9/24/98 - 10/2/98
Opelika * Auburn News* THE NEWSPAPER OF EAST ALABAMA*9/24/98
Letter: Consider the community
I read Ms. Deborah Brooks' and Ms. Carolyn Pittard's Sept. 18 letters concerning alternative school calendars/Year-Round Education with considerable interest and feel that several of their statements require comment.
First, the Alexander City school system has just begun its experiment with an alternative calendar. It is far too early to make any kind of judgment on how good or bad that calendar will be for the education of their students.
Second, Alexander City does not have a large state university to consider when implementing an alternative calendar school year. If Auburn were to implement a calendar similar to that used by Alexander City, it would disenfranchise a large portion of the city's population whose vacation schedules are tied to the university calendar. The only long summer break for Auburn University staff and faculty currently occurs from mid-August to mid-September under the quarter system.
When the semester system is put into place in the year 2000, that break will occur during August. This will be the only time many faculty and staff are able to take vacations with their families. People working at businesses whose livelihood depends on the university will run into similar problems.
Thus far, there has been no indication from the Auburn City School's Committee looking into Year-Round Education that they are taking these facts into consideration. This is an important issue that the committee needs to seriously discuss and resolve. Can an alternative school year calendar be developed that will allow its long summer break and the university's long summer break to coincide?
Third, a change to a Year Round School calendar will have very major consequences. It will affect not only the education of our children, but will also have a major impact on nearly all facets of family, extended family, extracurricular, business and community life. Ms. Brooks is correct in saying that the field of education must undergo change to meet the needs of society. However, what she did not say is that those changes must be in the best interests of society and they must coincide with the interests of the community in which they will be implemented. To my knowledge, there is no clear-cut evidence that the various forms of Year Round Education accomplish this in any significant way.Fourth, a school system that is considering such a change has two major responsibilities to the community as a whole. Thus far, the Auburn City School System has failed to meet either of these criteria.
1. It must seriously involve the entire community in making the decislon.The committee looking into Year-Round Education has been doing so for over 18 months. During this period no community input has been sought for consideration by the committee. In fact, until very recently, most Auburn citizens have been unaware that Year Round Education was even being considered by our school system. Even at this late point in time, other than a single video that has been shown on Channel 5 a few times, there has been no organized effort by the Auburn City School System to educate Auburn's citizens on:
o what the various forms of Year Round Education are;o what ramifications it will have for our children's education, our families and the community;o what the pros and cons are;o what has happened in other school systems that have tried it (both successfully and unsuccessfully);o why it should be considered for Auburn City Schools.
Dr. Martin has stated that there will be town meetings held to provide the committee with community input on whether or not Auburn City Schools should implement some form of Year- Round Education. However, he has also stated that the Committee's report on their findings must be presented to him by mid-November and that he will then send his recommendation to the Auburn City School Board for their December decision on what to do about Year-Round Education. It is now September and no official forum for community input has been held. Even if town meetings on this subject are held before the November due date for the committee's report, there will not be time before that due date for the committee to:
o educate the community on the subject of Year Round Educationo digest, discuss and decide on the issues that citizens raise, or;o go back to the community to further discuss any tentative conclusions they come to as a result of citizen input.
2. Before some form of Year-Round Education is put into effect for Auburn City Schools, it must be demonstrated that there is compelling justification for making such a major change in the community's way of life. This must be justification that equates to significantly better education for our children than the current traditional calendar. Thus far, no convincing arguments for such justification have been forthcoming.
Yes, as Ms. Brooks says, w e must make sure that this decision is based on accurate information. The only way this can be accomplished is through dialogue that involves the Auburn City School System (students, staff, teachers and administration), the committee looking into this issue and the citizens of our community whose taxes pay for our school system. There is not sufficient time left before Dr. Martin's report to the city Board of Education is due to adequately accomplish this. I know that the city School Board and Dr. Martin want to do what's best for education in our community and I am in complete agreement with Ms. Pittard's statement that we "not rush to judgment." I am sure they all realize that the recent interest and concern about this issue means it is time to regroup, for the School Board to extend their deadline for Dr. Martin's report by at least six months and for Dr. Martin to institute a serious process of community involvement in decisions concerning this issue.
Stephen C. KempfAuburn
Letter: School study complete or not
Carol Pittard, president of !rr the Auburn City Schools Board of Education, rec made an impassioned plea t r the residents of Auburn to "let the process work." The L process, of course, is the study currently being con ducted by the Extended Year L Exploration Committee over the issue of year-round schooling for Auburn.
Ms. Pittard raised several questions regarding this, important issue: "Will it work? Has it been proved? Is there statistical data to support it? Is it fiscally responsible?"
According to Ms. Pittard, the answer to these questions is "We don't know because the study has not been completed." Well, if this is so, then why did we read an article several weeks ago by Erica Newland, a middle school pupil and member of the Extended Year Exploration Committee, in which she clearly stated her bias in favor of our currentcalendar, with its three-month summer vacation?
If the work of this committee has not yet been completed, then how come at least one committee member has already made up her mind? One can only wonder how many other committee members have also made up theirs.Ms. Pittard, your article was compelling, but do me a favor and please don't insult our intelligence.
Mark FischmanAuburn
Opelika * Auburn News* THE NEWSPAPER OF EAST ALABAMA*9/28/98
Letter: Some parents aren't listening
I read the articles about parents in Auburn who are upset over the "year-round" study. First of all, let's use the designation "alternative calendar" so these ill-informed parents aren't panicked any further, thinking their child will actually have to go to school more days.Second, the parents complaining of a lack of information have their heads in the sand. Auburn has discussed this in almost every school board meeting for at least eight months (all open to the public), they aired a public forum on the TV (local channel), they held workshops at the schools and have discussed the topic in classes with students. Additionally, articles and letters to the editor have appeared in the O-A News sporadically for at least six months.
The newest article in the paper concerns "parents" criticizing the school for not revealing the names of those kind, involved volunteers who are studying the topic. The criticism asserts that these "parents" simply want to be able to contact the members to pass on their views and to get further information. Passing on one's views can be accomplished by sending any views to the Board of Education, "attn: 'Year-Round committee." Getting further information from the members will have to wait until the committee has studied the topic enough to draw some firm conclusions. What these complainants really wish to accomplish is the ability to put pressure on a few isolated individuals to achieve their own self-interests, all in the name of "democracy."
As a concerned parent, I was initially opposed to the concept of an alternative calendar, for a variety of reasons. I have compiled a small Pro and Con list of the most discussed reasons for opposition to the year round calendar.
CON1. Summer vacations lost.2. Recreation programs will be lost.3. Summer day-care pro grams will be disrupted.4. Summer education options for teachers will be lost.5. Summer employment for teens and teachers will be lost.6. Sports programs will be disrupted.7. Summer school for failing students will be lost.
PRO1. Vacations distributed to different seasons, at times when fares are lower and weather is less humid and hot.2. Recreation centers adjust to fit the vacation schedules and to make money.3. Day-care centers adjust to make money.4. Universities offering summer programs adjust to make money.5. Almost all of the same jobs will still be available, scattered throughout the year, and new jobs will open up.6. Sports programs actually get more participation from students and related activities are better participated in with less disruption of classes.7. Summer school will no longer be needed because remediation of students with problems in a topic will be provided immediately after each quarter, rather than waiting until the end of the school year when the student is actually failing.
Beccie seamanAuburn Univ.
Opelika * Auburn News* THE NEWSPAPER OF EAST ALABAMA*9/29/98
Letter: Previous letter didn't answer questions
Ms. Rainer's letter, though eloquent, seems to invite more questions than "pubic input." According to the "tentative time line," the public input is limited to 1-2 PTA meetings, a "possible" town meeting and one public survey.
Will more time be allowed for community response than this? Will this provide adequate time to review the facts and sources to assure they were gathered and presented with open minds? With multiple breaks in the year will the students not require more review each return from break? If the breaks are to help with remediation, how much can be accomplished in a two-week period that can not be as easily attained in after/before school study programs? Could we not find a more practical or reasonable solution than proposing the change of an entire school year calendar?
What about when the breaks coincide with scheduled extracurricular activities like football games, band sports events? Will we be free to make family plans then? What about child care aspects? What if you work less than part-time and do not wish to use full-time day care facilities? Will a college student be available during the proposed breaks? What will the shorter summer do to the availability of summer jobs for high schoolers?
The letter offered by Ms. Rainer did little to answer my questions about the potential changes in review by the ACE Committee. I agree the public needs to "decide what is best for Auburn." The far reaching effects of this decision warrant slow, deliberate steps. I feel full disclosure of facts and sources on this issue is a must, preferably prior to October. More public discussion time should be planned before Dr. Martin makes a recommendation to the Auburn School Board.
Angela JolleyAuburn
Letter: YRE letters adds to confusion
The recent opinion articles from Carolyn Pittard and Lynda Rainer have caused my concerns regarding year-round education (YRE' to increase as they repeatedly discuss the history of this issue. My ques tions pertaining to the opinion articles (I have many other questions) are listed below.
1. Are minutes of the six Alternative Calendar Committee meetings available to share with the community?
2. What schools were contacted in the telephone survey? How are they similar to and different from Auburn City Schools? Why were their calendars changed?
3. Were any schools contacted which had changed to an extended year, then returned to a traditional system? Were any schools contacted that had researched changing but decided against the change?
4. At Wrights Mill Road Elementary School's PTA meeting Monday (9/21198), the PTA president stopped all questions regarding (YRE). If the committee's third phase is to release information and to gather input, why are my questions not allowed at PTA meetings where information should be provided to parents who may not be able to make other meetings?
5. Who is conducting the "independent" survey? What controls will be used to ensure an unbiased survey instrument and well informed respondents?
6. Will I receive information on the "plan" in time to provide an informed response?
7. Although the articles state that judgment will not be rushed, my PTA president said that a decision needs to be made in December to set the calendar for next year. With so much apparent work left, how can a decision by December not be rushed?
8. Auburn Schools do not do just a "good job." Auburn Schools continual ly rank high nationally in many surveys with varying criteria. Has a review of schools which rank higher than Auburn been done to determine if they are on YRE? Can Auburn learn from their successes and failures?
9. If this is to be an open decision with input from the community, why are most people I talk to not aware of this crucial decision in December?
If misinformation is a problem, please clear the confusion by answering some basic questions. Articles on the history, etc. only add to parents' concerns and fears. Parents want to be included in decisions affecting their children, their families, and in many cases, their jobs and careers. I believe this decision should be postponed.
Mary Ann McKenzieAuburn
Opelika * Auburn News* THE NEWSPAPER OF EAST ALABAMA*10/1/98
Letter: Open letter to Mick Martin
Dr. Mick Martin:I want to thank you for your candor at the Sept. 8 School Board meeting and your attempt at the explanation of the time line concerning Year Round Schools. At that meeting, I heard 24, 18 and 12 months of examination into the Year Round Education (YRE) issue and came away from the meeting with the feeling that this "decision" was made 24 months ago and the Alternative Calendar Committee was put together in September 1997 to gather information to justify the Administration's position.
Yours and Dr. Freeman's completely biased and erroneous "infomercial" that your office put together in March of 1997, and continue to broadcast nightly, has done nothing but increase my suspicion of the swift ness of the upcoming December 1998 deadline and decision to change to a Year Round Calendar.
To aid the Alternative Calendar Committee and perhaps sway your current Pro-YRE position, an artic]e was brought to my attention a few weeks ago that was published in April 1998 in the journal Child Development, Volume 69, pages 495-517. This paper had a section discussing the research of many other papers concerning YRE across the country. This study cites five papers, two of which were funded by the National Association of Year Round Education (NAYRE) which reports no increase in scholastic achievement after changing to a Year Round Calendar. Below I quote from pages 495-496.
"Unfortunately, the effectiveness of year-round implementation decisions has not been studied extensively. Despite the magnitude of the year-round schooling movement and the clear need for scientific research, few empirical investigations examining relations between student achievement and year-round schooling have been under taken (Harp 1993, Kneese 1996). Overall, findings from year-round schooling studies have been inconclusive; interpretation of study results has been severely limited by such methodological flaws as lack of a comparable control group, lack of pre-test scores in a longitudinal framework, and failure to account for intercession schooling influences in year-round programs (Kneese 1996, Six 1993, Winters 1994). Thus, no solid body of empirical evidence exists to support the proposition that year-round schooling improves achievement"
Dr. Martin, I ask you to go back and re-read the last sentence again.
Based on this summary of schools with year-round calendars across the country, it appears then, that the Year Round School calendar switch Auburn is considering has absolutely no promise of significant scholastic improvement for the children of Auburn. There is no other reason to even consider going to a Year Round Calendar.
Year Round School is a Fad, an administrative, educational experiment of which the jury is still out. I do not want my children's' education an experiment, of which other school systems around the country can later point to Auburn City Schools as a failure. The positive changes or increases in whatever yardstick the Alternative Calendar Committee eventually decides to put into a "short" or "long' fact sheet that is due in October 1998 do not out weigh the significant whole scale changes the community will have to undergo for many years to come.
There are few things as clear cut and wrong as Year Round School. I ask you to consider what is going to transpire in the next few months as this issue becomes debated, and reflect upon the "costs" to the community for absolutely no proven "benefit" for the education of the children in Auburn.
Dr. Scott Enebak, Ph.DAssistant Professor ofForest PathologyAuburn University
Letter: What problems will Year Round Schooling solve?
This is in response to the letter to the editor by (a writer) in the Sept. 28 issue of O-A News. In her letter, (she) lists seven problems related to Year-Round School (YRS) and then neatlv answers her own statements.
But hers is not a list of what YRS will do for Auburn City Schools. It is a list of problems that YRS won't cause. It won't hurt vacations, it won't hurt recreation programs, it won't hurt child care, it won't hurt continuing education for teachers, it won't hurt summer employment, it won't hurt sports programs and it won't hurt summer school.
Even if we agree with every one of these "won'ts" (which we don't), they are not the issue. The real question, the one which neither (she) nor anyone else has answered is this: What specific problem (or problems) does Auburn City Schools have that will be effectively solved by YRS?
Until this question is answered, how can we assess YRS?
Auburn City Schools are not perfect, problems do exist and different possible solutions are available. How should our schools allocate scarce resources --- manpower, physical plant and money (YRS will] cost extra money) --- to best solve these problems? Until we have a reason for YRS, not some vague "improve our schools," we cannot effectively judge its costs and benefits.
Right now, YRS seems to be simply the latest 30-year-old "buzz" word for K-12 education in the State of Alabama.
Steve and Frances StuckwischAuburn
Opelika * Auburn News* THE NEWSPAPER OF EAST ALABAMA*10/2/98
Article: YRS debate continues: The Alternative Year Exploration Committee meets Thursday night to discuss year-round schooling.
By Greg Markley Opelika-Auburn News
Four sample school calendars debuted at the Alternative Year Exploration Committee meeting Thursday at Auburn High School.The public was not invited to comment on the proceed ings, but a public forum has been scheduled for Oct. 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the Auburn High School auditorium.
The special committee, co chaired by Auburn Schools Superintendent Dr. Mick Martin and Auburn Assistant Superintendent Suzanne Freeman, is looking into year-round schooling and is expected to make a recommendation to the Auburn Board of Education in December.
The BOE will then take a final vote on the matter.
Auburn City Schools officials have said year-round schooling will provide students with a continuous flow of learning, keep teachers from spending several weeks reviewing what has been learned in previous terms and lead to better student attendance.
Opponents, some in a group called Save Our Summer, believe the current system is preferable. They contend year-round schooling doesn't positively affect grades and cuts into summer jobs and plans for families.
Earlier this decade, Auburn City Schools wrestled with the possibility of year-round schools but decided to stick to the regular school calendar."When all is said and done, we've all got to live in the same community," said Dr. Martin of the controversy surrounding the year round schooling issue. "I don't personalize any of it. I'm not going to get stuck on somebody as an enemy."
Dr. Cathy Long presented sample calendars. Each fit the subcommittee's criteria in that the first semesters end before the holidays, have school end by the end of May and that the calendars correspond in large measure to Auburn University's pro posed schedules.
"These calendars are simply samples, they are in no way proposed calendars," Dr. Long said. "We want to be very clear about that. We just wanted to show what it would look like with different intercessions. We felt like we were showing the book ends (the extremes)."
Some committee members said the public might be confused by the phrase "year-round schools." Troy Dobbins said the phrase may be a misnomer.
"They get seven weeks (or more) off," he said. "That's not year-round school."
Dr. Freeman said the superintendent's office has been flooded by letters and phone calls from people seeing more details about the controversial issue.
"The public is starved for information. The people need information," she said. "The perception is that we have information that we are not sending out. We are spending a lot of time in damage control" due to misinformation, Dr. Freeman said.
"As long as we hold information, people will say we have something to hide."
The public forum on Oct. 12 will be followed by meetings at each of Auburn's city schools where questions can be asked directly of committee members and school officials.
Letter: YRS will complicate lives
With regard to all the information that has been written pertaining to YRS, I believe the point is still being missed. During my research on this subject I have discovered a relatively common trend with schools that have changed to the YRS concept. A predominately large number of school systems started out with the "single-track" concept stating that this would not change to the "multi track" concept. However, this became common in many of these schools. After all, it makes very good "business sense" to make this move.
Let me explain. If a school district has a school that has the capacity to educate 800 children and over the next several years 1,000 children are in that same district, a decision has to made on how to educate everyone.
As we all know, Auburn just built two new schools. Therefore, where do you think we are headed? Not to hard to figure out is it? The "multi-track" method of schooling will almost certainly be put into place.
If anyone has listened to the program that has been aired on PBS, Dr. Martin makes the statement that "only the single-track concept is being considered." To the people of Auburn, I say there is no way this can be guaranteed. I believe this will be the beginning of a very complicated family lifestyle for many of us who have children of different ages.
In closing, of the data that I have personally reviewed, I have yet to come across any related scientific data stating this change will enhance our children's educational experiences. Merely polling parents subjectively as to their likes or dislikes of the concept does not allow one to make anything other than a guess as to whether this will work or not.
Personally, I don't think we should be guessing with our children's education.
Craig PriceAuburn
Letter: YRS has no academic benefit
I am responding to (a recent) letter published Sept. 28 in the O-A News concerning the potential change to Year Round Schools (YRS). With regard to terminology, even Dr. Suzanne Freeman has stated that YRS is used inter changeably with alternate calendar. I know that my children will not be attending school more days during the year. Those of us concerned about this issue are seeking information to better educate ourselves on the pros and cons of YRS.
Interestingly, the "cons" in (the) letter are not my reason for opposing this change. I oppose the change because research has shown me that no academic benefits will be gained by changing the school calendar. Therefore, WHY WOULD THIS BE A GOOD CHANGE FOR OUR CHILDREN?
Potential air fare discounts, adjusting day-care center, recreation center and university schedules and teacher/student off school employment have no effect on the quality of education. However, these are not my concern. I want to know how the change in the school calendar will improve the quality of education my children receive.
Auburn schools rank with in the top 100 to 200 schools nationally. This is impressive since there are approximately 100,000 schools in the country. My readings indicate that achievement scores do not increase significant]y with a calendar change. Should we risk losing national recognition and the knowledge that our children receive a top-rated education to enable some people to take vacations in off-seasons?
Incidentally, since a calendar change does not improve the quality of education, I see no reason to force our community to deal with problems which may be created by the change. Some problems indicated in my readings include increased costs, increased absenteeism (student and teacher), forcing local businesses and organizations to adjust and most importantly, diminished self esteem and self-confidence of children who no longer have time to unwind and explore non-school related activities over a longer summer break.
Initially, I was noncommittal on this issue. I fear that I have been too complacent. I encourage all parents and concerned citizens to seek further information, both pros and cons, to this issue. Having done this for myself, I now ask the school board for a resounding NO to Year Round School in Auburn.
Mary Ann MacKenzieAuburn