10/4/98 - 10/8/98
Opelika * Auburn News* THE NEWSPAPER OF EAST ALABAMA*10/4/98
Letter: Public wants facts on YRS
On this issue of extended year/year-round school/alternative calendar being explored by Auburn City Schools, what the whole community needs to do, and is trying to do, is to get the facts and to get involved so that each of us can make an informed opinion on the subject. One thing that all of us can agree on is that what we all want is what's best for the education of our children. Obviously, there will be differences of opinion on how to accomplish that.
During this process, getting facts out to the public and to parents, teachers and students should be the primary goal of Auburn City Schools. Yet the information-starved public waits anxiously for the School Administration to give them something to review. They want to know what the problems are in our schools that these proposed calendar changes will solve. They want facts and figures, academic justifications, sample calendars, research material Ûanything that they can sink their teeth into. But it appears to some that the Administration is trying to keep the public in the dark until it is too late to allow proper time for public input and debate.
Instead of helping to clarify the issues, it often appears that the Auburn City Schools is actually contributing to the confusion For example, even the name of the Committee has changed so many times that it would be next to impossible for anyone to keep up:
1. On Nov. 18, 1997, the Committee had an organizational meeting and called itself, "Extended Year Exploration Committee."2. On Dec. 12, 1997, the Committee reviewed a memo titled, "Comments From Other Systems Considering 'Year Round Calendars."'3. On Aug. 25, 1998, Suzanne Freeman issued a Memorandum to the Committee entitled, "Alternative Calendar Exploration Committee Members," with a draft fact sheet that repeatedly discussed "Year-Round Education."4. On Sept. 8, 1998, the Auburn City Schools put out a draft memo entitled, "History of Alternative Calendar/ Extended Year Exploration Committee."
Just what is the Committee supposed to be exploring: Extended Year? Year-Round School? Alternative Calendar? Or some other experimental hybrid? These are all quite different school system concepts and are implemented to solve quite different problems.
More importantly, exactly what problems have been identified by Auburn Schools that they hope to solve? Without information and answers to these concerns, the public naturally responds with doubts, misgivings, and even paranoia. The void (the lack of information from Auburn City Schools) has been filled randomly by rumors and by legitimate con cerns of parents and of the community. There just isn't time from now until November to fi]l that void with all the facts and to have time for honest public review, debate and feedback.
When it is all said and done, the public will only need to look to Carolyn Pittard's (President of Auburn Board of Education) opinion letter in the O-A News on Sept. 18, 1998, to judge this process and the outcome. In her letter, Mrs. Pittard posed some very simple questions about this issue, namely
"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 premise is more continuity of learning. "Will it work?" "Has it been proved?" "Is there substantial data to support it?" "Is it fiscally responsible?"
What the public will be looking for in the Committee's report to Dr. Martin; in Dr. Martin's recommendation to the Board; in the Board's review, analysis and vote (if they take a vote) in December; and, ultimately, what the public will be holding the City Council members responsible for are the factual and satisfactory answers to Mrs. Pittard's questions.
If these reports and recommendations do not answer these seven questions with "clear and overwhelming evidence" for the affirmative, then Dr. Martin should not recommend a calendar change and the Board of Education should vote not to implement any such proposed change.
Davld StrobelAuburn
Opelika * Auburn News* THE NEWSPAPER OF EAST ALABAMA*10/5/98
Letter: Reasons for YRS not clear
I am writing in response to (a recent) letter sup porting an alternative calendar (Sept. 28). In her letter, she suggests that parents upset over the prospect of an alternative calendar are "ill-informed." She goes on to mention several venues where the alternative calendar has been mentioned.
However, mentioning the alternative calendar and informing the public are not the same. The public is, indeed, ill-informed. No compelling reason has been provided to the public explaining why Auburn City Schools (ACS) should adopt an alternative calendar. Although ACS has provided the community with a video tape of the "pros and cons" of an alternative calendar, no factual evidence has been provided to support an alternative calendar.
Ms. Seaman goes on to provide several suppositions supporting an alter native calendar. Yet none of the reasons given are supported by facts. The only fact that we have is that ACS is investigating an alternative calendar. We need to know why an alternative calendar is needed in Auburn. We need to know precisely how an alternative calendar will improve our children's education. We need to have compelling evidence that an alternative calendar will provide substantive improvements in the service of ACS.
Without facts, without compelling evidence, Auburn should continue providing quality education for our children using a calendar that begins school at the end of August and ends school by the end of May.
Steven SilvernAuburn
Opelika * Auburn News* THE NEWSPAPER OF EAST ALABAMA*10/7/98
Letter: AU, ACS calendars should be compatible
Let us bring cool simplicity back into the overheated Alternate Calendar debate of the Auburn City Schools (ACS). In any college calendar, a quarter or a semester ends with final exams and a recess. However, in the ACS calendar, each of the first three of the four nine week quarters does end with final exams but no recess following.
Further, the Christmas vacation with the second quarter's final exams in January to prepare for and lot of home work is not a good one for any kid or parent. These are the main problems with the current ACS calendar.
Since Auburn University (AU) is going back to the semester system, it is wise for AU and ACS to work together in designing calendars with common elements. Here is a simple solution. Let the AU mid-fall break and the ACS recess at the end of the first quarter be common for a week. Let the second quarter of ACS end before the Christmas break with a recess of three weeks. Let the AU mid-spring break and the ACS recess at the end of the third quarter be also common for a week.
N.S. Malladi, Ph.D.Auburn
Article: YRS opponents meet with City Council
Greg Markley Opelika-Auburn News
Three dozen opponents of year-round schooling in Auburn made their presence felt at Tuesday's city council meeting.
Several speakers said the process has been going too fast, that information on an upcoming public hearing was not widely disseminated and that year-round school has negligible academic benefits.
Mayor Bill Ham Jr. said the crowd of YRS opponents showed "This is not only an emotional issue, it's an extremely important one for the whole community." He said city officials have a high regard for board of education members and that they would monitor the process.
In other action, the council:
ß Approved of purchase of a replacement boiler system for Boykin Community Center.ß Donated two vehicles to the Beauregard Volunteer Fire Department.ß Expressed city council support for Auburn University's aviation management program, which has been targeted for elimination.ß Rescheduled the Oct. 20 regular meeting to Oct. 27 because several council mem bers would not be able to make the Oct. 20 meeting.ß Authorized a referendum on Sunday liquor sales to coincide with the general
Opelika * Auburn News* THE NEWSPAPER OF EAST ALABAMA*10/8/98
Letter: Residents should have input at town meeting
Open letter to Dr. Martin:
Auburn City Schools' proposed format for the upcoming Oct. 12 Town Meeting/Public Forum as presented at the Committee meeting (recently) leaves several concerns for the public.
It's not an "open" meeting if the public can't stand up, ask a question and be allowed a follow-up question when the answer is vague. Writing down questions is not an acceptable format for an open town meeting. I thought the Committee and ACS was seeking "input" from the community?
If the on-stage panel is going to be made up of six or eight ACS Committee members, then those opposed to Year Round School should also be allowed to have six or eight people on the panel. As each question is asked, one member from each side, pro and con, would respond.
Lynda Rainer stated that the moderator would give a power point presentation at the beginning. If he is acting as the ACS spokesperson, he can't also be the neutral moderator. If ACS gives a presentation, then those opposed should also be given time for a presentation.
Please consider adjusting your meeting format to allow the public to speak, to solicit honest input from the community and to present a balance panel of both pro and con supporters not associated with Auburn City Schools.
David StrobelAuburn
Letter: Logic no good in YRS debate
Observation of the Public Information Sub committee Report:
I attended the Full Committee of the Alternative Calendar Committee (I think that is what the ACS administration is calling it now Û see letter Opelika-Auburn News dated Oct. 4, page A4).
At that meeting, there was discussion concerning how ACS would inform the community about YRE through the local PTAs. This is how it will occur: The ACS will supply a spokesperson to come and speak to the parents about YRE. The PTA presidents have already agreed, if, and only if, there is an opportunity to have some one not from ACS discuss the "negative" aspect of YRE. This decision by ACS to go to the PTAs implies the ACS' position is to support the move to YRE in Auburn.
The ACS has now made their move and is about to unleash their propaganda machine on the citizens of Auburn in support of YRE. For a few weeks I felt that we, as concerned, enlightened parents, could make an impact on the committee, its report to the co-chairs and eventually the School Board. After what I observed in the meeting on Thursday afternoon, logic, based on an over whelming amount of facts and figures against YRE, is no longer going to work. Unless we act now, we are all going to be part of the biggest railroading job since the US transcontinental railroad was built in 1869. If you want YRE in Auburn, do nothing Û it is coming. Block scheduling for the ENTIRE Auburn community is just around the corner. If you do not want YRE in Auburn, I urge you to write, call, fax, e-mail and phone the ACS, your council representative, your mayor, your principal, your friends and tell them your feelings If you have not made up your mind, check out the following website and decide for yourself: http://www.auburn.edu/~enebasa.
Oh, by the way, the regularly scheduled School Board meeting that was to be held on Dec. 8, at which the School Board was to accept or reject YRE, was canceled. No other date was given. Do you hear a train?
Dr. Scott Enebak, PhDAssistant Professor ofForestryAuburn University
Letter: Railroading of YRS in Auburn apparent
On Sept. 9 we witnessed a hard-working subcommittee gathering facts about year-round school. All members unanimously agreed on a balanced fact sheet for public information, describing possible pros and cons of YRS.
On Oct. 1 the full Alternative Year Exploration Committee met. The two subcommittee co-chairs had only incompletely drafted the agreed-upon fact sheet. To everybody's surprise, they introduced a second, strongly pro-YRS biased fact sheet unknown to the rest of the subcommittee. In complete disregard and despite objections of a majority of the subcommittee, both conflicting fact sheets were accepted in , in a vote initiated by Dr. Martin, the ACS superintendent.
It is now in Dr. Martin's hands to reconcile these subcommittee "documents" to a single fact sheet for the only scheduled public forum on YRS on Oct. 12. We suspect that the final fact sheet will strongly advocate YRS for Auburn.
The brazen corruption of the committee's work makes it clear that introduction of YRS in Auburn is indeed, a foregone conclusion, as suspected by many.
Auburn parents protest this heavy-handed approach!
Bernhard and Milla KaltenboeckAuburn
Letter: Richardson's statement says it
Regarding YRS and (a letter to the editor) in Sunday 's Opelika-Auburn News:
Just what is the committee supposed to be exploring: Extended Year? Year-Round School? Alternative Calendar? Or some experimental hybrid?
The answer to the above questions, I believe, is yes to all of the above. Just read published article (from the Associated Press) below stating what Dr. Richardson proposes.
"A proposal to eliminate the 11 th and 12th grades in favor of classes for 3 and 4-year-olds may conjure up images of jabbering tots running around elementary schools in Barney T-shirts for some.
"But education experts said Monday that the concept laid out by state School Superintendent Ed Richardson may be an idea whose time has come in Alabama Û pro vided it's done the right way.
'"Studies have shown if you have 3- and 4-year olds in quality programs you will have less remediation, less juvenile delinquency, less on welfare and more going to college,"' said Tommie Hammer, a retired University of Alabama professor specializing in children's issues.
"Steve Silvern, who teaches early childhood education at Auburn University, said putting children as young as 3 in public schools sounds like a good idea.
'"But it's got a whole lot of ramifications,"' he said. Those include proper teacher training and deciding how to fit preschoolers into the structure of a public school.
"Richardson, in a Saturday address to the Alabama Parent Teacher Association, said he would like to eliminate the 11th and 12th grades and replace them with classes for 3- and 4-year-olds.
"Early intervention is needed for many children, whose academic futures often are determined in the formative years before they enter school, he said.
"Mrs. Hamner said Richardson's comments reflect a new trend in education. "'There is a move across the country to put 4-year-old programs in schools, and some are even moving down to 3."' she said.
"But, Mrs. Hamner said, Alabama's teacher training programs would have to be revamped because most early childhood teachers are trained to work with children as young as kindergarten level, and teaching even younger children requires different skills.
"Silvern said he wonders what would happen to students as young as 15 who would be displaced by eliminating the 11th and 12th grades.
"Do you send them to college? I don't think we've got enough jobs in the state to say to all the 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds, 'Go find a job,"'Silvern said. Transitional programs to bridge the gap between high school and college are a possibility,he said.
But such concerns may be offset by the benefits young children, particularly those in the lower socioeconomic classes, would receive from a pro gram tailor-made for their needs.
"'I don't think every 3 year-old needs to go to school. But a lot of them could certainly use some extra attention,"' Silvern said."
Next your children will soon be wanted straight from the womb!
Liz and George D'AndreaAuburn