comment on DCPS calendar for 16-17

[Anonymous]

Ideally, PD should be scheduled based on what's most effective from a teaching and learning standpoint, not on what is most convenient for teachers, administrators or, frankly, families. (This all assumes, of course, that the PD itself isn't a low-quality waste of time. Big assumption.)

Totally agree with others that ending the school year on a Tuesday is stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The 10 half days is a non-starter for us. Strongly opposed. 1/2 days are just more days where parents either have to take off work or make complicated arrangements. Having more of them is a huge pain.

Also, I think the DCPS survey is incorrect. The "follow up question" on Option C (the 10 1/2 days) talks about how the school year will need to be COMPRESSED as a result. But taking 10 1/2 days instead of 5 1/2 days should result in the school year being LENGTHENED. So we need an extra week of school rather a week less. Hopefully it is just a mistake for the survey rather than a major mistake in DCPS planning.

I think it's that 1/2 days count as full days. Ten 1/2 days instead of 5 full PD days means we'd have an extra 5 "teaching" days in the school calendar that weren't there before. WTU only allows for 196 days for teachers in a year. So there can't be 201 days of school, they'd have to take away 5 other (full) days to be back to 196.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The 10 half days is a non-starter for us. Strongly opposed. 1/2 days are just more days where parents either have to take off work or make complicated arrangements. Having more of them is a huge pain.

Also, I think the DCPS survey is incorrect. The "follow up question" on Option C (the 10 1/2 days) talks about how the school year will need to be COMPRESSED as a result. But taking 10 1/2 days instead of 5 1/2 days should result in the school year being LENGTHENED. So we need an extra week of school rather a week less. Hopefully it is just a mistake for the survey rather than a major mistake in DCPS planning.

I think it's that 1/2 days count as full days. Ten 1/2 days instead of 5 full PD days means we'd have an extra 5 "teaching" days in the school calendar that weren't there before. WTU only allows for 196 days for teachers in a year. So there can't be 201 days of school, they'd have to take away 5 other (full) days to be back to 196.

That makes me like the 10 full days even more (either at once or spread out). I don't view half days as even the equivalent of a half day in terms of instruction. 10 1/2 days would be even less productive days and then taking away 5 full days to shorten the year would be a big drop in meaningful instruction time. If they went this way, they should take out the parent-teacher conference days (have them outside of instructional time) to try to help make up the different. They should be keeping the school year at its current length at a minimum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why are they so into changing everything all the time? why not stick to a schedule long-term?

Because it's an incompetent school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, 10 PD days in late August is a joke of a proposal. And what, no PD during the rest of the year? By day 3 of consecutive PD, everyone is overloaded and nothing is going to stick.

Does any industry or profession expect their professionals to take all their PD in 2 straight weeks? No, Continuing Education is most effective in small doses at regular intervals.

Comment to have the PD through the year, please!! It's helpful to us to have days to reflect and think. Without that reflection and planning, lessons are going to be less effective and tailored to your child and his/her classmates.

No every other profession requires people to do professional development on their own time when they are not being paid. Stop your whining.

I would have said 'most' not every but agree with PP on this one.

My employer sure pays me my salary to do professional development on their time. It helps their bottom line, however they calculate that, to improve my skills, so they are fine with doing it on their time. should be the same for teachers.

[Anonymous]

10 days of professional development is a lot. I thinks it's great that teachers get it and I hope they are useful. I come from a place where I'lm lucky if I get sent to one local day conference once a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:10 days of professional development is a lot. I thinks it's great that teachers get it and I hope they are useful. I come from a place where I'lm lucky if I get sent to one local day conference once a year.

They currently have 10. They have 5 before school year starts (Teacher Week) and 5 throughout the year on Fridays.

This proposal doesn't change the amount of days of PD, just the way the days/calendar are structured for the PD.

[Anonymous]

I love the short Christmas break! I hope that stays put.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love the short Christmas break! I hope that stays put.

+100

We don't like to travel then - too expensive and too many other things going on but having the kids home when the weather isn't good (usually) is just a pain - I'd rather summer was longer or spring break!

And I like a later spring break - easier to travel as things are cheaper and more places are warmer!

But 10 1/2 days for PD - please!!!

[Anonymous]

"No every other profession requires people to do professional development on their own time when they are not being paid. Stop your whining."

Completely disagree. At our school, really good work gets done on professional development days and I think that the teachers needs time to catch their breath and assess where they are and what they're doing. Doing them all in one 2 week period doesn't make sense because that leaves no opportunity for the staff to work on issues that come up during the school.

Does no one at DCPS have a brain. I'm not an overly involved parent and even I can figure this out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also worth to note Parent/Teacher Conferences are now scheduled for Fridays instead of Mondays. Thoughts on that?

drives us crazy. Our school doesn't even do P-T conferences anymore and yet the school still is closed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love the short Christmas break! I hope that stays put.

+100

We don't like to travel then - too expensive and too many other things going on but having the kids home when the weather isn't good (usually) is just a pain - I'd rather summer was longer or spring break!

And I like a later spring break - easier to travel as things are cheaper and more places are warmer!

But 10 1/2 days for PD - please!!!

I am with you on the later spring break, but when it was tied to Emancipation Day because no one else had spring break that time so fewer crowds. This one is over Easter so assuming that other schools continue with their Easter spring break schedule, we won't have fewer crowds. But there isn't a better alternative.

[Anonymous]

Spring break travel is not going to be cheaper if its the week after easter. I agree that later in the spring is better generally but not if its tied to easter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, 10 PD days in late August is a joke of a proposal. And what, no PD during the rest of the year? By day 3 of consecutive PD, everyone is overloaded and nothing is going to stick.

Does any industry or profession expect their professionals to take all their PD in 2 straight weeks? No, Continuing Education is most effective in small doses at regular intervals.

Comment to have the PD through the year, please!! It's helpful to us to have days to reflect and think. Without that reflection and planning, lessons are going to be less effective and tailored to your child and his/her classmates.

No every other profession requires people to do professional development on their own time when they are not being paid. Stop your whining.

I don't know your industry, PP, but in mine, I'm regularly sent to PD conferences on my employer's time and dime.

I'm with the teachers on this. PD is most effective in small doses at regular intervals.

Parents who think the school should cover their every child care need and/or that teachers are whiners for expecting the best practice for PD can zip it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you short winter break. I would rather spend time off in the summer. Also, as a Fed, I get tired of all the kids our support staff have to bring into work because they don't have child care. This business about people traveling for two weeks is very upper class. Plus maybe teachers might feel less inclined to assign winter break work if it was shorter.