I REALLY wish it had been my in-bound school (Amidon-Bowen), which had some of the worst PARCC test scores in Ward 6. A 4-week summer break would be enough for my family to travel, do camps, etc. and preventing "summer slump" is a good idea, in my opinion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did they provide any details on how the program will work? Will the calendar be the regular calendar plus more time added on, or is it a totally different calendar? What will happen to teachers who don't want to work in the summer?

It is the regular calendar with time added and breaks in October and (I think) February. There will be intercession classes during parts of those breaks and spring break but I find remember the specifics about intercession. School will start the 2nd week of August and dismiss at the end of the second week in July. We will still follow winter break, spring break and the various PD days. Teachers will move to an 11 month calendar. If there we teachers who don't want to continue on that schedule, I assume they'll find new positions, but I haven't heard that that will be the case at Cooke.

That's brutal. We would change schools.

PP here. Why? What do your kids usually do during the summer? I ask because my kid goes to camp all summer, except for the couple weeks we go on vacation. So I just don't really see it as all that much different. It's an extra 20 days total.

There's a big difference between doing summer camp with arts and crafts, swimming, etc. and doing worksheets all day in the heat of summer.

Did they announce that it would be worksheets? There are other more fun ways to teach that help retain / reinforce what was learned during the year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"The ten new elementary and middle schools with extended year planned for the 2016/2017 school year:

Garfield Elementary School (Ward 8)
H.D. Cooke Elementary School (Ward 1)
Hart Middle School (Ward 8)
Hendley Elementary School (Ward 8)
Johnson Middle School (Ward 8)
Kelly Miller Middle School (Ward 7)
King Elementary School (Ward 8)
Randle Highlands Elementary School (Ward 7)
Thomas Elementary School (Ward 7)
Turner Elementary School (Ward 8)
DCPS selected the ten schools based on a mix of criteria, including: strong leadership in each school, active interest by the community (including students and parents), and student bodies that demonstrate room for growth."

http://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-accelerates-pace-education-reform-announces-extended-year-10-district-schools

Are we stigmatizing these schools (as underachieving) if we only extend them and not others? I'm all for extending the school year, but just do it district wide.

If the extended school year will lead to better outcomes for the students and more learning, I'm all for it. You have to start somewhere--seems like starting with the lowest performing schools makes sense. I too would like to see it expanded to other schools as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did they provide any details on how the program will work? Will the calendar be the regular calendar plus more time added on, or is it a totally different calendar? What will happen to teachers who don't want to work in the summer?

It is the regular calendar with time added and breaks in October and (I think) February. There will be intercession classes during parts of those breaks and spring break but I find remember the specifics about intercession. School will start the 2nd week of August and dismiss at the end of the second week in July. We will still follow winter break, spring break and the various PD days. Teachers will move to an 11 month calendar. If there we teachers who don't want to continue on that schedule, I assume they'll find new positions, but I haven't heard that that will be the case at Cooke.

That's brutal. We would change schools.

PP here. Why? What do your kids usually do during the summer? I ask because my kid goes to camp all summer, except for the couple weeks we go on vacation. So I just don't really see it as all that much different. It's an extra 20 days total.

There's a big difference between doing summer camp with arts and crafts, swimming, etc. and doing worksheets all day in the heat of summer.

Anonymous wrote:"The ten new elementary and middle schools with extended year planned for the 2016/2017 school year:

Garfield Elementary School (Ward 8)
H.D. Cooke Elementary School (Ward 1)
Hart Middle School (Ward 8)
Hendley Elementary School (Ward 8)
Johnson Middle School (Ward 8)
Kelly Miller Middle School (Ward 7)
King Elementary School (Ward 8)
Randle Highlands Elementary School (Ward 7)
Thomas Elementary School (Ward 7)
Turner Elementary School (Ward 8)
DCPS selected the ten schools based on a mix of criteria, including: strong leadership in each school, active interest by the community (including students and parents), and student bodies that demonstrate room for growth."

http://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-accelerates-pace-education-reform-announces-extended-year-10-district-schools

Are we stigmatizing these schools (as underachieving) if we only extend them and not others? I'm all for extending the school year, but just do it district wide.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did they provide any details on how the program will work? Will the calendar be the regular calendar plus more time added on, or is it a totally different calendar? What will happen to teachers who don't want to work in the summer?

It is the regular calendar with time added and breaks in October and (I think) February. There will be intercession classes during parts of those breaks and spring break but I find remember the specifics about intercession. School will start the 2nd week of August and dismiss at the end of the second week in July. We will still follow winter break, spring break and the various PD days. Teachers will move to an 11 month calendar. If there we teachers who don't want to continue on that schedule, I assume they'll find new positions, but I haven't heard that that will be the case at Cooke.

That's brutal. We would change schools.

PP here. Why? What do your kids usually do during the summer? I ask because my kid goes to camp all summer, except for the couple weeks we go on vacation. So I just don't really see it as all that much different. It's an extra 20 days total.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did they provide any details on how the program will work? Will the calendar be the regular calendar plus more time added on, or is it a totally different calendar? What will happen to teachers who don't want to work in the summer?

It is the regular calendar with time added and breaks in October and (I think) February. There will be intercession classes during parts of those breaks and spring break but I find remember the specifics about intercession. School will start the 2nd week of August and dismiss at the end of the second week in July. We will still follow winter break, spring break and the various PD days. Teachers will move to an 11 month calendar. If there we teachers who don't want to continue on that schedule, I assume they'll find new positions, but I haven't heard that that will be the case at Cooke.

That's brutal. We would change schools.

Anonymous wrote:Are all of these schools Title I? They appear to be. DCPS is creating a system of separate but equal. While well-to-do upper NW kids get to go to summer camp, these extended day kids will be doing worksheets all summer. Fair?

Not just title i. These schools are among the lowest performing 40 in DC.

Are all of these schools Title I? They appear to be. DCPS is creating a system of separate but equal. While well-to-do upper NW kids get to go to summer camp, these extended day kids will be doing worksheets all summer. Fair?

Anonymous wrote:Did they provide any details on how the program will work? Will the calendar be the regular calendar plus more time added on, or is it a totally different calendar? What will happen to teachers who don't want to work in the summer?

It is the regular calendar with time added and breaks in October and (I think) February. There will be intercession classes during parts of those breaks and spring break but I find remember the specifics about intercession. School will start the 2nd week of August and dismiss at the end of the second week in July. We will still follow winter break, spring break and the various PD days. Teachers will move to an 11 month calendar. If there we teachers who don't want to continue on that schedule, I assume they'll find new positions, but I haven't heard that that will be the case at Cooke.

Anonymous wrote:I said on the survey that I wanted both extended day and extended year. Unfortunately, my school is not on the list!

Unless a school in that situation was given lots of extra staff, that combo sounds like a recipe for a revolving staff door.

I said on the survey that I wanted both extended day and extended year. Unfortunately, my school is not on the list!

I would be in favor of extended day. We'd save money on aftercare and have better instruction during that time.

I would not be in favor of mandatory extended year, but a summer program for kids who need it would be smart.

Did they provide any details on how the program will work? Will the calendar be the regular calendar plus more time added on, or is it a totally different calendar? What will happen to teachers who don't want to work in the summer?

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how the H.D. Cooke parents feel about this. I'm only asking about that school because I've seen some talk on this site about that school.

Will the school loose its momentum because of extended day?

My daughter goes to Cooke. I'm actually really excited for extending the school year. I think it will be great for the kids. Kids who will benefit from the increased instructional time. Kids like my daughter who loves school and her friends and found spending summer away from them jarring. I am personally pleased about having a fall break that will allow us to take a vacation at a non-standard time when ticket prices are lower and the shortened time we have to pay for summer camp.

I think that implementation is everything, but I've been impressed with our leadership team for 2 years and am confident that they will bring their award-winning practices to this task as well.

I know I sound like a crazy booster, but we really love the school and cannot say enough good things. I am sure there will be people who are not pleased, but in my mind, it's a net positive.

Happy to answer specific questions.