From the FCPS presentation for recommendations of master schedule and school schedule

[Anonymous]

http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/9KJMS55C3B56/$file/Recommendations%20to%20FCPS%20Master%20Schedule%20and%20Annual%20School%20Calendar%20-%205-28-2014%20-%20Final%20SB%20Presentation.pdf

Can someone please explain what the heck this means: On #7slide
•Align the end of the elementary school day, as described in the current bell schedule, with the conclusion of classroom supervision required of teachers to more accurately reflect instructional time and the work. Huh?

Another question:
Why do our children need to be in school during teacher planning and collaboration time? Can't they send the kids home and hour earlier or in an hour later and let the teachers have that time either at the end or beginning of the school day? Or split the difference 1/2 in the AM and 1/2 in the PM. This is for the teachers not the children, right?

And:
Why? Invest in staffing positions at the elementary level to meet expectations for collaborative and teacher-directed planning time. Consider options for increasing TTT, World Languages or other instructional programming to meet these needs. Estimate the investment at 4 to 7.6 million dollars, depending on the approach...What? spend millions to give teachers planning and collaboration time?

What is TTT anyway?

And then there is slide 12: Take a look Time for Teachers: World Languages (FLES)... What is Steam? How will my English speaking child learn another language through content teaching? This will help non-English speakers maybe or maybe they will just be a lot more lost. FLES works. And there is more on slide 12...Increase class size to cut money and provide teachers more planning time and decrease foreign language learning...Huh??

And
It also seems to me that 990 hours is a lot less instructional time than the 180 days. I get why they want to do this, so they don't have to extend the school year, but my concern is what is going to happen to actual "Teaching Time". As parents we need to really watch this.

And
The calendar they are using is this years. Is it their intention to keep these kids in school until June 25 always?

Help me decipher please? Am I missing something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/9KJMS55C3B56/$file/Recommendations%20to%20FCPS%20Master%20Schedule%20and%20Annual%20School%20Calendar%20-%205-28-2014%20-%20Final%20SB%20Presentation.pdf

Can someone please explain what the heck this means: On #7slide
•Align the end of the elementary school day, as described in the current bell schedule, with the conclusion of classroom supervision required of teachers to more accurately reflect instructional time and the work. Huh?

even on early-out Mondays, teachers still work a full day. This is just another was of saying that kids should be in school full day on Mondays like the the teachers are

Another question:
Why do our children need to be in school during teacher planning and collaboration time? Can't they send the kids home and hour earlier or in an hour later and let the teachers have that time either at the end or beginning of the school day? Or split the difference 1/2 in the AM and 1/2 in the PM. This is for the teachers not the children, right?

that's one suggestion. Email your school board member.

And:
Why? Invest in staffing positions at the elementary level to meet expectations for collaborative and teacher-directed planning time. Consider options for increasing TTT, World Languages or other instructional programming to meet these needs. Estimate the investment at 4 to 7.6 million dollars, depending on the approach...What? spend millions to give teachers planning and collaboration time?

What is TTT anyway?
time to teach. It's the PE, Music and Art classes. Classroom teachers can plan, meet and prep during those times depending on how long kids are in those specials.

And then there is slide 12: Take a look Time for Teachers: World Languages (FLES)... What is Steam? How will my English speaking child learn another language through content teaching? This will help non-English speakers maybe or maybe they will just be a lot more lost. FLES works. And there is more on slide 12...Increase class size to cut money and provide teachers more planning time and decrease foreign language learning...Huh??
STEAM is science, technology engineering arts math. It's a problem-based approach to science.

And
It also seems to me that 990 hours is a lot less instructional time than the 180 days. I get why they want to do this, so they don't have to extend the school year, but my concern is what is going to happen to actual "Teaching Time". As parents we need to really watch this.

And
The calendar they are using is this years. Is it their intention to keep these kids in school until June 25 always?
no

Help me decipher please? Am I missing something?