Reply to Three half-days in a row: Why?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The HS kids used to go to school full day on the conference days and it was just a half day for K-5 or K-8 (I forget which). I think parents complained about kids having different schedules and they switched to everyone having the half days.[/quote]
With the former August start, 1st quarter use to end near the start of the first week of November with a full day off for grading and planning 2nd quarter. The conferences were K-8 half days on Veterans day, because with the government closed, more parents are available for conferences. High school was a full day. There were complaints by parents over confusion of different schedules and more importantly to many, the need to have the high school students home to watch the younger students in the afternoon.

With the Hogan executive order forcing a start after labor day, the end of first quarter is pushed later into November. The full planning and grading day was converted to a half day, and the actual day grades were due was pushed out a couple days so that teachers can finish grading on their own time at home. The teacher conference days were changed to 1/2 days for high school also to create some time for 2nd quarter planning and to help families. This year it just happens that the end of quarter is right before Veterans day, which is why the three half days are in a row.

Elementary conferences are scheduled, usually 15 minute time slots, - on the half days, before school, and after school. A teacher with 18 students will spend 4.5 hours in conferences. A teacher with 30 students will spend 7.5 hours in conferences.

Middle schools do a variety of things depending on the needs of the community. They may have all the teachers in the gym at tables and parents float as desired. They may have sign-ups. They may have a block of time for "team" conferences set up by admin/counseling for students with significant challenges. They may do a mix of those things. At the school I teach at, we are in the gym from ~2:30p-8:00p. If I speak to parents for 5 minutes each, I can talk to 12 parents an hour, or 60 parents in 5 hours. My max one year was 72 parents, with only a 15 minute break. I teach 150 kids. There is no way to talk to everyone. Also there is no need. While I enjoy talking to all the parents, I really wish the ones whose children have straight As and just want to discuss their child's chance of getting into a magnet program or what careers they should think about would ask for a separate meeting. I really need to spend time with parents whose children are struggling in my class. My own kids were in a magnet middle school, and the principal would directly tell the magnet parents to not come to conferences. If they wanted to talk to the teachers to please, please just make a separate meeting time, so that teachers could focus on struggling students on that day. I really appreciated that as a parent.[/quote]

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