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For the Record: Making a longer school year
By: Cassandra West / June 24, 2011
Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard has proposed lengthening the school year by turning some or all of the 23 days children are not in school into instructional days for students.
He focused on professional development days--which teachers have said do little to help them improve their teaching.
A review of the 2011-2012 school calendar shows just eight professional development and planning days. Another four days are devoted to report-card pickup for parents. On two of those days, elementary students are not in school; on two days, high school students do not attend.
Adding these as instructional days would bring the school year to 180 days, the national average. The only way to add 23 instructional days would be to eliminate holidays and winter and spring breaks.
Although Brizard’s idea was touted as part of proposed “charter-style changes” to how schools operate, it also mirrors a statewide move just made in North Carolina. There, lawmakers just passed a bill adding five days to the school year by revoking a requirement for five teacher workdays per year. North Carolina students will now be required to attend school for 185 days.
Illinois’ required school year is 180 days, but waivers have brought the state’s average to 175 days.
Here’s how Chicago now stacks up against other large districts:
SCHOOL DISTRICT INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS
Washington, D.C. 196
Fairfax Co., VA* 183
Baltimore 180
New York City 180
Philadelphia 180
Los Angeles 175
Dallas 175
Denver 170
Chicago 170
*Fairfax County is outside Washington, D.C.
For more on school time and its impact on student learning, see the Winter 2010 issue of Catalyst In Depth.
Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard has proposed lengthening the school year
by turning some or all of the 23 days children are not in school into
instructional days for students.
He focused on professional development days--which teachers have said do
little to help them improve their teaching.
A review of the 2011-2012 school calendar shows just eight
professional development and planning days. Another four days are devoted to report-card pickup for parents. On two
of those days, elementary students are not in school; on two days, high
school students do not attend.
Adding these as instructional days would bring the school year to 180
days, the national average. The only way to add 23 instructional days, as
proposed by the district would be to eliminate holidays and winter and spring breaks.
Although Brizard’s idea was touted as part of proposed
“charter-style changes” to how schools operate, it also mirrors a
statewide move just made in North Carolina. There, lawmakers just passed
a bill adding five days to the school year by revoking a requirement
for five teacher workdays per year. North Carolina students will now be
required to attend school for 185 days.
Illinois’ required school year is 180 days, but waivers have brought the state’s average to 175 days.
Here’s how Chicago now stacks up against other large districts:
SCHOOL DISTRICT INSTRUCTIONAL DAYS
Washington, D.C. 196
Fairfax Co., VA* 183
Chicago 180
Baltimore 180
New York City 180
Philadelphia 180
Los Angeles 175
Dallas 175
Denver 170
Chicago 170
*Fairfax County is outside Washington, D.C.
For more on school time and its impact on student learning, see the Winter 2010 issue of Catalyst In Depth.
For the Record: A longer school year
As a teacher who has taught 10+ years at the high school level in CPS, I think many teachers would prefer the option of eliminating "professional development" days to extending the school year. Many of the professional development days are remnants, often times, of the days when grades were kept manually. Why do we have end of quarter days when grades are due at 10am on those mornings. With our computerized system these days are an inefficient waste of time. Any teacher worth his/her salt would be prefer to have these as instructional days.
However, I wish that there was better fact checking and knowledge of the school calendar. Based on the 2011-2012 calendar, I count 11 days as non-attendance days for students when teachers are required to be there (a copy of the school calendar can be found on the CPS website).
Other days conveniently highlighted and where I am sure that Mr. Brizzaard got his 23 day factoid are holidays (Thanksgiving, Memorial Day etc.). Mr. Brizzard should check his facts before he starts spreading untruths.
Granted, some holidays are ridiculous. Pulaski Day and the extra day for Lincoln's Birthday (on top of President's Day) come to mind. These are either state mandates or political gifts to certain constituencies contrived by politicians NOT teachers. Eliminate unneccesary holidays...sure...but pay us for the extra time.
But while we are discussing a need to increase instructional time in the CPS. Several questions and concerns come to mind.
A full six days of instruction are eliminated and other modified bell schedules limit instructional time due to standardized testing mandates.
In addition, if the central office is so concerned about the length of the school year WHY do they mandate that final grades be submitted 1 1/2 weeks before the end of the school year so that they can generate reports. Many schools have to conduct finals a full two weeks before the end of the school year in order to meet this requirement from DOWNTOWN. A fact that makes me wonder what comes first, the bureaucracy or the students?
In conclusion, I agree that there are better ways of increasing instructional time than extending the year into late June or beginning it in early August. But Brizzard needs to be dealing with facts and not misconceptions. Also, his home visit idea is CRAY CRAY!!!
For the Record: Making a longer school year
thanks to paul for pointing out the discrepancy regarding PD days. we have corrected our story.
For the Record: Making a longer school year
kids more--CAOs will just pull teachers out of their classrooms to make them go to their wasteful PD and the students will get nothing but sub.
watch!
For the Record: Making a longer school year
I love the idea of giving up PD for instruction! I have been teaching for 16 years and can only think of only one PD session that had value in terms of practical application. There is too much money wasted on crony friends of administrators "teaching" us either things we already know or worthless, mind-numbing pablum. Every teacher I know already keeps up on educational trends and best practices on their own -- and learn much more in the process than via high-priced, know-nothing PD providers.
For the Record: Making a longer school year
At the end of the school year, the teachers at my school threw out ideas for potential PD for the upcoming school year. Many of us requested a PD on working with special education students as our school has a very high number of SPED students (roughly 25%). August PD rolls around and surprise! We have a PD that involves special education students in the mainstream classroom.
For 45 minutes, we sat in a hot, sweaty room listening to a speaker talk about every possible label a student can have and define each label. He got to the "Other Health Impaired" section and says, "Hearing Impairment: this is for a student who has an impairment of hearing." He then goes on to say, "Vision Impairment: this is for a student who has an impairment of vision." I kid you not. I remember the teachers looking at each other and thinking, really??? He really just said that??
My favorite PD is the yearly Autism PD.
Presenter: Students with autism are likely disengaged from the learning environment. It is your job as the teacher to engage them in the learning process.
Teacher 1: Can you provide an example of engaging students with autism?
Presenter: When teaching students with autism, you should find ways to have these students interact in the classroom.
Teacher 2: How do you get them to interact?
Presenter: By engaging them in the classroom.
Well gosh, I'm glad that clears up everything! You engage students in learning by engaging them!
I'd rather walk 10 miles in the rain than go to worthless PD.
For the Record: Making a longer school year
Cut the CAO$$ they provide the worthless PD--I too would rather my students be in school learning with me in my classroom. Mr. Brizard--give my school more independance from CAO and WATCH our scores go up up!
For the Record: Making a longer school year
The Chicago Public Schools wants to lengthen the school year without paying teachers more! CEO Jean-Claude Brizard says teachers should lose their automatic pay raises for experience and credentials (step & lane increases)!
For the Record: Making a longer school year
strike vote--the CTU is dead and CPS has free reign--all schools will be like charters.
For the Record: Making a longer school year
Now if Professional Days are taken; please don't expect any. No they are going take the Professional Days; and then expect them. These sounds like people who do not know what they are doing. Why don't they ask the teachers what to do? After all. We ARE teachers. Now do you see why the need for teacher's. This performance mess is just that. Those people are making big bucks to tell teachers how to perform; and we have done fine for years. Everyone knows. EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER. Now they are about to turn it over to Rookies. Those kids are going to run over them. Those teachers are going to be running for the hills. They don't make children like they use to. New teachers you won't be getting any raises. You won't be having any sick days. Chicago Public Schools won't be offering any benefits to be looking forward to. Who wants to work for pweanuts. Rahm and Brizard are turning this city upside down. Crime is happy. They see where the interest is focused. On the poor teachers. Teachers are not buying this. They are just shaking their heads. City workers are getting angry too.When election time comes;I know people are going to cast their votes in a different direction. For the Governor too. Why would someone sign off on a Reform bill to do harm lkie that? And have the nerve to brag as if they have done something. No. There are a lot of disgusted people behind that bill. They know that was not a smart move. Teachers are just turning their heads and saying how sad it has become to work in Chicago Public Schools and the state of Illinois schools systems.
For the Record: Making a longer school year
You can't make house calls in chicago. They are robbing mail carriers. They are robbing construction workers. They are robbing UPS drivers. Teacher gives the student a F. Try going out to visit that family. Anything could happen to you. You may get robbed. Set up. Shot at. Car could get stripped. Car could get keyed. Car could get stolen. Hopefully if Mr. Brizard is going to send a teacher out they will be protected. This is dangerous in Chicago. Safety is a BIG factor. The children are also carrying weapons these day. They could get their teacher for making a bad grade. THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. Teachers could lose their lives.
For the Record: Making a longer school year
Maybe Ed Burke could spare a security guard for a home visit? hahaha!
Experience & PD Days
Urban education is the only profession in which industry executives believe education, training, and experience either don't matter or, worse, are a hindrance.
I love my PD days, but not because of the PD - I gleefully skip every single session. Instead, I turn each PD day into an optional 6 hour interactive study and tutoring session with my students. Over 90% of my students volunteer their day off to come work together in our classroom. Please, don't take my precious PD days!
I need this time for instruction since so much of our year is wasted by test prep and test day after test day after test day after test day.
For the Record: Making a longer school year
he has a paid for car, mileage, gas, driver, and security.
Will CPS pay teachers mileage when they drive to student homes from school?
For the Record: Making a longer school year
I say the union has an emergency HoD meeting to discuss what is happening and take a vote on the new CEO and his ideas.
For the Record: Making a longer school year
Did anyone bother to ask the PARENTS... if they will even let us into their homes.... i think not! What about the working parents.... do we wait for them to come home.... I think if this goes through... every teacher should say I do not have a car... how will I get to the parents house???? We should all just take the bus to the parents house.....( bus pass paid for by CPS) ...they do not pay for car insurance, gas, car up keep.... !!! CPS...Stop using all our personal materials for your use.... TEACHERS...stop using your phones, email address. to contact parents...students.... let them call the school. Why are we expected to be 24/7 accessible when administration is not!?!?!?!?!!!!
For the Record: Making a longer school year
Shouldn't the school social worker be the one doing house visits and aren't they usually behind in their work???
For the Record: Making a longer school year
Our school uses PD days to their fullest. We don't attend any of that crap that the board puts out. We use those days to read texts together, plan, collaborate, and help each other be better teachers. We don't always agree, but we act like professionals. This is what NEEDS to happen. Taking those PD days will hurt our professional learning community. That, in turn, will hurt the students.
For the Record: Making a longer school year
I also highly value our PD days. Like the previous poster we use that time not for Board mandated junk "development, but to plan, collaborate, analyze student performance, adjust teaching methods, etc. The key is that we do this together as a department. While I can do all sorts of planning on my own from home, the common planning time with my colleagues, which is totally lacking during the school day in our building, is absolutely essential to developing and keeping our department strong.
For the Record: Making a longer school year
I totally agree with "Another Teacher" about PD time being best spent collaborating with other teachers. I can learn more in 30 minutes with my peers than I ever got from outside PD providers. I would love to take it an extra step and get together with teachers from other schools. We learn so much from each other!
For the Record: Making a longer school year
In order for teachers to use those extra days wisely they must have time to collaborate and talk. Why should schools who have been able to implement this model using available PD days be punished? Shameful!
For the Record: Making a longer school year
There seems to be a discrepancy in the chart showing # of school days in large cities. Chicago is listed twice - once at 180 days, and once at 170 days. The count I got for this year was 170 days - and that's counting the 1-hour last day of school day as an instructional day!
Also - I'm confused why the only option for increasing the number of instructional days, after using PD days, is to take holidays or winter or spring breaks. Why not simply reduce the number of days vacation in the summer? That, to me, seems the most logical and effective solution.
For the Record: Making a longer school year
Worthless PDs are a waste of time. Effective PDs are essential! Collaboration time, so teachers aren't lost in their own classrooms or their own heads is what makes any organization successful-even schools. Early Childhood Dept. Has mastered this and has, as a department, organized a system of PDs that teachers can choose from, based on their needs. The PDs are set up to run in a series all year long so it's never a one shot deal and real learning and support happen. Why can't this successful model be tried for other teachers?
For the Record: Making a longer school year
If/when PD is eliminated, how do teachers get the CPDU's required for maintaining state certification?
For the Record: Making a longer school year
I am a science educator and we rarely get to use PD days to attend science PD outside of the school. So PD days aren't very helpful most of the time for us. We need PD days but they need to be use effectively where we are allowed to attend truly professional lead workshops about science education. Then maybe the science ISAT scores will improve as well not just reading and math. And yes we need valuable content CPDUs as well. How about just going with a track E calendar or something similar or year round schools to level the number of days across the board. And BTW let the science teacers have a workable budget and equipment for the inquiry based curriculum .
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