APS Half Days — for all that is sacred why not on Friday

[Anonymous]

Why do we still have random half Wednesdays? Sure back when it was a regular part of schedule and broke the week up for kids who went home to moms for lunch it made sense.

But way more families have working parents and making it Wed just compounds the annoyance. Sure my kids could do extended day, but let’s be real - 1:30 - 4:30 extended day is Lord of the Flies level insanity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do we still have random half Wednesdays? Sure back when it was a regular part of schedule and broke the week up for kids who went home to moms for lunch it made sense.

But way more families have working parents and making it Wed just compounds the annoyance. Sure my kids could do extended day, but let’s be real - 1:30 - 4:30 extended day is Lord of the Flies level insanity.

Huh? My kid loves extended day and an hour or two extra is welcome.

[Anonymous]

If you are a working parent, why does Wed vs Fri make a difference?

If you are a SAHP who could take that time and add it to a weekend, sure but if you’re a working parent wouldn’t you need childcare either way?

[Anonymous]

I think they are worried staff would blow off all the PD. (I am staff and Fridays are a skeleton crew as it is)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do we still have random half Wednesdays? Sure back when it was a regular part of schedule and broke the week up for kids who went home to moms for lunch it made sense.

But way more families have working parents and making it Wed just compounds the annoyance. Sure my kids could do extended day, but let’s be real - 1:30 - 4:30 extended day is Lord of the Flies level insanity.

Huh? My kid loves extended day and an hour or two extra is welcome.

NP. My kid does not love extended day for that amount of time so I try to schedule playdates on early release Wednesdays to give her a break (I work from home so can host).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are a working parent, why does Wed vs Fri make a difference?

If you are a SAHP who could take that time and add it to a weekend, sure but if you’re a working parent wouldn’t you need childcare either way?

Because Friday we have less meetings so I can take off without work piling up

[Anonymous]

And we get more half days next year

[Anonymous]

Having coverage on these random midweek half-days is one of the biggest perks of PM extended day. Our extended day typically does special projects on the early release days so that it's not fully unstructured time.

[Anonymous]

My kids love extended day too. The staff at our school is excellent. But the half days are a long time to be there. I try to get there earlier than usual for pickup.

One of the issues we’ve had, is that lunch is compressed so my kids don’t always eat enough and they are STARVING. I packed extra snacks for them today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they are worried staff would blow off all the PD. (I am staff and Fridays are a skeleton crew as it is)

Because staff and families would all just call in sick for the full day and take a three day weekend.

[Anonymous]

Wednesday early release is way better for the kids. Catch up on homework and get a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they are worried staff would blow off all the PD. (I am staff and Fridays are a skeleton crew as it is)

I assume it would impact kid attendance, too – concern that parents would use it as a long weekend.

[Anonymous]

We didn’t get in to extended day at our elementary school so these days are a huge burden. I would be less salty if they could hire enough staff to meet demand for extended day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids love extended day too. The staff at our school is excellent. But the half days are a long time to be there. I try to get there earlier than usual for pickup.

One of the issues we’ve had, is that lunch is compressed so my kids don’t always eat enough and they are STARVING. I packed extra snacks for them today.

Extended day is wildly different between schools. We were at two, one was a police state and the other a delightful romp with friends.

Regardless adding two hours is ridiculous. Just make it a day off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they are worried staff would blow off all the PD. (I am staff and Fridays are a skeleton crew as it is)

I assume it would impact kid attendance, too – concern that parents would use it as a long weekend.

+1

It's still a school day, students still learn. If parents keep their kids home for a long weekend, then that harms students (whether it benefits parents or not).