FCPS is considering extending the school day to make up for snow days

[Anonymous]

FCPS is considering extending the school day, rather than adding additional days at the end of the year.

http://commweb.fcps.edu/newsreleases/newsrelease.cfm?newsid=1357

My 3rd grader doesn't get off the bus until 4:45pm with the current schedule, so I can't imagine what an extra 30 or 45 minutes would do. Not to mention the after school activities that would be affected.

[Anonymous]

I know they can't do it, but it's a bummer that they couldn't start earlier. My DC doesn't start until 9:00. So there is a lot of wasted time in the morning.

[Anonymous]

I agree. We start at 9:15. I would have no problem starting earlier.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, but high schools start at 7:20...no way I would want to start any earlier (I am a teacher!). It would make sense to flip flop the added time - elementary starts earlier, high school ends later, but because of the buses it will never happen.

[Anonymous]

They did this my senior year of high school. They added 30 minutes to each school day starting in March or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, but high schools start at 7:20...no way I would want to start any earlier (I am a teacher!). It would make sense to flip flop the added time - elementary starts earlier, high school ends later, but because of the buses it will never happen.

I don't understand that - why can't the buses just run their routes in reverse so the little ones are picked up and delivered first adn then start the runs for the older kids? It's not like the distances changes.

[Anonymous]

Yes, but the time to drive the route does chenge relative to when during rush hour the bus routes run. You start knocking over the dominoes they all fall down. The transportation schedule is ultimately why they didn't change the high school start times last year.

[Anonymous]

I think they should add a week onto the calendar in June ... many folks would welcome this as one "free" week where no camp would be needed. I don't think kids do much extra learning by adding a half hour a day ... If meeting a time requirement is all that matters then just forgive the time and close schools as scheduled. If more learning time is the goal, then add full days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they should add a week onto the calendar in June ... many folks would welcome this as one "free" week where no camp would be needed. I don't think kids do much extra learning by adding a half hour a day ... If meeting a time requirement is all that matters then just forgive the time and close schools as scheduled. If more learning time is the goal, then add full days.

I agree. I don't see how adding 30 min. a day would be as beneficial as full days instead. They should just tack the extra days on at the end of the year or drop them altogether.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they should add a week onto the calendar in June ... many folks would welcome this as one "free" week where no camp would be needed. I don't think kids do much extra learning by adding a half hour a day ... If meeting a time requirement is all that matters then just forgive the time and close schools as scheduled. If more learning time is the goal, then add full days.

I agree. I don't see how adding 30 min. a day would be as beneficial as full days instead. They should just tack the extra days on at the end of the year or drop them altogether.

Teacher here. I think a couple of the issues with that are 1. seniors will already be gone by that time in June 2. staffing and attendance issues for students/teachers who have already made plans for those days they might add on. There is nothing ideal...what confuses me is that Arlington is only making up 1 day in April for high school and nothing else. How can they be exempt and Fairfax is not?

[Anonymous]

Some school systems have more days built into the schedules. Loudon County for example has somewhere between 15 and 18 days built into the schedule for snow (or similar). So folks in Loudon County don't need any makeup days. They are still within the state required number of instructional days/hours. Arlington is likely similarly structured. This doesn't make them "exempt" from the state rules. They are following them.

Fairfax County on the other hand only had four extra days to allow for snow. Fairfax, therefore, must make up the time.

The past two years Fairfax didn't use all their days and school ended up releasing a day or so early. Some working parents then need to scramble for child care. The ending date for school has been considered fluid. If they can let out early, why not let out a few days late?

Folks who have plans for June have more than three months to reschedule their plans. For those few who can't reschedule, there are other options--taking kids out of school a few days early, finding subs, etc.

Obviously none of the options is ideal. If they add an additional 30-45 minutes to each school day, I have concerns. How will that translate into quality instruction time? Will they rework the schedule for each day of the week so that each class will get extra time? It seems really hard to make that work in a meaningful way. Not to mention that many kids will be tired.

[Anonymous]

Maybe next year you want to ask the school board to build in more snow days into the schedule?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe next year you want to ask the school board to build in more snow days into the schedule?

I wouldn't mind that for many reasons, but that's probably not an option.

This was an unusual snow. As previously posted, the previous two years didn't even use up the four days they had.

By not building too many additional days into the schedule, it allows Fairfax to use those funds for other things. With budget cuts already in the scopes, I think adding extra days to the schedule on a permanent basis isn't really an option at this time.

Fairfax just needs the extra time now. This year.

[Anonymous]

I think part of the concerns from the admin point of view is that FCPS has missed 2 full weeks of instructional time and the various tests generally occur in May. So adding in days at the end of the year does not give them additional time for test prep. I have heard this concern expressed not just for SOL type testing, but also for students who are planning to take AP and IB exams in May.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some school systems have more days built into the schedules. Loudon County for example has somewhere between 15 and 18 days built into the schedule for snow (or similar). So folks in Loudon County don't need any makeup days. They are still within the state required number of instructional days/hours. Arlington is likely similarly structured. This doesn't make them "exempt" from the state rules. They are following them.

Fairfax County on the other hand only had four extra days to allow for snow. Fairfax, therefore, must make up the time.

The past two years Fairfax didn't use all their days and school ended up releasing a day or so early. Some working parents then need to scramble for child care. The ending date for school has been considered fluid. If they can let out early, why not let out a few days late?

Folks who have plans for June have more than three months to reschedule their plans. For those few who can't reschedule, there are other options--taking kids out of school a few days early, finding subs, etc.

Obviously none of the options is ideal. If they add an additional 30-45 minutes to each school day, I have concerns. How will that translate into quality instruction time? Will they rework the schedule for each day of the week so that each class will get extra time? It seems really hard to make that work in a meaningful way. Not to mention that many kids will be tired.

Fairfax actually only has 3 days built in as does Arlington. I am sure that Arlington is following the rules, it just sounds like such a little amount that they are planning to make up compared to FCPS, especially since their school year calendars are virtually identical. I am sure there is some crazy formula to figure it all out.

I agree that lengthening the school day is tied to making sure there is enough instruction to prepare students for state/IB/AP tests. Adding days at the end of the year does not help prepare students for those tests.