent notified the Board about the necessity to classify a number of classrooms as substandard to the state.
Auburn City School Board President Carol Pittard referenced three different parts of "Auburn 2020" which was adopted and approved by the Auburn City Council on May 5.
o On page 22 of "Auburn 2020," the Board is "... encouraged to evaluate options and financial implications for revising and extending the school calendar ò" as one of the four financing recommendations of the education committee.
o On page 26 of "Auburn 2020," the Board is "... to evaluate options for, and benefits of, revising and extending the school calendar as a means of supporting the needs of at risk children," as one of the five at-risk children recommendations of the education committee. o On page 111 of "Auburn 2020," one of the six recommendations made as services for teenagers from the family and community committee: "Extend the school year and extend the use of our school buildings past the traditional school day."
The Auburn Bulletin9/19/98
Letter: School issue demands cautious, factual approach
Auburn school system is considering changing from a traditional school calendar to an alternative school calendar, often referred to as year-round school. Although a calendar has not been made public at this time, school would begin in July. Students would go for nine weeks, have three weeks off (intercessions), etc., and have a six-week summer break. The following are a few questions and concerns I have regarding this change, and as a result, a major change in lifestyle.
Intercession breaks: Intercession breaks are targeted to provide remediation or enrichment. Students who need this extra help or who attend for enrichment will be in school for two of the three weeks break. Where is their break? Will these intercessions be half-day pro grams or full day? Who will keep the children of working parents if it is half-day? If intercessions are option al, will there be a cost to parents? Will they be held at each neighborhood school? Will the buses run regular routes?
Daycare: In an area the size of Lee County, children from each school system-public and private -attend daycare. If Auburn is the only system to change to year-round school, how will daycares handle breaks? ~1ll they have to hire extra people during the intercessions? If so, who will they hire? College students will be in classes.
Jobs for teens: Extracurricular activities and homework during the school session make it hard for many students to hold a job. This leaves the extended summer break for them to earn their spending money. If Auburn converts to the extended school year, these students will have to find someone who will hire them for six weeks or less during the sum mer. (Less because most will want to take a family vacation).
Teacher training/Professional development: Most teachers work toward improving their professional status by attending workshops and seminars during the summer months. Will these be offered only during the six weeks teachers are on break? Will teacher bumout increase?
Many teachers also work on their masters or doctorates by attending night courses and courses during the summer months. How much longer will it take them to get their advanced degree?
Financial costs and school upkeep: With the additional use of the schools in the summer and during intercessions what costs will increase and by how much? How will the costs be covered?
Will maintenance people have time during a three-week or a six week break to make repairs and complete maintenance projects? Or, will schools have to hire more people to get the job completed on time? Will the schools have to pay overtime? How will this expense be covered?
Vacations: An extended summer provides opportunities for families to take a vacation when it is convenient for them to get off work. Summer months are slower in Auburn because fewer students are in town.
High school athletics/Band: How will attendance during the intercession affect football games? The people who have someone involved will not be able to take a break or vacation.
Other schools and systems: If only 3 percent of the nations schools have changed their school calendar, why is Auburn in such a hurry? Why have systems tried year-round school and returned to traditional? What worked and did not work, and why?
Test scores: Has year-round school improved test scores? Is there documentation to support improved test scores?
Why the rush?: This year Auburn opened two elementary schools and has included fifth grade as an elementary concept. Will there be accurate data to determine whether this is working after only one year? Block scheduling has recently been implemented. Have we had time to measure its effects before adding a variable?
AEA and NEA: How do these educational organizations stand on the issue? Do they have research to support this change?
As a parent and community member, I have many questions and concerns. I would like for the Alternative Year Exploration Committee to address each of these with accurate data, not just speculation and assumptions. Then, after the public has had the opportunity to express their concerns, the citizens of Auburn need to vote. Since the five board members are appointed and the committee members were selected by Dr. Martin and Dr. Freeman, I believe a public vote is the only fair way to make a decision of this magnitude.
The public has to be involved, and this has to be a priority since Dr. Martin and Dr. Freeman want to make a recommendation to the board by December. They do not want to present any finding until sometime after Oct. 1, which does not allow much time for our questions and concerns to be addressed.
Auburn has an excellent school system. Why change it without sufficient documentation that will guarantee positive results? The main question is: What is the school system hoping to accomplish with this change?
Michelle K RamseyAuburn
Letter: Public input most important step in year-round issue
Recently, the Auburn City Schools Extended Year Exploration Committee held a scheduled meeting at Auburn High School. Apparently, a week before the meeting, rumors began to circulate indicating that decisions would be made at the meeting that would exclude community input. Someone, outside the committee, even sent a notice to the paper stating that the public was invited to attend. As a result, many responsible citizens, thinking this was the only way their voice would be heard, gave up their evening and time away from their families to attend the committee meeting.
To prevent the spread of more rumors, and as a committee member, I would like to provide some history about the committee and its purpose. In 1996-97, approximately 200 citizen volunteers, elected officials and city staff worked on a comprehensive report called Auburn 2020, the city's long range plan. Three of the committees, the Education Financing Sub-Committee, the Education At-Risk Sub Committee and the Family and Community Committee under "Service for Teen-agers" recommended that the Auburn City Board of Education evaluate the options of extending the school calendar. In response to the work being done on Auburn 2020 (later adopted by the Auburn City Council in May 1998), the Board of Education on March 11, 1997, charged the administration to set up a committee to study the ramifications of an alternate/extended calendar.
In the fall of 1997 the Extended Year Exploration Committee held its first meeting with Dr. Mick Martin and Dr. Suzanne Freeman serving as co-chairpersons. The rest of the committee consisted of teachers from each school, staff members, an administrator, a board member, parents and community representatives.
Some members were asked to be on the committee and others requested to be added. Members were not asked where they stood on this issue before they were added to the committee, just that they be fair and open-minded to the information gathered.
The work was to be divided into the following four phases: Phase I - gather facts, Phase II - share information/facts, Phase III - gather input from parents, teachers, students and community, and Phase 4 - make recommendation.
The rest of the 1997-98 school year was spent in Phase I. The committee became familiar with the terminology, found and read articles, determined the pros and cons (which can be tricky because one person's con is another one's pro), and contacted school systems (that on paper look similar to Auburn's) who were currently engaged in a year round school calendar. One of the first things the committee members learned was that in the literature, the terms Alternative Calendar, Extended Year, and Year-Round School were used interchangeably.
In the spring of 1998, a video was made featuring several members of the committee discussing some of their findings. Flyers were sent home from all of the schools letting parents know the dates and times the videos would be shown on Channel 5. At the final meeting before school was out, a time line was discussed for presenting information to the community.
The tentative time line is as follows:
September-Present information/receive input at faculty meeting at each school. (This has been changed to October.)
October-November - Present information/receive input at PTA meet ings at each school/possible town meeting.
November - Have an independent survey done of parents and teachers.
Late November/early December - Extended Year Exploration Committee meeting; review surveys; make recommendation to Dr. Martin.
December 1998 - Dr. Martin makes his recommendation to the School Board.
The committee agreed that it would only consider a one-track option with students attending the same number of school days (175) that is presently in place. Breaks would just be spread throughout the year differently. As a" possible example, instead of the 12-week summer we have this year, have a nine-week summer with a two-week break in October and March. Families would conceivably have more travel options and children who needed remediation would have the opportunity in October and/or March during one of the two-week breaks to obtain the help they need.
One thing that needs to be addressed is why our school system should look into the Year-Round School issue at all even without the Auburn 2020 directive. We have a good school system. As the saying goes, "If it is not broken, why fix it?" Certainly it is a reasonable question. As caretakers of the school system, however, we can't afford to wait until it breaks. Just as with anything of value, you don't let it break. You maintain it, check on it fine tune it and do everything you can to improve on it.
Education is not stagnant and it is crucial to stay current - that means knowing the research, knowing what has been successful in other systems, etc. To be the best, our school system has to investigate different programs. There is so much research right now about how children learn and the different ways they learn. Few of us would consider going to a doctor or dentist that had not modernized or improved anything since the 1950s. We should view education in the same way.
New is not always better, but as educators, we need to study the research. If Auburn City Schools were remiss in exploring better ways in which to serve children, it would be letting the community down. To investigate a program, however, does not mean that it will be implemented. On the other hand it would be ridiculous to ask the 29-committee members from last year and now 50 committee members total to waste their time in long meetings if the board did not see some merit in the Year-Round School proposal.
The Extended Year Exploration Committee is in the process of organizing the information for the public and deciding when the public meetings will be held. This is Phase II. There will be fact sheets and examples of possible calendars to help in the informational process. These meetings will be publicized i the newspapers, on radio and on cable Channel 5. The Year-Round School video is being shown on Channel 5 each night at 8 p.m. Before making up your mind, read the information and come to the public forums at the schools. The most important step in this process is public input. The school system needs to know your ideas and concerns.
As always, there will be a wide variety of opinions as we proceed, but hearing the community views b what keeps our school system strong. Working together as a community, we can decide what is best for Auburn. The time for real concern would be the day our school system concluded that it no longer needed to examine itself because "I was as good as it could possibly be.
Lynda RainerACS Public Relations Director
The Auburn Bulletin9/?/98
Article: Committee looks at single track, reordering of 175 student days
By WILLIAM WHITE Auburn Bulletin
Opelika is not considering year round school at this time, but a committee of 50 is looking at changing future Aubum City Schools' calendars
"Year-round school is an issue in our five-year plan to study, review and consider," said Opelika School Superintendent Phil Raley. There are no plans for next year."
On March 11, 1997, the Auburn Board of Education charged the administration to set up a committee to study the ramifications of an alternative/extended calendar.
From that time, the Alternative Calendar/Extended Year Exploration Committee has grown in size to its present 50 members which consists of one board member, six community representatives, 10 PIA representatives, 16 parents and 17 Auburn City Schools employees. The board has said it will not release the names of committee members to the public.
Suzanne Freeman, assistant superintendent of Auburn City Schools, said she felt like there are misconceptions and misunderstandings about the committee.
I think a big misconception is probably the role of the committee, in that people think our committee members are the true decision makers in this, and they are not," said Freeman, who serves as co-chairman of the committee with Superintendent Mick Martin.
She said the committee's goal, as charged by the board, is to provide information. It would be unfair to give the board all the research to do. That is the job of the committee.
We want the board to have good information so they can make a well informed decision. That's our charge," she said.
"Our committee is doing a wonderful job in this, and they are trying to be balanced, open-minded and gather all the information," she said. "We've learned a lot."
Freeman said the committee decided not to consider two things: neither a multi-track calendar, nor extending the number of student days past 175.
"We disregarded multi-track. It is pretty negative in terms of the chaos it causes the family and the teachers." she said.
She said a lot of schools have gone to a multi-track calendar where 75 percent of their kids are in school and 25 per cent are out of school. So you always have one group on vacation rotating in and out. Most schools have done this because of overcrowding when they don't have enough facilities or classrooms.
She said there are a lot of problems because you have families on different schedules because the different schools are on different schedules.
Freeman said the other aspect the committee is not considering is extending the calendar by actually adding days.
"Most states go 180 days to school. Alabama goes 175," she said.
She said research shows they extend the year from 180 to 200 to 220, but 220 days is about the most they found.
"We are not adding days," the assistant superintendent said. "To add a day for us would cost about $80,000 a day because a lot of our budget is tied up in personnel. We are not doing that."
"What we are talking about is taking the 175 student days and reallocating those," Freeman said. "We would only consider a single track, and it would be all or none. We are not going to say elementary schools will, and the high school won't.
"Everybody does it, or nobody does it, because we are a small community, we value family, and we know that would be difficult for our parents." She said committee members are collecting calendars from other systems so they can start being more specific because they think there is a lot of misinformation about how extreme a change would be.
"I think there is a perception that we won't have a sum mer break," she said.
"I don't want to speak for our committee, I'm just one of 50. But, the change could be minimal by just taking three weeks from the summer and putting those weeks at other points in the year."
The committee's next meeting is Oct. 1 at 3:30 p.m. in the Auburn High School cafeteria.
The Auburn Bulletin9/23/98
Letter: Why rush to year-round school in Auburn?
Auburn City Schools administration is in a terrible rush to decide on changing the entire Auburn City School system to year-round school, where there could be no summer vacation as we know it. Instead, there could be nine weeks of school in the middle of summer. But that aside, consider the timetable.
Dr. Martin charged ACS year round school committee with producing their final report by "early November" (Sept. 1 year round school committee meeting),
Here are just some of the tasks the committee has to complete in the next 60 days:
ß redo Phase 1, fact finding mode, (the original facts reports were rejected Sept 1)ß suggest a tentative YRS calendar (the committee has none so far), so it can ...ß perform an economic evaluationß visit and investigate some of the hundreds of schools that went back to (a traditional) calendar after trying year round school (none have been contacted so far)ß perform a manpower requirements evaluation,ß set, publicize and hold public meetings,ß consider input from public meetings (plural),ß conduct a survey of the business community,ß conduct the promised ACS faculty meetings,ß write and conduct the promised anonymous faculty, student survey and parent surveys, and ...
Then digest the results from all of this? When they're still just gathering data now? And all the above in only 60 days with a committee of 50. Do you think that's enough time for meaningfull community input? I don't. Why the rush?
Some of the committee's literature has just become available to the public (Sept. 14) in the library. I hope we are given enough time to read the literature and consider it before Dr. Martin publicizes and holds the promised "... large amount of surveys with students, parents, faculty and the community as well as conducting town meetings (plural)" (O-A News, Sept. 2, A-2; year round school committee meeting, Sept. 1). Dr. Martin has charged the committee with producing their final report by "early November."
What's the rush?
Why is this being forced through in such a hurry?
David J. EltonAuburn
Letter: Don't rush to judgement, wait for data
I am concerned that there seems to be a certain amount of misconception or miscommunication regarding the issue of an alternative calendar for Auburn City Schools. I would like to clear up any confusion or ambiguity on the history, chronology and the process itself.
The initiative to investigate an alternative calendar was originally brought for ward in the strategic plan developed in 1992 by community members and school representatives. As part of Auburn 2020, committees representing education, finance, education at risk and family and community recommended exploration of alternative school calendars. Since there was an interest from various sources including the Board itself, we requested the issue be studied.
So in March of 1997 the Board of Education charged the administration with establishing a committee to explore the ramifications of a change in the school calendar. Is it sound educationally? Would it meet the needs of our community? But most importantly, would it be in the best interests of our children?
The committee, established in August 1997, includes teachers from each school, parents, administrators, a minister, a board member, a representative from parks and recreation and a child care provider among others. Additional members were added who either expressed an interest or were able to provide additional information.
The committee has been meeting since October 1997 and has had six meetings to gather and disseminate information. During this process, there have been articles in the newspaper, flyers distributed in the schools K-12 and a panel discussion on channel 5 (which is currently being shown every night at 8 p.m.). In addition, a telephone survey was conducted to talk to other school systems who have implemented an alternative calendar.
The committee is currently in the third phase of a four step plan. They will now be sharing information and gathering input from teachers, parents, students and the community. This will be done through public forums, presentations to PTA's and faculties as well as an independent survey.
This committee has spent countless volunteer hours researching a concept and is trying objectively to evaluate information. The only plan they are considering is single track, which means all children and all teachers will be on the same schedule attending school the same number of days they are now. The only difference is longer breaks throughout the year and a shorter break in the sum mer. The premise is more continuity of learning.
Will it work? Has it been proved? Is there statistical data to support it? Is it fiscally responsible? We don't know because the study has not been completed. The Board of Education has made no decision because we have no data upon which to decide. We appreciate any input on the specific plan being discussed. A compilation of the data studied by the committee thus far is available in three locations for anyone interested in reviewing it: Central Office, Auburn University Library and the Auburn Public Library.
It is a tribute to the citizens of Auburn that you are so interested in education and you want your voices to be heard. We commend those of you who are willing to commit time and energy to service in and for our schools. You are an integral part of the success of our system.
And that is what this committee is doing - offering a public service to our school system. Let them complete their task so we can have data upon which to form an opinion. On this issue, like any controversial subject, there will be differing opinions. But it is through honest, respectful dialogue that we all learn. Let the process work.
Auburn City Schools is doing a good job. But we're always striving to do better. It is our responsibility as a Board to evaluate and consider changes which could enhance educational development. It is also our job to reject changes which would not contribute to that development.
The Board will carefully review the committee's report, input from parents, faculty, students and the community as well as the superintendent's recommendation. Then, and only then, can we come to an informed decision. We will not rush to judgment and we hope no one else will either.
Carolyn PittardPresidentAuburn City Schools Board of Education