Members Split on SFUSD-Proposed Calendar Changes
District Proposing Early Start Calendar for 2010-2011
(Adopted from the December 08 edition of the SF Educator)
Despite deep concern expressed by members of UESF, SFUSD administrators are moving forward with a proposed calendar change that would start the 2010-2011 school year on August 10th and include a three week holiday break.
Setting the calendar is a mandatory subject of bargaining between the district and the union, and UESF President Dennis Kelly has notified the district of members' concerns and reconfirmed that we have not agreed to the proposed changes.
On December 3rd Superintendent Carlos Garcia sent an email out to all SFUSD staff, stating that his administration would submit a proposal to the Board of Education to develop a new instructional calendar for the 2010-2011 school year that schedules the fall semester prior to a three week winter recess (essentially, Calendar A below). The proposal would not make any substantive changes to the 2009-2010 school year.
Calendar Draft A - Early Start
Monday, August 10th - Teachers report back
Wednesday, August 12 - First day of instruction
Tuesday, December 22 - Fall semester ends
Wednesday, December 23 - Friday, January 8 - Winter break
Monday, January 11 - First day of spring semester
Monday, March 29 - Friday, April 2 - Spring break
Friday, May 28 - Last day of instruction/spring semester ends |
In the email Garcia also points out that he will hold meetings with the various stakeholder groups to discuss the rationale for the proposed changes. He anticipates that the Board of Education will make a final decision by the end of the school year.
"In order to better inform our position at the bargaining table, we put out a survey asking our members' opinions," says Dennis Kelly. "The feedback we got in the 925 responses shows that the district has a lot of work to do to convince teachers and paras that such a move would be advisable."
The results of the survey (below) indicate a nearly even split between those who prefer moving the start date to the semester up to August 10th (34.4% prefer Calendar A, 11.5% prefer Calendar B) and those who prefer the calendar as it stands now (51.4% prefer Calendar C). The results also clearly show that most members would be more comfortable with the shift (about 60%) if it took place over a year out. The challenges for the district, however, comes in convincing educators, students, and parents that the change would be a beneficial one. Comments given on the survey suggest several areas of concern. Presented below is a summary of the concerns raised by members.
1. Are you a teacher or a para?
Teacher 85.9% (795)
Para 4.4% (41)
Other 9.6% (89)
2. What kind of site do you work at?
CDC 1.1% (10)
Elementary 51.4% (476)
Middle 13.8% (128)
High 27.2% (252)
Other 6.4% (59)
3. Which calendar do you prefer?
Calendar A 34.4% (314)
Calendar B 11.5% (105)
Calendar C 51.4% (469)
No Preference 2.6% (24)
4. Would you prefer starting the calendar earlier and finishing the fall semester before the winter break?
Start Early 40.4% (364)
Start Later 42.1% (379)
No Preference 17.5% (158)
Comments 162
5. Would you prefer having a nearly 3-week winter break (Calendar A)?
Longer Break 40.8% (369)
Shorter Break 52.4% (474)
No Preference 6.7% (61)
Comments 99
6. Would you be willing to try the earlier calendar if you had a year to prepare?
Yes 60.2% (532)
No 39.8% (351)
Concerns About Early Start in Summer
* Starting earlier is a disadvantage to kids when they enter kindergarten. A two-week shift would hurt those kids who are too young to begin with when entering school.
* It conflicts with private and preschool schedules.
* The weather is better in August than in June. Let the kids enjoy it.
* This would cut the summer short.Teachers already spend a week setting up their classrooms. They would need to come in even earlier to set up for the school year.
* The change would mean the loss of ten days of summer break.
* This would make scheduling family vacations in the summer difficult. Many families go on vacation in August.
* Many have travel plans for next August that cannot be changed.
* The change will interfere with the summer school schedule.
* Many families take vacations in August. The 10-day count would be before or right at Labor Day, which could lead to incorrect staffing.
* Childcare issues in mid-August for both parents and educators.
* Childcare issues in early June – most camps don't start until mid-June.
* Many teachers have their own kids in other districts. This would be disruptive.
* Creates a problem for intern teachers because it doesn't match University schedules.
Concerns About an Extended Holiday Break
* Longer break would leave paras financially disadvantaged.
* Ending so close to Christmas (Dec. 23) would inconvenience families and disrupt holiday travel.
* As it stands now, kids work on projects over the winter break. This change would jeopardize those projects.
* For those with child care issues this would be a burden.
* Doing report cards in December will add to holiday stress levels. Members don't want to correct finals or average grades over the winter break.
* Kindergartners would have a harder time adjusting back to school after a three week break.
* A longer holiday break would negatively impact substitutes, who would be forced to look for work elsewhere.
Additional concerns include the effect on the Summer School schedule and the beginning of the year professional development schedule, how this would effect after school and summer programs, concern about the timing of standardized testing, and the negative experience of other districts who tried such a change.
Reasons for Change
* Students have difficulty retaining material during winter break. This will help improve academic performance. Teachers often spend the first week in January reviewing what went on before the break.
* Students could start the mid-year fresh.
* May help attendance issues when returning from winter break.
* Students could travel with families during winter break, instead of missing class.
* The change would make it easier to send mid-year grades to colleges.
* It would eliminate wasted time after AP tests and give more time to prepare for them.
* Earlier start would benefit students taking STAR tests.
* It would align the calendar with the City College schedule, and would help students and teachers who take courses there.
* A shorter summer would benefit the students and families.
Moving Forward
UESF will bring the concerns expressed by members to the district in order to get them addressed by SFUSD administration. Look for further information via email blast and on the UESF website as to when and where the district will solicit future comment.
One final note. By far and away the comment made the most by UESF members was a simple longing for days gone by: "Why Can't School Start After Labor Day?!!!"
Survey Details
In November, 2008 UESF conducted an online survey on the SFUSD-proposed changes to the school calendar. That proposal included three options, presented briefly below. For the complete calendars, including holidays and professional development days click here.
Calendar Draft A - Early Start
Monday, August 10th - Teachers report back
Wednesday, August 12 - First day of instruction
Tuesday, December 22 - Fall semester ends
Wednesday, December 23 - Friday, January 8 - Winter break
Monday, January 11 - First day of spring semester
Monday, March 29 - Friday, April 2 - Spring break
Friday, May 28 - Last day of instruction/spring semester ends
Calendar Draft B - Early Start
Monday, August 10 - Teachers report back
Wednesday, August 12 - First day of instruction
Tuesday, December 22 - Fall semester ends
Wednesday, December 23 - Tuesday, January 5 - Winter break
Wednesday, January 6 - First day of spring semester
Monday, March 29 - Friday, April 2 - Spring break
Wednesday, May 26 - Last day of instruction/Spring semester ends
Calendar Draft C - Traditional
Wednesday, August 19 - Teachers report back/ Professional development
Monday, August 24 - First day of instruction
Monday, December 21 - Friday, January 1 - Winter break
Friday, January 15 - End of fall semester
Monday, March 29 - Friday, April 2 - Spring break
Tuesday, June 15 - Last day of instruction/Spring semester ends
Return to UESF home page
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