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The idea that adding days to the end of the school year will keep GCS in compliance with offering 180 days of instruction is a farce. Unless we find a way to move EOCs, EOGs, AP/IB exams, Graduation, and final exams, we aren’t going to get any instruction on those days. As it stands we don’t provide instruction after EOGs/EOCs anyway. Why should we? As long as the “success” of teachers and students is measured by those means, what happens afterwards is of no relevance to the former or the latter. It’s the equivalent of going into overtime in sports when the game isn’t tied. We already know the winners and losers so we’re just going to play overtime for fun or what?

If the goal is to provide meaningful and timely instruction, we need to consider a few Saturdays or take a few days from spring break. Good luck getting either of those by parents and we all know parents run things in this county anyway. My suggestion is to develop the calendar with 185 school days already scheduled, not as teacher workdays that can be taken away. If we have a year with great weather, so be it; kids get an extra 5 days of instruction. If we miss more than 5 days, so be it; kids catch a break. As for the immediate solution, scrap the days and don’t worry about making them up.

Another thing to ponder...doesn't DPI have to approve the school calendars? If so, how can they now come back and say we're noncompliant. Our possible make up days have always been listed as those workdays at the end of the year.

My child just had to go to school during her spring break! What do you mean, "good luck getting that by parents"? I was never asked in the first place! Either way, the days are now made up and no worries for our particular school unless we get more snow. If one school can "borrow" days from Spring Break then it should be fine for the rest of the system.

Take back some of spring break - the make up days need to happen before the end of year exams and AP exams

This parent says PLEASE take the days away from spring break instead!

Brian,
You are sleeping on the job buddy. How come you havent openned a blog on the region proposals?

The EOC's happen early enough so that those that fail can get 10 days remediation and then retest before the end of school.. this is one reason they come so early.. it is always about the lower performing students.

GCS:

You are right! Time after eogs and eocs is just "fluff" time to meet the 180 day requirement. We need to have our make up days before the testing, not after it, to allow our students to get the most out of the time at school. I don't know if you watched the BOE meeting last night, but there were several proposals to use spring break, Memorial Day, Saturdays, etc. as make up days, all of which failed to garner enough votes to pass.

With Alan's leadership I think that the Board will fix this chronic problem once and for all by ensuring that all makeup days occur prior to the last day of school. Hopefully this is the last year that we have to deal with this problem.

On the issue of the letter from DPI, speaking for myself only, I think that it would be silly for DPI to try to enforce what it believes the law to be, for at least two reasons. First, I think that their interpretation of the law is wrong. Secondly, it would be a very unwise use of time and money. Let's hope that cooler heads prevail.

Best regards,

Paul Daniels

Paul,

Adding days to the end of the calendar have been
a joke for years. Matter of fact ...the last two weeks of school have been a joke for years.

Alan has been in a position to end this problem once and for all.....for a while....This is not new news to him. I am not tooting his horn....

You on the other hand need to see that it is resolved....all make-up time needs to be made-up prior to AP exams and EOC's ... Of course, we can apply to the college board to re-schedule our AP exams...has anyone tried!

Ever take AP classes on a block schedule...
you take it first term...and test in May....
you take it second term....and are not given
half the time to cover the material...

All AP courses should be offered on a year-long schedule....whether the school is on the block schedule or not.

Matter of fact I have heard more than one parent ask why our calendar is not more in line with this testing schedule...If it is indeed state law ...then we need to change it.

Education should come before vacation....

"We all know parents run things in this county anyway..."

Well - first of all - don't think that's true. My concerns are rarely heeded by my child's teachers, much less the principal or anyone higher up.
Second of all - it ought to be true since parents are the taxpayers and it is our children (whom we are legally responsible for) you are educating. Surely that should give us some say so over what goes on in the school system.

Given the people who run and organize the system have this much chaos over snow
make up days;. Imagine what must go on in the class rooms?

Ask yourself. Who will come to school after school has ended?

Why not give the EOC tests on opening day. Then get on with the business of educating the kids

David,

Organizational or administrative chaos is very different from classroom chaos--most of the former is caused by adults, most of the latter by children when the adults can't cope.

I've never understood why, when the state takes until late fall to cook the test results anyway, the EOC/EOG tests couldn't all be given during the last week of school. High schools do that anyway, so why can't Middle and Elementary schools follow suit. That would certainly end the "fluff time" being reported for the last few weeks of school. I also don't understand the sacred nature of 180 days--many of our students can get through the current curriculum in much less, and many couldn't get through it with 280 days. Being a farm kid, I doubt that I ever attended for the full 180 days growing up, for planting and harvesting took precedence; and yet, I expect I can read and do math at least as well if not better than many people who attended every day of the 180 day schedule for years.

But I'm probably not supposed to understand such cosmic events in the universe. So, I sit and watch . . . and sometimes just shake my head.

Parent:

Yes, the AP exam schedule is a mess and makes no sense at all. I have made inquiry into the testing schedule (I have a child who has two AP tests coming up). Here is the information I received:

The dates for AP exams are determined by the College Board. Traditionally, the dates are during the first few weeks of May. This
date range allows schools of various schedules (block, traditional, year-round) to have met certain standards of material coverage and
content review. The particular days the tests are given on are also determined by the College Board to maintain validity and test security in place.

. . .

The May exam schedule also allows for the College Board to process the materials for the millions of tests administered and process the data in preparation for the essay grading period, held during the first three
weeks of June. The readers are teachers and college professors in the various content areas who come together in common locations throughout the country. The College Board pays all costs for readers to participate
in this professional development experience. Graded exams are then correlated with the multiple choice sections of the individuals students and the data in compiled in time for students to receive their grades
during the first week to ten days of July. The scores being reported in July allows for colleges and universities to apply credit where
applicable and for schools systems to evaluate students success and gauge potential opportunities or changes for the upcoming school year.

. . .

Many districts have lobbied for testing twice a year but to no avail. Some schools have adjusted by offering courses on an AB or split block schedule so that students access the course over a year's time.

So, there you have it.

Best regards,

Paul Daniels

Anyone know what it going on at Eastern Guilford?

All students....middle and high are in the
stadium and all lunches were cancelled.

Over a year ago the Board published proposed schedule, debated proposed schedule, revised proposed schedule, published for public comment, revised for comments and then approved. A year later, a little more snow and following what Board, teachers and public came up with is all wrong. Yes, I agree it is wrong, it is poor legislation (caused by School Boards who all hade various and sundry ideas of scheduling and had run amuck, Guilford included), poor testing rules, an inconsistent Block/traditional calendar system in our county and a fickle public/voter base.

Now, let’s review next year’s calendar again, why not, public had chance to input, teachers and administrators input, Board input…GIGO all over again and we expect what? Sadly, I look in the mirror and ask “now what was the definition of insanity?”. I voted for something a bit less realistic, consistency, we (Board) made commitment, public and staff had every reason to believe we would honor commitment (yes commitment to drive off cliff argument has merit) and if I believed cliff was ahead I would have had to change commitment, I can’t see cliff…sure hope someone with better eyesight comes along.

I hope the school board changes its position and pulls the "needed" days out of teacher work days and holidays. Otherwise there are just three more wasted days on which we're busing kids to school to watch videos in class. Plus, as the school years extends farther into the summer, the economic impact on the community is likely to be very negative as families cancel/shorten vacations, events are cancelled, etc. Didn't we legislate school start dates to protect our state's economy not too long ago? Looks like we need to do the same on the June side of the equation.

I agree with pye210-totally wasted days. Both elementary and m/s kids are basically done by June 1st. End of the year make up days are meaningless for high school kids taking AP or IB exams in early May.
Also, I'm one of the families that planned a vacation starting June 13th (family vacation has been 3rd week of June for the last 10+ years). I felt that my vacation was safe since I knew state law required a June 10th last day of school. I never dreamed that GCS would not comply with the law (which btw is in no way "vague" if you look on NC DPI website and search "calendar").
I have a 9th grader and 10th grader so just skipping the last days is not an option since they will have exams. Both my brother's (Randolph County schools) and my cousin's (Rowan County schools) will be done by June 10th (their districts obey the law - Rowan even has a footnote explaining that a waiver is required to go past June 10th).
I sincerely hope our school board will not spend any time or $$$ (both c/b devoted to much more important issues) fighting with DPI on this issue.
It sounds as if they feel they must stick with what they said even if it makes NO sense now. That's not a very smart way to run an organization. If the board cares about educating our children, they should designate make up days that can truly be used for learning. (And when the 09/10 calendar is reworked, how about putting Good Friday back in as a day off since many parents are off of work that day).

I am glad that spring break time wasn't used to make up snow days this year because I've already paid for my child to take a trip to Mexico with a group of classmates. I guess if the board had decided to use spring break time, my child's absence would be unexcused since the trip is not officially sanctioned by the school.

Why do make up days at the end of the year need to be useless? Why can't learning be good for the sake of learning? I know plenty of students and teachers who would be fine with continuing on with their subjects, especially since they wouldn't have tests hanging over their heads.

Elaine,

Of course learning is great on those last days, but what about the students who have already taken their AP exams? They've lost days of education PRIOR to the exam and while learning is good - it won't give them back the days they missed before the exam.

And, if you're on a block schedule, forget it. You've just lost 6 days before the AP exam - how does any good teacher make up that much time?

Elaine,

I have been involved with the GCS system for over 15 years and have "NEVER" experienced a teacher that planned anything other than busy work the last two weeks of school unless they are taking exams.

The students are bored to death and troublesome and the teachers are packing their bags....

As an 8 year veteran of middle school teaching, it is pointless to have kids in school so long after testing and retesting has taken place. With the mandated start and end dates, it is already difficult to encourage and inspire enthusiasm in test-weary kids to "go to the next level" for two weeks! It is difficult to do that from August to test day..I mean May...Making up days at the end of the year, as others have already said, won't make up for the instruction students need before their AP Exams, EOCs and EOGs. When my eighth graders asked me why they couldn't make up days on Saturdays or take one from Spring Break, I told them that that decision was above my pay grade.

On top of that, these make up days will eat up the teacher workdays--that we have to make up as well! Consider this...If I worked on the snow days that were optional work days for me, should I have to come on those make up days? Should I have to use any of my earned leave time if I don't?

Responding to the last 3 posts:
You all make good points. It goes to show how much testing drives everything else in education. A good case of the tail wagging the dog.

At our school the students and teachers in EOC classes and AP classes are voluntarily meeting on Saturdays to cover the material that they missed due to snow days and to review for the tests. They are also staying for after-school tutorial twice a week.

When students and teachers do this, they should be given full credit for the days missed.