DCPS Survey - Increase Instructional Time

[Anonymous]

Parent to two Elementary schools kids. Yes to longer year. Research shows long summer break not good for academics. Use extra time to for more arts, language and outdoor Ed.

[Anonymous]

Link to survey: https://docs.google.com/a/dc.gov/forms/d/1YOLNWvOMWcomgm_QYPeTieYPey7oivLpGGMhwivCzSE/viewform

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent to two Elementary schools kids. Yes to longer year. Research shows long summer break not good for academics. Use extra time to for more arts, language and outdoor Ed.

DCPS has not provided any information regarding how that extra time will be spent. Your child could very well be sitting in a classroom even longer, doing worksheets and prepping for more standardized testing. If DCPS isn't going to offer a curriculum with more arts and outdoor activities, then I'd rather pay for summer camps that offer those activities.

[Anonymous]

Kids in DCPS currently have 1,176.5 hours of school a year. (181 days @ 6.5 hours a day)

Page three of this document shows the average weeks and hours per year in OECD countries.

http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/EDIF%202014--N22%20(eng).pdf

Most do have a longer year but they all have fewer hours in school per year. Children in Finland for example have just 650 hours of school over 38 weeks. That sounds about right to me.

Here's another schedule showing hours by country and age:

http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Organizing-a-school/Time-in-school-How-does-the-US-compare/Hours-of-Instruction-by-Country.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent to two Elementary schools kids. Yes to longer year. Research shows long summer break not good for academics. Use extra time to for more arts, language and outdoor Ed.

DCPS has not provided any information regarding how that extra time will be spent. Your child could very well be sitting in a classroom even longer, doing worksheets and prepping for more standardized testing. If DCPS isn't going to offer a curriculum with more arts and outdoor activities, then I'd rather pay for summer camps that offer those activities.

Then take the survey already and specify how you want that time to be spent. If you say nothing, your child will be doing worksheets all day. DCPS is not providing any information on how time will be spent because they are seeking FEEDBACK from the survey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids in DCPS currently have 1,176.5 hours of school a year. (181 days @ 6.5 hours a day)

Page three of this document shows the average weeks and hours per year in OECD countries.

http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/EDIF%202014--N22%20(eng).pdf

Most do have a longer year but they all have fewer hours in school per year. Children in Finland for example have just 650 hours of school over 38 weeks. That sounds about right to me.

Here's another schedule showing hours by country and age:

http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Organizing-a-school/Time-in-school-How-does-the-US-compare/Hours-of-Instruction-by-Country.pdf[/quote.

So how does Finland do in the testing? I mean they spend about half the time our kids do in school. Are they half as bright?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent to two Elementary schools kids. Yes to longer year. Research shows long summer break not good for academics. Use extra time to for more arts, language and outdoor Ed.

DCPS has not provided any information regarding how that extra time will be spent. Your child could very well be sitting in a classroom even longer, doing worksheets and prepping for more standardized testing. If DCPS isn't going to offer a curriculum with more arts and outdoor activities, then I'd rather pay for summer camps that offer those activities.

Then take the survey already and specify how you want that time to be spent. If you say nothing, your child will be doing worksheets all day. DCPS is not providing any information on how time will be spent because they are seeking FEEDBACK from the survey.

What is the test prep and worksheets you speak of. DC has been at DCPS for 4 years and I haven't seen any of this. Survey specifically asks what you would like to see in a longer school year and suggests language, arts etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent to two Elementary schools kids. Yes to longer year. Research shows long summer break not good for academics. Use extra time to for more arts, language and outdoor Ed.

DCPS has not provided any information regarding how that extra time will be spent. Your child could very well be sitting in a classroom even longer, doing worksheets and prepping for more standardized testing. If DCPS isn't going to offer a curriculum with more arts and outdoor activities, then I'd rather pay for summer camps that offer those activities.

Then take the survey already and specify how you want that time to be spent. If you say nothing, your child will be doing worksheets all day. DCPS is not providing any information on how time will be spent because they are seeking FEEDBACK from the survey.

What is the test prep and worksheets you speak of. DC has been at DCPS for 4 years and I haven't seen any of this. Survey specifically asks what you would like to see in a longer school year and suggests language, arts etc.

4 years -- which grades?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent to two Elementary schools kids. Yes to longer year. Research shows long summer break not good for academics. Use extra time to for more arts, language and outdoor Ed.

DCPS has not provided any information regarding how that extra time will be spent. Your child could very well be sitting in a classroom even longer, doing worksheets and prepping for more standardized testing. If DCPS isn't going to offer a curriculum with more arts and outdoor activities, then I'd rather pay for summer camps that offer those activities.

Then take the survey already and specify how you want that time to be spent. If you say nothing, your child will be doing worksheets all day. DCPS is not providing any information on how time will be spent because they are seeking FEEDBACK from the survey.

Where is a link to the survey? Please someone post

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent to two Elementary schools kids. Yes to longer year. Research shows long summer break not good for academics. Use extra time to for more arts, language and outdoor Ed.

DCPS has not provided any information regarding how that extra time will be spent. Your child could very well be sitting in a classroom even longer, doing worksheets and prepping for more standardized testing. If DCPS isn't going to offer a curriculum with more arts and outdoor activities, then I'd rather pay for summer camps that offer those activities.

Then take the survey already and specify how you want that time to be spent. If you say nothing, your child will be doing worksheets all day. DCPS is not providing any information on how time will be spent because they are seeking FEEDBACK from the survey.

What is the test prep and worksheets you speak of. DC has been at DCPS for 4 years and I haven't seen any of this. Survey specifically asks what you would like to see in a longer school year and suggests language, arts etc.

You really trust DCPS that much? HA!!! You had better be specific, for schools that have many children behind what do you think they will be doing?

[Anonymous]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/this-high-school-was-struggling-but-a-community-was-able-to-turn-it-around/2015/11/08/89d3ce56-84c1-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Timely article. JEB Stuart HS in Fairfax saw measurable gains in the performance of low-income students by increasing instructional time. (Now, how they did it is another problem altogether)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent to two Elementary schools kids. Yes to longer year. Research shows long summer break not good for academics. Use extra time to for more arts, language and outdoor Ed.

DCPS has not provided any information regarding how that extra time will be spent. Your child could very well be sitting in a classroom even longer, doing worksheets and prepping for more standardized testing. If DCPS isn't going to offer a curriculum with more arts and outdoor activities, then I'd rather pay for summer camps that offer those activities.

Then take the survey already and specify how you want that time to be spent. If you say nothing, your child will be doing worksheets all day. DCPS is not providing any information on how time will be spent because they are seeking FEEDBACK from the survey.

Where is a link to the survey? Please someone post

Seems it's only accessible via email from DCPS - they don't seem to want non-parents answering it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent to two Elementary schools kids. Yes to longer year. Research shows long summer break not good for academics. Use extra time to for more arts, language and outdoor Ed.

DCPS has not provided any information regarding how that extra time will be spent. Your child could very well be sitting in a classroom even longer, doing worksheets and prepping for more standardized testing. If DCPS isn't going to offer a curriculum with more arts and outdoor activities, then I'd rather pay for summer camps that offer those activities.

Then take the survey already and specify how you want that time to be spent. If you say nothing, your child will be doing worksheets all day. DCPS is not providing any information on how time will be spent because they are seeking FEEDBACK from the survey.

Where is a link to the survey? Please someone post

Seems it's only accessible via email from DCPS - they don't seem to want non-parents answering it.

The conspiracy theories you guys cook up never cease to amaze me.

https://twitter.com/dcpublicschools

[Anonymous]

No to longer year. Maybe to longer day--only if it allows more creative play time. For all of those referencing other countries that have longer school year, those schools also have extended breaks throughout the school year. So, camp would still be needed. Summer vacations would become impossible. Teachers would bolt for jurisdictions where they have a longer summer. There are many things broken within DCPS that can be fixed without increasing the length of the school year.

[Anonymous]

By mid-May my kids ES is already showing a lot of videos. Pretty sure if they increased instruction time, actual instruction would not increase.