I have always honored the way that community members where I work stand up and speak out for what's best for education. Those community members don't always agree, but with mostly respectful debate, they generally arrive at smart, forward thinking, and student-centered decisions.
Recently a debate arose about where to park busses. While that seems like a simple issue, it was not simple at all. In a community with little available land for bus parking, there was a difficult decision to make. Via numerous debates, public commentary, petitions, research, creativity, and more, the public along with the decision makers came up with an agreed-upon decision--one that did not risk the clean air and space close to students and schools, but one that did cost a few extra dollars.
Now community members are debating the need to change school start times. Originally driven by research that demonstrates gains for adolescents who get more sleep, a fairly quick proposal was created. Yet when educators and families began to look at that proposal, they began to worry since while the proposal supported some, it also proposed to adversely affect others particularly those who need to be at work by 9, have lengthy commutes, and teach/learn at the elementary level. The proposal essentially plans to make school start times later for most which may benefit high school students if it can be coordinated with sports programs and other after school events, but will risk our current success and positivity at the elementary school since the young children's day will start a good two hours after most elementary school students wake up and are ready to learn. Many educators commented on the reality that elementary school students learn better before noon--that's when they are at their best for the challenging and rigorous academic standards that exist. There's a lot of pressure in society to meet those standards, and by starting the elementary school later is to jeopardize our ability to meet those standards in healthy, student-centered ways. Further, elementary school students have to be supervised at all times, so a later start--a start that affects parents' ability to get to work on time with doable commutes is also a costly change that could create havoc in the homes of young families--the kind of havoc that compromises positive academic programs. Educators with young families will also bear the burden of more difficult commutes and extra child care costs too which have been avoided somewhat by our current earlier start times at the elementary school.
How do we make good change that's based on research, but does not compromise needed times and programming for early childhood and elementary success? As with almost any decision related to optimal teaching and learning, there's never a simple solution, and I believe that community members have to make the time to take this decision seriously so that the decision made supports as many children, families, and educators as possible.
I value the community's willingness to stand up and speak out, and although there is a meeting set only a few days prior to the busy Thanksgiving holiday, a holiday that most families of young children are heavily involved in with regard to preparation, travel, and more. I hope that families will show up at tonight's school committee hearing to hear what others have to say and to express their own thoughts on this important decision.
When citizens take an interest in the decisions made for a community, the community generally has greater success. Over time that has been the situation in the community where I teach, and I hope it continues as it is best for all.
Recently a debate arose about where to park busses. While that seems like a simple issue, it was not simple at all. In a community with little available land for bus parking, there was a difficult decision to make. Via numerous debates, public commentary, petitions, research, creativity, and more, the public along with the decision makers came up with an agreed-upon decision--one that did not risk the clean air and space close to students and schools, but one that did cost a few extra dollars.
Now community members are debating the need to change school start times. Originally driven by research that demonstrates gains for adolescents who get more sleep, a fairly quick proposal was created. Yet when educators and families began to look at that proposal, they began to worry since while the proposal supported some, it also proposed to adversely affect others particularly those who need to be at work by 9, have lengthy commutes, and teach/learn at the elementary level. The proposal essentially plans to make school start times later for most which may benefit high school students if it can be coordinated with sports programs and other after school events, but will risk our current success and positivity at the elementary school since the young children's day will start a good two hours after most elementary school students wake up and are ready to learn. Many educators commented on the reality that elementary school students learn better before noon--that's when they are at their best for the challenging and rigorous academic standards that exist. There's a lot of pressure in society to meet those standards, and by starting the elementary school later is to jeopardize our ability to meet those standards in healthy, student-centered ways. Further, elementary school students have to be supervised at all times, so a later start--a start that affects parents' ability to get to work on time with doable commutes is also a costly change that could create havoc in the homes of young families--the kind of havoc that compromises positive academic programs. Educators with young families will also bear the burden of more difficult commutes and extra child care costs too which have been avoided somewhat by our current earlier start times at the elementary school.
How do we make good change that's based on research, but does not compromise needed times and programming for early childhood and elementary success? As with almost any decision related to optimal teaching and learning, there's never a simple solution, and I believe that community members have to make the time to take this decision seriously so that the decision made supports as many children, families, and educators as possible.
I value the community's willingness to stand up and speak out, and although there is a meeting set only a few days prior to the busy Thanksgiving holiday, a holiday that most families of young children are heavily involved in with regard to preparation, travel, and more. I hope that families will show up at tonight's school committee hearing to hear what others have to say and to express their own thoughts on this important decision.
When citizens take an interest in the decisions made for a community, the community generally has greater success. Over time that has been the situation in the community where I teach, and I hope it continues as it is best for all.