Is FCPS "cheating" my kids out of the minimum instruction required by the state?

[Anonymous]

The standard says 990 hrs. Period. It says you cannot count recess and lunch as instructional time. This is not about whether kids need 990 hrs. or whether they need more recess or a longer winter break or even whether they need full day Mondays. It's a matter of FCPS being legitimate/honest when they calculate the amount of time they are providing instruction.

The state says it must be 990. Whether you think that is a valid standard... it is still the requirement. If FCPS is fudging the numbers, then that is a problem and we, as tax-payers, parents, education-consumers, are entitled to receive the full 990. If you don't want your kid to have 990 (they you can keep your kid at home on any given day).... but for those of us who want the bare minimum of instruction -- 990 hrs. of instruction should be provided.... not 940 or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Have you counted up the hours of education each day, instead of subtracting the 20 minutes you're talking about?

http://www.fcps.edu/news/school-year-14-15.shtml

In total, the revised 2014-15 school year calendar includes seven teacher workdays to offer teachers time for staff meetings and professional development, as well as three teacher staff development days, four strategic planning days, and six days with a two-hour early release for teacher directed time.

The length of the school year remains the same, but the number of days for students has been reduced from 183 days to 180 days. By eliminating the shortened Monday schedule for elementary schools, FCPS was able to make changes to the calendar that comply with state accreditation for 990 hours of instruction. The change to 990 instructional hours also eliminates the need to make up inclement weather days at the end of the school year if fewer than 13 days are missed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you counted up the hours of education each day, instead of subtracting the 20 minutes you're talking about?

http://www.fcps.edu/news/school-year-14-15.shtml

In total, the revised 2014-15 school year calendar includes seven teacher workdays to offer teachers time for staff meetings and professional development, as well as three teacher staff development days, four strategic planning days, and six days with a two-hour early release for teacher directed time.

The length of the school year remains the same, but the number of days for students has been reduced from 183 days to 180 days. By eliminating the shortened Monday schedule for elementary schools, FCPS was able to make changes to the calendar that comply with state accreditation for 990 hours of instruction. The change to 990 instructional hours also eliminates the need to make up inclement weather days at the end of the school year if fewer than 13 days are missed.

I think that is the original question --- is FCPS counting the "on paper" 20 min. extension of the school day as part of the 990? That is what has been reported in other threads here. It does seem to be a shell game if that is the case. I said, IF that is the way FCPS is doing it this year.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure how much instructional time there is each day. But I think focusing on 20 minutes instead of the additional 2.5 hours from Monday is the wrong way to look at it.

Also, FCPS is switching to an hour count instead of a day count.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-county-schools-to-consider-calendar-changes/2014/06/02/aee910da-e764-11e3-a86b-362fd5443d19_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The state requires 990 hrs of instruction --- which does not include recess and lunch. If the schools in Fcps are counting 20 min/day of walking to and from the bus as "instructional time" (let's say 80 min/week since some weeks only have four days)....are my kids missing at least 80 min of instructional time per week
That the state says they are entitled to have? 80 min per week x 30 weeks means they are missing at least 40+ hours of instruction....which is at least a week and a half of school. Is this what is happening by counting the "walk to the bus" time as "instructional time"?

If recess and lunch do not count as instructional time, then how does "walk to the bus/car" count as instructional time?

Yes, but they are also cheating by using "average class size" to cover the entire county.

[Anonymous]

It's really, really not about what is best for the students. It's free day care for the parents in many, many cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's really, really not about what is best for the students. It's free day care for the parents in many, many cases.

Not sure what you mean. I'm the OP and I don't use daycare for my kids.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax County residents should be more concerned with the lack of instruction taking place throughout the school day in FCPS classrooms than twenty minutes lost in transit.

FCPS uses Flipped Classroom and Project Based Learning teaching methodologies where actual teacher instruction has been removed from the classroom. Students are given assignments and a final assessment due date. They are then left to work alone or to work in groups to teach themselves the required content and skills.

This works well if your children are very smart, popular, socially-adept, self-starters who easily share and copy the work of other students. If this is your family situation then these teaching models are perfect for your children.

However, if your children need and want genuine and authentic student/teacher/mentor relationships with their classroom teachers you will be sorely disappointed with the instruction they will receive from their FCPS teachers.

When your children return home from school and they begin their homework, please ask them what did their teachers teach or explain to them about the subject matter they are working on. You'll usually find the teacher gave the assignment without first teaching anything whatsoever about the material.

My children want to know and like their teachers. They want to learn from their teachers. They want to communicate with their teachers. They want to bounce their ideas off their teachers and during the learning process, they want their gradual lesson mastery validated by their teachers, but this is no longer available in the FCPS schools. Schools which have adopted Flipped Classroom and Project Based Learning teaching methodologies have eliminated regular classroom student/teacher communications.

It's pretty sad. Their teachers have become distant, detached, and disengaged. It's strange, it's as if their teachers are no longer present in their classrooms. Teachers claim they are present to answer questions, but what they don't realize is by failing actively teach their students they have gradually lost their abilities to communicate with them at all.

Because teachers are not driving the dialog, they find themselves unable to answer essentially basic questions when they are asked. Eventually, they begin to act as if students' questions are troublesome and annoying.

It's sad for the students and the teachers can't feel good about it either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County residents should be more concerned with the lack of instruction taking place throughout the school day in FCPS classrooms than twenty minutes lost in transit.

FCPS uses Flipped Classroom and Project Based Learning teaching methodologies where actual teacher instruction has been removed from the classroom. Students are given assignments and a final assessment due date. They are then left to work alone or to work in groups to teach themselves the required content and skills.

This works well if your children are very smart, popular, socially-adept, self-starters who easily share and copy the work of other students. If this is your family situation then these teaching models are perfect for your children.

However, if your children need and want genuine and authentic student/teacher/mentor relationships with their classroom teachers you will be sorely disappointed with the instruction they will receive from their FCPS teachers.

When your children return home from school and they begin their homework, please ask them what did their teachers teach or explain to them about the subject matter they are working on. You'll usually find the teacher gave the assignment without first teaching anything whatsoever about the material.

My children want to know and like their teachers. They want to learn from their teachers. They want to communicate with their teachers. They want to bounce their ideas off their teachers and during the learning process, they want their gradual lesson mastery validated by their teachers, but this is no longer available in the FCPS schools. Schools which have adopted Flipped Classroom and Project Based Learning teaching methodologies have eliminated regular classroom student/teacher communications.

It's pretty sad. Their teachers have become distant, detached, and disengaged. It's strange, it's as if their teachers are no longer present in their classrooms. Teachers claim they are present to answer questions, but what they don't realize is by failing actively teach their students they have gradually lost their abilities to communicate with them at all.

Because teachers are not driving the dialog, they find themselves unable to answer essentially basic questions when they are asked. Eventually, they begin to act as if students' questions are troublesome and annoying.

It's sad for the students and the teachers can't feel good about it either.

I am an FCPS teacher and I don't know what you are talking about. We do not use either a flipped classroom or a project-based model, with the exception of the 5th grade global awareness technology project, which accounts for a small part of the overall social studies curriculum in 5th grade. There has been no elimination whatsoever of regular student/teacher communications. This is the most bizarre thing I have read in a long time about FCPS schools - are you sure you're writing about FAIRFAX, and not another county starting with F?

[Anonymous]

The current calendar accounts for way more than 990 hours. The county hits the minimum of 990 hours EVEN if there are 13 days of snow. So, basically, if there is no snow, they are getting 990 hours PLUS 13 extra days. I would not stress a about the 10 minutes of putting away your coat, greeting your teacher, and sitting in your seat being counted as "instructional time."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The current calendar accounts for way more than 990 hours. The county hits the minimum of 990 hours EVEN if there are 13 days of snow. So, basically, if there is no snow, they are getting 990 hours PLUS 13 extra days. I would not stress a about the 10 minutes of putting away your coat, greeting your teacher, and sitting in your seat being counted as "instructional time."

The school day AND the school year are way too long. I'd like to have some time with my kid, but when he comes home, it's homework, dinner, clean up and get ready for bed. Then get up, get ready and back to school all day. He doesn't get home until damn near 4:30!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County residents should be more concerned with the lack of instruction taking place throughout the school day in FCPS classrooms than twenty minutes lost in transit.

FCPS uses Flipped Classroom and Project Based Learning teaching methodologies where actual teacher instruction has been removed from the classroom. Students are given assignments and a final assessment due date. They are then left to work alone or to work in groups to teach themselves the required content and skills.

This works well if your children are very smart, popular, socially-adept, self-starters who easily share and copy the work of other students. If this is your family situation then these teaching models are perfect for your children.

However, if your children need and want genuine and authentic student/teacher/mentor relationships with their classroom teachers you will be sorely disappointed with the instruction they will receive from their FCPS teachers.

When your children return home from school and they begin their homework, please ask them what did their teachers teach or explain to them about the subject matter they are working on. You'll usually find the teacher gave the assignment without first teaching anything whatsoever about the material.

My children want to know and like their teachers. They want to learn from their teachers. They want to communicate with their teachers. They want to bounce their ideas off their teachers and during the learning process, they want their gradual lesson mastery validated by their teachers, but this is no longer available in the FCPS schools. Schools which have adopted Flipped Classroom and Project Based Learning teaching methodologies have eliminated regular classroom student/teacher communications.

It's pretty sad. Their teachers have become distant, detached, and disengaged. It's strange, it's as if their teachers are no longer present in their classrooms. Teachers claim they are present to answer questions, but what they don't realize is by failing actively teach their students they have gradually lost their abilities to communicate with them at all.

Because teachers are not driving the dialog, they find themselves unable to answer essentially basic questions when they are asked. Eventually, they begin to act as if students' questions are troublesome and annoying.

It's sad for the students and the teachers can't feel good about it either.

I am an FCPS teacher and I don't know what you are talking about. We do not use either a flipped classroom or a project-based model, with the exception of the 5th grade global awareness technology project, which accounts for a small part of the overall social studies curriculum in 5th grade. There has been no elimination whatsoever of regular student/teacher communications. This is the most bizarre thing I have read in a long time about FCPS schools - are you sure you're writing about FAIRFAX, and not another county starting with F?

Those who are using Flipped Classroom and Project Based Learning teaching methodologies may not themselves be aware of the degree to which their own student/teacher skills have atrophied, because of lack of use.

[Anonymous]

OP, the answer to your question is yes.

Just like how they extended the school year last year to meet minimums but actively discouraged kids from attending, sent report cards home on the original final day, graduated 6th graders on the original last day ...

I wonder if VDOE knows about the new plan of counting transition time as instructional time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County residents should be more concerned with the lack of instruction taking place throughout the school day in FCPS classrooms than twenty minutes lost in transit.

FCPS uses Flipped Classroom and Project Based Learning teaching methodologies where actual teacher instruction has been removed from the classroom. Students are given assignments and a final assessment due date. They are then left to work alone or to work in groups to teach themselves the required content and skills.

This works well if your children are very smart, popular, socially-adept, self-starters who easily share and copy the work of other students. If this is your family situation then these teaching models are perfect for your children.

However, if your children need and want genuine and authentic student/teacher/mentor relationships with their classroom teachers you will be sorely disappointed with the instruction they will receive from their FCPS teachers.

When your children return home from school and they begin their homework, please ask them what did their teachers teach or explain to them about the subject matter they are working on. You'll usually find the teacher gave the assignment without first teaching anything whatsoever about the material.

My children want to know and like their teachers. They want to learn from their teachers. They want to communicate with their teachers. They want to bounce their ideas off their teachers and during the learning process, they want their gradual lesson mastery validated by their teachers, but this is no longer available in the FCPS schools. Schools which have adopted Flipped Classroom and Project Based Learning teaching methodologies have eliminated regular classroom student/teacher communications.

It's pretty sad. Their teachers have become distant, detached, and disengaged. It's strange, it's as if their teachers are no longer present in their classrooms. Teachers claim they are present to answer questions, but what they don't realize is by failing actively teach their students they have gradually lost their abilities to communicate with them at all.

Because teachers are not driving the dialog, they find themselves unable to answer essentially basic questions when they are asked. Eventually, they begin to act as if students' questions are troublesome and annoying.

It's sad for the students and the teachers can't feel good about it either.

Maybe that's why so many people think the missing 40+ hours is no big deal? -- b/c the kids aren't really get a lot out of school anyway -- I hate to think that way b/c I know teaching can be a tough job. But, I have to wonder why a week and a half of school is so disposable? Maybe we really should be putting more in the curriculum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The current calendar accounts for way more than 990 hours. The county hits the minimum of 990 hours EVEN if there are 13 days of snow. So, basically, if there is no snow, they are getting 990 hours PLUS 13 extra days. I would not stress a about the 10 minutes of putting away your coat, greeting your teacher, and sitting in your seat being counted as "instructional time."

Then the answer you are giving is "no" -- they aren't counting that as instructional time unless there are snow days? Then it counts as instructional time? That seems contrary to other posters and I have to ask why they are even saying the school days is now starting 10 min. earlier and ending 10 min. later if that time ISN'T being used to account for the minimum 990 hrs.?