271 Responses (view as a pdf instead)
Which of these choices is the best start date for the school year for students?
One week before Labor Day, like it is currently | 127 |
Two weeks before Labor Day. | 55 |
Three weeks before Labor Day | 23 |
The day after Labor Day | 57 |
Currently we have 1 or 2 holidays for the Jewish holy days in the fall. If they were added as work days which answer best describes its impact to you: (our opinion is that adding extra work days either requires them to be removed from the calendar somewhere else or paid for at our per diem)
Does not affect me | 222 |
I would have to use personal days | 41 |
It is our Union leadership's position that winter break should continue to be uninterrupted starting on a Monday returning to school on a Monday. Starting winter break on a Wednesday would be unacceptable.
I agree with our Union leadership | 240 |
I disagree with our Union leadership | 23 |
If spring break is connected with Easter, which statement do you agree with most:
Keep it as it is. Start on Good Friday, have the week after Easter off. Return the following Monday | 177 |
Start on the Monday before Easter and return the Tuesday after Easter | 22 |
Does not matter to me if spring break is connected with Easter | 69 |
If spring break is not connected with Easter, which statement do you agree with most:
It should be the last full week of March | 65 |
It should coincide with the end of Quarter 3 | 90 |
Does not matter to me | 85 |
Which of these choices is the best start date for the school year for students?
1. Our students will be measured against those from districts who start almost a month before we do. |
A week and a half before Labor Day. Start School mid-week to "gingerly" get students back into school mode. Most of the first week is inundated with the rules, paperwork to fill out, adjustments to assignments, locker assignments, memorizing School ID numbers, etc. It can be overwhelming for students, and with the short week, it gives them a chance to "breathe" and process everything over the weekend. |
Allows for the smooth start to school rather than the start and stop which is hard on everyone. Day after Labor day seems like such a no-brainer as a start and we don't live in an agricultural community so we need to get the kids into the fields in the spring! |
As long as we don't start before August 15th. |
Because end of course exams are given in April and early May, we need more time to prepare. Once the exams are done, we should get out for summer break - which would mean ending the school year well before Memorial Day weekend. |
Either the Wednesday after Labor Day or two weeks before Labor Day so that we do not have a lot of missed instruction and inconsistent days in the school week due to Jewish holiday's in September. |
Finish earlier, everyone is more fresh in August then June. |
However early we need to start to end the semester in December. |
I am fine with coming back sooner. The kids are always ready to come back. We could get out earlier when the kids have lost themselves. |
I am more concerned with the end date. This year we are ending way too late. Most districts our out the first week in June and some are out even earlier. I say we start so we can get out the first Friday in June. We should ALWAYS end the first Friday in June. And that could decide the start date. Kids are struggling to do anything the second week in June (especially when everyone else is already out.) |
I don't want the last day of school to be later. |
I hate, hate, hate staying in school until the end of the second week in June. After testing they are spent. |
I like the One week before Labor Day situation, but on a year like this current one, I think an exception could be made to make it 2 weeks before Labor Day, to keep from starting too late in the year. |
I think it doesn't make any sense to start the school year and then immediately have days off, as is the case with Labor Day. What is the point of doing that? |
I think it is nice to start off with a couple of 4 day weeks. It helps ease them into getting back to school. |
I think the earlier we start, the earlier we get out. The students (and teachers) are truly burnt out after testing. |
I would like this so we can end the quarter before winter break. |
I would like to have school end the FIRST week of June (not the second week). Last year 14-15 we were done the first week of school. This school year 15-16 we are out the second week of June. |
I would like to start earlier in August and end in May. As more districts move to that calendar, we need to stay in line. With a transient population, our kids may end up missing many weeks if they move between districts. |
I would love to have the district investigate year round school. |
I would prefer to start earlier like many other districts, but only if our buildings had A/C |
I would rather get out of school later and start later. The schools are not air conditioned; I cannot tell you the instructional time I lose because my classroom is literally over 95 degrees. NO ONE is learning in these conditions. It is very rarely hot in June and I think until our facilities can meet the climate needs of our classrooms, that starting as late as possible is the best choice. Not only that, but since we started later this year, we are getting out later. I do not want to, three weeks of my summer break to be taken away because we are deciding to change things. |
I'd rather start a little earlier and get out by Memorial Day so that I can enjoy the same schedule as my children. |
If the school year starts early, does the school year end BEFORE June 1st? |
If we start too late students are often at a disadvantage when it comes to purchasing school supplies. Testing needs to be considered as well. There are so many tests that are due at the end of September that we need that extra week. Three weeks before Labor Day would only work if buildings had AC. It's currently November and it is still unbearable by the afternoon. 85-100 degree classrooms are not acceptable. |
I'm indifferent. |
it is difficult to establish a routine with so many breaks including holidays that are religious at the beginning of the school year. |
It is incredibly hot to start the year, kids don't learn well in this environment. |
It seems like we get into a flow and then we end up stopping because of Labor Day and our Jewish High Holy Days. Plus it is incredibly hot in most of our buildings that first few weeks. |
It's just because I am selfish and don't want school to start on or near my birthday. |
Let's have 1-2 full weeks in before days off during the week |
Many, many students start late and miss the entire intro week. Most of them then struggle to catch up, are unaware of school expectations, etc. |
Mid-August and get out May 27th like a lot of schools do! End 1st semester when we go on winter break! |
MUST be earlier to start preparation for testing, like other districts |
My second choice would be the day after labor day. |
Ohio weather is not conducive to starting any earlier in August. |
Other districts have moved their starting day back to accommodate standardized testing. It would be nice to begin and finish at approximately the same time. |
Please start earlier. Any chance to reduce summer slide is greatly appreciated. |
Schools without air conditioning are brutally hot before this date. I would be happy with after labor day but it makes it hard for teachers who are in summer graduate classes. |
September is always super choppy with the Jewish holy days and it feels like we spend the whole month starting and stopping. If our end date is to be in June, I'd rather start later. |
should be similar to other districts in the area |
So hot in our classrooms upstairs at Rox El... |
Some kids don't bother coming back until after labor day |
Start the day after labor day and end before memorial day. Tack on 10 minutes to the day to make this happen. |
Starting a week before Labor Day is great too. I do not think starting two week or three weeks before Labor Day is what we should do. |
Starting in August is not good for the kids. The weather is typically too hot and students fall asleep in class. They have a hard time learning due to Maslow's Needs. They are not comfortable, therefore cannot learn. Their summer should not be taken away so that they can perform on a mandated test. |
Students don't learn on hot, muggy days. They sit in their desk, sweat, and watch the clock. |
The buildings are ridiculously hot. My room reached 94 degrees with two small fans provided by the district running full blast. |
The sooner the better. |
The start date should be consistent with area schools. It is helpful for parents who have children in another district to be on the same schedule. |
the temperature in my classroom was 94 degrees the last week of August. Until we rebuild and are in AC it is too hot to be in school. |
The year should begin early enough so that semester exams occur before winter break. |
This is an excellent day to start. It ends the summer. |
This is more in line to other districts |
Too early is too hot |
Two to three weeks before Labor Day seems too early. I prefer the start to be around Labor day, either as is or the day after Labor day. |
Until all schools have air conditioning. Buildings are too hot in August and August "Typically" has warm, dry weather where as June is usually still cool in temp and often wet. |
We have too many kids who don't bother to show up until after Labor Day as it is. This will solve that problem. It's also just too hot to start school in August until we have air conditioning for ALL of us, not just some. |
We need as much time as possible to, instruct students before state tests. The two weeks after Memorial Day are largely wasted as testing is over, weather is nice, etc. |
Whatever week will allow the calendar to have semester finals, and then winter break |
Whatever it takes to have finals and the semester the week winter break ends. This will also give our students more classroom time to be prepared for high stake tests such as End of course, OGT and AP exams. |
Would appreciate ending the semester before winter break and being out at Labor Day |
Would like to start earlier and end earlier |
Comments about the Jewish Holidays |
Although I am not Jewish, I like the fact that we recognize the holy days of the Jewish community, especially since we have a large number of Jewish employees and students. |
Although it does not affect me personally, I think that we also need to consider our student population when making this decision. Although our number of Jewish students is not what it once was, I think that changing these to school days sends the wrong message to the Jewish community. |
But I agree with your opinion regarding adding days to the calendar |
But I prefer to keep the calendar as is for the Jewish Holy Days |
Does this mean no school days off from Labor Day to Thanksgiving???!!!!!! Extra pay does not tempt me here! We have too many colleagues that are Jewish and it is not fair to them to have to take a personal day. We would never expect Christian staff to work on Christmas or Easter! |
Even though I personally do not celebrate the Jewish holy days, I would have to take personal time off, because my children attend school district that does observe them. |
Given our community demographics, I think we should take them off. |
Having or not having Jewish holidays off does not affect me but if they were added to the calendar I'd rather have other days, such as Columbus Day and Veterans Day removed instead of working and getting paid per diem. |
I agree with your opinion, adding extra work days either requires them to be removed from the calendar somewhere else or paid for at our per diem. |
I also think this would be insensitive to our large Jewish population in Cleveland Hts. and University Hts. Not many of the Orthodox Jews use the public schools, but it is still a Jewish area. |
I don't believe the Jewish Holidays not being acknowledged within our community is unacceptable. This should not be an option. |
I don't celebrate the Jewish holidays |
I have to take personal days for my holidays because I am not Jewish or Christian is that fair? Period NO it is not. We should all have to do the same thing. |
I observe those days as Sabbaths and under a prohibition of work. I would not be able to work on those days. |
I think that is disrespectful to a lot of people who both work and attend school in this community. There is a strong Jewish heritage here and we would be one of the few schools with on the east side who would not be allowing students to observe holidays that are important to their faith. I think that is ridiculous. |
I think that we should continue to honor the strong Jewish presence and culture in our community BUT be mindful of unnecessarily planning a Waiver day during the month of September. We should have one in October and one in November to be more mindful of student learning, staff needs, and parent/guardian scheduling needs. |
I work at a temple on those days. I DO NOT want to use up 2 personal days for that. |
I would like them added in the calendar somewhere else (maybe NEOA day.) Or maybe we can do one of the Jewish days and a day somewhere else. |
I would like to see these removed. |
I would not want this to happen |
I would prefer NEOEA day over the Jewish Holidays |
If we continue, as in the past, to have the two Jewish holidays and if one is on a weekend, can we have another future date off? such as Veteran's day? I know days off are based on a certain number of days in session, so do we attend one extra day when the holiday occurs on the weekend? |
If we work on these days, I would want them to be removed from the calendar somewhere else. - Getting out earlier in June is always a good choice. |
I'll go with whatever's best for the group on this one. |
I'm Jewish |
Is it fair to take away the holiday from families that genuinely observe them? There are also many other holidays that go unrecognized. Muslim holidays for example. |
It does not affect me aside from the fact that those days will need to be compensated (as stated above). |
It does not affect me but if it would affect my coworkers who are Jewish then I would like to support them. |
It is nice to have Jewish holidays, as we have a large Jewish population, but it does not impact me. |
Jewish holidays should be respectfully observed. The start of school when these holidays fall is already stressful for those of us that observe them. To have to worry about sub plans and using up all personal days at the beginning of every year is not worth exchanging them for random days off. |
Jewish holy days should be observed as free days. |
Keep it as is. |
Keep them on the calendar as off days. |
Let's end the school year 2 days earlier. |
Maybe they can be considered floating holidays. That way, if someone is Muslim, and want to take Ramadan instead of the Jewish holiday, it can be added as another personal day. I do not believe if it is for a Religious holiday or function, in the case of those who get overtime, there should be a penalty to those who work overtime (they should be paid the regular OT pay and not the straight pay). Maybe to prove they did take it as a Religious function, they have documentation from a religious leader. Some people work with their church/religious organization and have to take personal time. |
No one has to use personal days for good Friday or Christmas. |
Please do not take away the Jewish Holidays |
remove them from somewhere else in the calendar |
Since I celebrate the Jewish holy days I would have to take off and use personal days (2 of them). If that is the case, then would we work on Good Friday? |
Then I would not have personal days to use for other situations during the year which would be unfair as Jewish employees have situations come up during the year that require a personal day just like everyone else. |
They should be removed from the calendar somewhere else if we do not honor the Jewish Holidays. |
Though this does not affect me personally, it effects colleagues. I don't think it is fair for them to have to use personal days for religious Holy days. As a Christian, Good Friday is a very important Holy day for me and our district is always closed on that day. The same should be so for my all Holy days that happen to fall during the school year. |
We also have a number of Jewish students who will be affected by a change in this schedule. |
We need to have a transition if these days are going to be eliminated or people who traditionally take them should have waiver days. |
We need to respect the cultural and religious heritage of our community as well as of the employees of the District. I personally don't believe there should be a work day (especially how it fell this year) within the first marking period of the school year; add another PD day before school starts or at the end of the first quarter if necessary. Also, parent/teacher conferences for middle and high school students would be better-placed at the end of the first marking period and not at the end of the first quarter so that students have the ability to raise their grades in the same quarter as conferences take place. |
What makes Christian holidays more important than Jewish holidays when we serve a Jewish community? Parents would not be happy with that decision. It's less about teachers and more about the students and families. |
With my children's schools now participating in the Holidays- personal days may have to be used. |
Would the school year just end two days earlier - in lieu of the per diem rate? A actual full two paid teacher work days, one per semester (without students) would also be a good idea? |
Comments about winter break |
2 weeks is 2 weeks so I do not have a strong opinion on this |
2-day work week poses the same issue as Thanksgiving. Lack of quality instruction. |
As a Security Officer, I see the students’ performance and behavior is not as bad when they have a shorter week. It does not have to be Monday or Wednesday, it could be a Tuesday or Thursday start day, which also works well. As long as enough time is given before the holiday for people to travel, shop, cook, bake, etc., in preparation for the holiday. |
As long as the break is for a two weeks from Wednesday to Wednesday. |
As long as we still have 2 full weeks for winter break, I don't really care what day it begins. |
As long, it is two weeks in length and there are 2-3 days before the Christmas holiday, I do not feel strongly about the Monday start. |
Either works for me |
Getting out on the 23rd is very difficult when Christmas Eve is the next day. If Christmas falls on a Sunday, I would prefer to get an extra day before the break. Otherwise, Monday to Monday is fine. |
However, I would actually prefer starting on Wednesday when Christmas/New years falls on a weekend, as long as the duration remains 2 full weeks. |
I always stand with the Union! |
I am fine with whatever makes things work. |
I do not need the entire week off of Christmas. The day before Christmas Eve would be just fine. Then we can come back later in January. |
I'd like it to be 2 weeks, but I don't really care what days that falls on. |
If we have school Monday and Tuesday, we will see a large increase in absences those days. |
If we were to start winter break on a Wednesday I would not have an issue, as long as we returned on a Wednesday. We should have a complete 2 weeks. |
I'm fine either way. |
In 2016 for example it would be nice to start on a Wednesday because Christmas and New Years Day falls on a Sunday. For people who celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas it is difficult to prepare for the holiday when our first day off is actually Christmas Eve. |
It doesn't matter if we begin or end break during the week. |
Let's face it--if we started on a Wednesday, we'd have a lot fewer students to teach and a lot more subs in the building. Why fight the Monday to Monday? |
Start on Monday and return on Monday. |
The current model aligns with my children's school and means I do not have to arrange child care for my children. |
The kids already think that the day before a break should be a day free from work and learning and instead should be used for having class parties. Starting a large break such as winter break on a Wednesday would only have us fighting kids for two days instead of one. |
this also gives 3 full weekends for family plans compared to 2 if the vacation started mid week. |
We need to continue to encourage time with families. |
What is the reasoning behind starting on a Monday? |
While I think Monday to Monday is preferable, if we are going to have a winter break that is the end after New Year's Day, we should have AT LEAST one day after NYD before we start back. If NYD is a Sunday, we should not start back that Monday. |
Winter break should always be from Monday-Monday regardless of popular opinion. |
Winter Break should be the end of first semester. Coming back after winter break is very disruptive for all. If the school is pushing for college ready, they would be out for the semester and start second semester right after break. |
It doesn't matter to me what day of the week the break starts. |
I would like winter break to start after semester finals are completed |
Comments about spring break |
Again, it would be nice to be on the same calendar schedule as schools around our area. It makes it difficult to take a family vacation when we are on separate schedules. |
Coinciding with the end of quarter three does nothing for elementary school teachers. |
Currently aligns with my children's school and saves me from having to arrange child care or take personal days to care for my own children. |
Due to my child's school schedule, it would be devastating to me financially if we do not connect Easter to Spring Break. This should not even be a consideration for change. |
Elementary does not have quarters so it is unfair to cater to middle and high school with quarters. |
Elementary school is running on trimesters so not sure I care about the 3rd quarter. |
Having breaks as much as possible at the end of quarters just makes pedagogical and psychological sense. |
Having it connected with the Easter holiday as stated above is important to me. |
I am type who enjoys the spring break later in the year-not coinciding with |
I do not agree with any of the above. I think if we have days in February, we should have it the end of March, should it not be connected with Easter. If we already have a day or two off in March, the break should be sometime in April, mid-April since we would have no other days off until the end of May. |
I like having spring break starting on Good Friday and the week after. This is when a lot of districts also have it so people have a better chance of spending time with their families. |
I like having the Monday after Easter off. It makes it easier for people who might like to travel. |
I prefer having spring break connected to Easter. Perhaps for members with children it would be worthwhile to find out what the majority of other districts do. |
I prefer it be a designated time every year not related to Easter. If we start earlier in the year (3 week prior to labor day), I think the end of the 3rd quarter is the best option. If we stick with the same starting point, I prefer the last week of March. |
I really just want it to coincide with the schools in the area. We live in South Euclid and I have never had spring break with my children. |
I think this also depends on how late Easter is. If Easter is not until the near end of April, break should be earlier. |
I would like spring break to continue to be connected to Easter. |
I would like the Friday before and Monday after Easter as non work days. |
I would like to have Good Friday off and possibly Monday after Easter. But the last week of March is better for Spring Break regardless. |
I would like to have spring break in April so it doesn't seem like a long time like this year. |
I would need to take off personal days of spring break does not coincide with Easter. |
I would prefer it not be connected to Easter. |
I would prefer to have the Monday after Easter and Good Friday off and then the full week whenever is after the 3rd quarter as we have done some time in the past. |
If break doesn't coincide with Easter, I would prefer off Good Friday and Easter Monday (in exchange for a Jewish holiday if we decide to no longer recognize them in the fall) |
If it is not connected with Easter, it needs to fall on the end of March like other school districts. I think we are disregarding the fact that many employees do not live in the district, and would perhaps like to travel with their families at this time. |
If Passover falls the week before or after Easter it would be best if the vacation covers both holidays. |
I'm not sure how this would work with elementary testing or trimesters. March is too early for spring break. |
I'm Orthodox Christian which means that some years, we celebrate Easter at a different time. When it does line up, I love to have the week after Easter off as it's one of our biggest celebrations of the year. If it doesn't line up, I usually take a Religious holiday for the Monday after Easter to celebrate the holiday (Bright Monday). |
It makes sense to connect breaks with the end of quarters. |
It should also coincide with state testing. (Not returning the day before we test) |
It should be placed IN BETWEEN Winter Break and Summer Vacation. |
Keep it with Easter so It goes with my kids break. |
Leave it as it is!! |
many other school districts follow our schedule (the Friday before Easter and the week following) -- this makes it nice for those of us that have children in other school districts |
Many public and private schools have the last week of March off for spring break. This helps me since I have kids of my own in school. |
Or first full week in April |
Rather it connect to Easter |
School should be closed the Friday before or Monday after Easter if break does not coincide with Easter. |
Sometimes connecting Spring Break to Easter makes it fall very late. This leads to a rush of events at the end of the year, particularly with the new state testing requirements, many of which have dates in April. |
Spring break and Good Friday/Easter don't have to be the same thing. |
Spring break should always connect with Easter, have the week after Easter off! |
Spring break should be connected to Easter. It would be a serious interruption to how my family celebrates and observes the holiday if it were treated as any other weekend instead of having time off for mass, traveling, and getting together with family. It is already hard enough to get to church on time after work to observe Ash Wednesday. |
Spring break should better work with testing schedule - if Easter is in late April, it's hard to come right back from break and start testing that week. |
Spring break's purpose was always to coincide with Easter and should be left as is. |
The elementary schools are on trimesters, not quarters. So to have the break coincide with any quarter doesn't fit with any natural break in the elementary. |
The later the better imo |
This also is in line with other districts. |
This year works out wonderfully because it coincides with Easter AND the end of Quarter 3! However, I vote for it to end at Q3 so we can all gear up for a solid Q4. |
We so need a break at this time of the year.... |
Why does Easter come into play at all? Makes it nice for people if they want to be with family then but otherwise is awkward time to have a break in April when it would be better in March. It has complicated travel plans we would like to make because Easter is involved. |
Will Good Friday still be a compensatory day? |
With Elementary on Trimesters, coinciding with Quarter 3 would only be beneficial to Middle and High School. |
General Calendar Comments |
- allow a two to three day "fall break" off at the end of the first quarter where one is a grading and building PD day, one is (possibly) a district and department work day, and one is a day off for all staff |
Ask for an additional week of spring break off :) |
Can we just be fair to all members of 795, and truly break the religious connection. We have a Good Friday and Jewish Holidays, if we are not either how fair is it? We talk equity, but we do not walk it. |
Conferences are too early. |
Elementary conference night needs to be at the end of the first trimester and then again at the end of the second trimester. With earlier conference night all I had to talk about were the millions of tests I had given and the honeymoon behavior period. Interventions were not in place so I could not talk about what we were going to be doing to help those with low scores or what the conflicting data points even meant. I really need to meet with parents this week now that we've had some time to teach and get to know the students. |
Have we ever thought about having school end the Friday before Memorial Day? Yes we would go back earlier but the kids are done come that weekend anyways. Feels like wasted instruction time!!! |
Hopefully there is a chance to make conference time and calendars be more kind to teachers. Late arrivals the day after staying at school to 9 p.m. maybe? Records days that do not fall in the time of records can be hard to successfully use. I know waiver days and extra days granted after request can be hard to predict but if Jewish holidays are kept on the schedule please schedule a day off in October. Also there needs to be a scheduled day off in April if Spring break is switched to the last whole week in March. Our calendar needs changes. |
How about having the Monday after thanksgiving off for travel out of town! |
I agree with having any days off during the school year just to have time to get "caught up." It is hard to go for more than 6 weeks without a day off. |
I believe the current calendar is perfect and should be left alone. The only dates I would change would be to take out the two fall Jewish holidays. |
I do not agree with having staff PD so early in September. We had too many days off in September so the beginning of the year was disjointed. I understand the need to recognize the Jewish holidays but the PD seemed like it could have waited. Shaker Heights does their parent conferences on election day which I think would be a great idea since students are off and parents might be home to watch them.. |
I generally favor changes, but the calendar is one of the few things that has been working. There is no need to change what works. |
I just really think we should always end the first Friday in June. |
I like that our conferences fall on Thursdays this year. Could we please not schedule them on St. Patrick's Day next year? I am worried that I may have less parent participation if it falls on a holiday. |
I think that we should start school at the same time as other schools in the area ( South Euclid, Beechwood, ) |
I think we need to create a calendar that has breaks happen when at the end of semesters and quarters. It is very difficult to have the break, and then have to prep for semester finals |
I think we should model the calendar after the college calendars, starting earlier in August, and ending in May. |
I would like ALL district dates on ONE calendar. If parent conferences could start one hour early and end by 8pm not 9pm that would be great! |
I would like to end school week of Memorial Day and go back after labor day. |
I would like to end the school year the first week of June. Can we start our first day with students on a Monday? |
I would like to recommend that parent/teacher conference night not be only one night that extends until 9pm, rather that there would be two days that would go from the end of school until 6 o'clock. |
I would prefer that the last day of school be at the end of May rather than going into June. That is why I would rather have an earlier start to the year. |
I'd prefer to start later and end later. It's too hot to come earlier into August! The elementary schools don't have air!! |
In order to get students into a consistent rhythm of school we cannot have so many days off near the very beginning of the year. Starting two weeks before Labor day gives students enough time to settle into a routine. Then when the choppy weeks come those days can be used to complete all of the ridiculous testing that needs to be done at the beginning of the year. |
It bothers me to think that current, new administration is pushing for changes that seem, in my opinion, unreasonable. |
It is hard to have a calendar that doesn't match my kid's schedules. Most school districts around us have similar schedules and ours is always the oddball. |
It seems to be so much better when the off days are spread out thought the calendar year, as opposed to, like this year (2015), we came back very late in August and then had three holidays in September, nothing off in October, and nothing off until Thanksgiving in November. |
make breaks align with shaker and Warrensville since they have to come to our CTE classes regardless |
Many districts are taking a full week for Thanksgiving break. Let's implement that. Let's start after Labor Day and end the Friday before Memorial Day. |
No conferences on St. Patrick's Day, please!!!!! (If you can even do anything about it) |
On the published calendars that that our community reads it states that teachers have "Records Day." That is incorrect and gives false info. to community. It is really a Professional Development Day. A Records Day implies we are given THE WHOLE DAY to grade and enter grades. This is not true. |
Our calendar as it is seems very workable. Why change something that works. I really appreciated our dates for the beginning of school this year. Our buildings are way too warm to be in school any longer than needed during August. |
Our calendar needs to foster family time and should for that reason remain fairly standard to sync up with as many holidays as possible (not just Christian observances). |
Our union does a good job of looking out for us on this!!! I am appreciative. |
Please do not shorten the summer! We are already getting out later this year than in years past. |
Please make changing the calendar a priority this year! |
Records day should be when we actually have to do records... Conference night at the Elementary level is ridiculous. We do not even have enough time allotted to meet with all parents. Suggestions would be back up Conference night with Records day and have half of records day be conferences as well. We need a day with no students for conferences so that we can meet all parents and preferably on a Friday. |
Starting school on a Monday this year made the beginning of the year more difficult. I found that students do better when we started on a Thursday. That gave teachers a few days to do basic beginning of the year things such as going over the coursework, class rules, and handing out forms for parent signatures and then allowed everyone to start "business" with a fresh mindset on the following Monday. |
Teacher records day should be ONLY TO WORK ON GRADES and not for meetings the administration organizes to waste time |
Thank you for your time and effort to collect our opinions on these matters. |
There should be at least one day of compensated time to come in for classroom set-up. This idea of meetings and one afternoon for set-up is silly and they know it. All teachers spend a lot of time getting their rooms and records ready at the beginning of the year. |
There were too many days of September but yet we go such long stretches such as October until there is a break. Could we use professional developments to offset these long stretches? A week off at Thanksgiving wouldn't be a bad idea due to the lack of quality instruction that is achieved during a two-day work week. In order to accommodate Thanksgiving, start 2 days ahead of time and this might provide the two days that we lose at Thanksgiving. |
This current school year seemed to get a late start, and while I didn't mind having a few extra days of summer, I think I would rather have started a little earlier and finished a little earlier. |
We deserve full Records Days instead of half the day for PD. With the amount of work for OTES, SLOs, District initiatives and just daily paperwork/record keeping, a full day is necessary. I am tired of donating my personal time to the District at the expense of my family. |
We need to have teacher input from all buildings and levels represented when making the calendar. Also, the calendar shouldn't be made 3 years in advance. Just like instruction should be fluid and responsive to the needs of the students, so should the school calendar which is to benefit students and families. |
We need to make sure to that we give as much instructional time prior to testing as possible given the fact that we are a testing so much and it weighs so heavily on teacher evaluation. |
We should have similar calendars as surrounding districts |
We should move to the year round calendar. It allows for less time for regression in reading and math skills. |
Would it be possible to have parent/teacher conferences on a wavier day? Give the teachers the 1/2 records day in the morning and have conferences go from 1-6. October is too early for parent/teacher conferences. November is really a much more appropriate time. |