Even as CPS opens more new schools, children with special needs have a tougher time finding options. Placements in private therapeutic schools are scarce, and some charters are reluctant to enroll them.
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For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
By: Cassandra West / August 23, 2011
With Chicago Public Schools’ announcement today that it plans to extend the school day by 90 minutes and the school year by two weeks, the district and the Chicago Teachers Union are making competing claims about whether longer school days benefit students, with the union calling for a “better” school day rather than a longer one.
The answer to that question depends on how the time is used. An earlier Catalyst analysis of Illinois school district data showed that districts with the most learning time generally have moderately better test scores than those with the least time, but it’s not clear that one is causing the other.
What’s most important, education research has shown, is “time on task,” the amount of time students spend doing work. Good classroom management can increase time on task, according to a 1998 report by the Consortium on Chicago School Research, but usually not enough to make up for a short school day. And even if a school day is extended, teachers may need special training in how to make use of the extra time.
CPS says it is convening a Longer School Day Advisory Committee to discuss how to spend the longer days, but instruction in core subjects, enrichment in the arts and physical education, and recess breaks could all be in line for extra time. (CPS announced that union president Karen Lewis would serve on the committee, but she rejected the offer and called the committee "a publicity stunt designed to thwart real discussion between the CEO, parents, educators and community leaders.")
One school that extended its day with grant funding, O’Toole Elementary, found that discipline problems actually increased, resulting in a temporary spike in suspensions.
While state law now says CPS can set the school schedule without getting permission from the Chicago Teachers Union, the teachers are free to ask for more money in return. If staff pay increased proportionally to time worked, the district’s Office of Management and Budget estimated in 2009, the tab for adding an extra hour to the school day would be $280 million.
There are other options for lengthening the school day. After-school programs can also keep students off the streets, but program quality and participation are hit-and-miss. Across the country, some schools have added time to the school day and year by staggering teachers’ vacation schedules and start times.
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
CPS is simply ridiculous.
Adding ninety minutes to the school day is a 24% increase in time (every 15 minutes is 4%), and adding two weeks to the school year adds another 5%. That means CPS would have to come up with 29% more money for teacher compensation. They don't have the money, and teachers are not going to work 29% more for a 2 or 3% raise.
But beyond that, they have no plan for what children and teenagers are going to do during that extra time and how that impacts the rest of their day.
For high schoolers, it means pushing up interscholastic sports and extracurricular activities an equal amount of time. Travel to away games will take longer as it is pushed into rush hour traffic. Those who work part-time jobs will be working later hours into the night.
Family time is lost, and homework is pushed up until kids will either not do it because they are too tired, or will stay up into the wee hours of the morning to do it. And then they'll come to school the next morning--sleep deprived--and sleep during their first two classes.
What a bad idea. What a foolish mayor.
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
please by all means take your 2% and go straight to He!! oh wait, no wait you already gave the teacher's raise it to the police department. I am certain that they will earn every penny of it. How about this, a one year old is shot in the head at 8am while students were walking to school today. Out of control tactics=an out of control city.
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
It;s funny how mad they get at teachers when we complain about this stuff....but show me one working class stiff that would be happy with this stuff!! And your typical GOP'r they dont want to raise taxes but now problemss squeezing blood from the turnips!!
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
So, was this the big surprise the Mayor promised? Whee.
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
I'm a teacher. I would take the extra 90 minutes of extra school day if they would offer it to me with whatever raise is already in the contract. My students need more time in school and I want to give it to them. But we have to make sure that those extra minutes are instructional minutes.
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
Teacher27, I vehemently disagree. I think it is outrageous for CPS to ask me for an additional 348 hours of work per year at a wage of about $6.90 per hour. That is totally unacceptable. I worked 2200 hours last year. That was plenty, thank you very much.
The mayor has time in the morning to eat breakfast with his kids, work out, and go out for coffee on his way to work. I don't think he works enough hours. He should add 350 hours to his work year for $7.00 an hour - all for the good of the city. Think he'll go for it? Not likely.
Last year my students spent about 15% of their year in test prep or taking practice tests or high stakes tests. How about using that time to actually teach instead? How about holding final exams on the *last* day or two of school instead of leaving a week of dead time after grades are turned in? Heck, as much as I like my PD days, how about converting those to student attendance days? How about fully staffing every building on day 1 instead of waiting for the end of the first quarter - 5 weeks into the school year! - to give every student in every school a full time teacher? These are all better options with which to begin. Yet CPS really hasn't considered or implemented any of them.
The battle CPS is waging right now is not a battle for the children. It is a battle of political ideology and a show of force against organized labor and the middle class. (The mayor feels fine about giving the Chicago Mercantile Exchange - which earned a *profit* of $950 million dollars last year - tens of millions of taxpayer dolloars to renovate toilets, but won't allow unused TIF money to be returned to the schools. That's ridiculous. And if CPS doesn't have any money for raises, they don't have any money for raises even if we do work longer hours. Where will the money come from? CPS has spouted on repeatedly about how they simply have no money.
CPS has a multitude of ways to increase instructional time. They choose not to. And it is not all about "formal" instructional time. My prep time, lunch time, and before and afer school time is spent working directly with small groups of students. That is where their real growth occurs. The less of that time I have in proportion to my teaching load the less individual attention those students receive. Plus, teachers already widely agree that we do not receive enough time in our work day to plan and/or collaborate with other professionals.
So, no thank you.
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
Poor RWT is so overworked, but yet our students are still failing. Chicago teachers (and I was one of them for 15 years) are simply spoiled by the incredibly short work day that they have enjoyed for so many years. However, I would bet that there are more teachers out there like Teacher27 than like RWT, teachers who are ready and willing to work longer hours to help their students succeed.
Starting fourteen years ago--and continuing to my retirement four years ago--the teachers at my school voted overwhelmingly every year to lengthen our school day by one full hour. Yes, I was creative and I found a way to pay them for this extra time, but no one got rich from that extra money. However, our students benefitted greatly, and achievement levels climbed significantly. Come on CTU, you can represent your teachers AND advocate that they go along with a longer school day. Show Chicago how much you care.
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
Teaching is a second career for me as of a few years ago and I love it. I have no problem with a longer school day, but a 2% increase in pay for a 25% increase in work is absolutely ridiculous. 2% doesn't even remotely resemble a good faith offer. Even the profit-mongering private sector would offer more than that.
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
Not buying the short school week gospel. Increasing time won't increase achievement if nothing changes. Same weak curriculum, same weak results. Oh yeah and what are we going to do about the lack of support services for our kids. Lengthen the school day/year and all the free tutoring and good will is gone. This is ridiculous.
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
Our students are too good for you. Some of your a s s e s s need to just die. The ninety minutes are going to happen and not even half of you can go beyond two pay periods. Karen Lewis will still get paid while she is working (not) so hard for you. Again, most of you are not worth it. Yes I am a teacher.
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
RP I normally don't always agree with you but today you are right on the money! Teachers are spoiled by such a short school day and calendar and should not expect to be compensated for doing what is right! We have the shortest school day in the state- that means teachers just like you in surrounding cities and suburbs work longer hours for the same or less pay. We all know that CPS teachers are some of the highest paid in the country- as they should be. I would love to give teachers, who are woefully underpaid for the work that they do, more money. But if that's why you got into teaching then you are in the wrong profession. We can never pay teachers (the good ones at least) what they are worth- but the best ones don't even ask they just do. The best teachers would much rather be "paid" by receiving all instructional materials, Smartboards, etc. And for them I would gladly do it!! The bottom line is whats best for students who have been shortchanged enough.
For the Record: Longer school day costs, benefits
Current admin: You state that surrounding cities and suburbs work longer days for the same amount of pay. This is not the entire truth. Suburbs at least get long lunch periods (45-50 minutes) and more prep time than CPS teachers do. (sometimes up to 2 preps per day of 45-50 minutes each). So, yes, technically, they are in the building longer, but not in front of kids longer. Teachers in CPS would agree to a longer day if they got 2 preps and a real lunch period too. And, since many suburbs cap class sizes at 18-25, those teachers have a significantly lighter work load.
extended school day
The Mayor could have avoided the mess he created since May, 2011.
1. If you are sophisticated, you deal with the issues avoiding confrontations.
2. If you want the teachers to work additional 90 minutes daily and
2 additional weeks. PAY THEM ACCORDING TO THE CTU
CONTRACT.
3. Stop your psychological threats, any person with good mental health
becomes angry and their behavior will impact to the students and
their families.
4. If you are going to dismiss "hundreds of CPS professionals", then,
do you have enough teachers to work the extra 90 minutes?
5. We all love Chicago and are loyal to the CPS children, but we
are unhappy with their leaders.
6. It is obvious to all of us that not one single person care about
the mental health of the teachers who provide educational services to children.
7. If the mayor's agenda is to destroy the Chicago Public Schools
and help the charter school, be honest and do it. No more CPS
only charter schools in the city of Chicago.
8. The Board of Education Members and the mayor behave themselves as if they were living in the "wild west" era.
Longer School Day
As a parent of a CPS student, I am against a longer school day. 90 extra minuutes is a long day for children and Teachers. I will have a child entering Kindergarten next year. She is currently in a 5 days a week for 3 hours Montesorri preschool. To move her to a longer school day is cruel.
Also, what about teachers who have a second job to make ends meet, what happens there???
To Pre-school mom
First, Kindergarten is not mandatory so you have the option of continuing your child's education at her Montessori school. Based on my experience with Montessori schools, it is in your daughter's best interest to stay out of CPS as long as possible (sorry folks).
Second, a long(er) school day is not cruel to children IF children are given adequate time to play and exercise their bodies and minds. My own child is in school for 8 hours a day, but the children get recess twice a day and have "line time" to promote coordination and balance, as well as creativity through songs and games. In addition, students receive a morning snack, lunch, and an afternoon snack. The day is broken up quite a bit and she has never come home crabby, tired, or unruly.
Unfortunately, the band-aid fix that CPS likes to slap onto any issue is more "in your desk" learning. Instead of allowing children to run wild outside for 20 minutes, students are constantly requested to sit still, listen, and pay attention. A young child cannot handle this and it is unfair to the children.
An extra 90 minutes of the same old nonsense is going to result in the same old nonsense. Having another 90 minutes of an over crowded classroom with disrespectful 1st graders with parents who do not have the time or energy to care will not magically make students better readers or learners.
Small class sizes, extra support for teachers, freedom to teach without fear of "the test", autonomy instead of constant strings for funding, time for children to be children through play in a SAFE environment - these are the things the schools need!
Longer school day
The problem is that neither the Mayor nor the school CEO are educators. They are job holders at best. Educators would have figured out by now how to teach, what to teach and thus educate and not imprison students for extra time for no crime of their own.
True educators first look at the curriculum then look for the time and they often find that by looking seriously at the curriculum they can end up shortening the school day not lengthening it.
Also, for true learning students need time to reflect but to reflect on what? We are not giving them anything to reflect on, only outlets for added mischief to reduce their stress and anxiety.
Another thing: The only way the big wigs can keep on deciding the fate of our children is by leaving the children and the parents out of the loop. A simple solution for this would be for the students to have their own listserv and the parents their own. Then everyone will be in the loop and no one would be able to pull any wool over anyone's eyes and then the big wigs can be called upon for total accountability not only in terms of money but also in terms of the quality of graduates they are producing.
I am sure the big wigs would not like this one bit because then they will not be able to use our children as commodities to bring in money only to be siphoned off by businesses. The businesses have been doing just that since the Sputnik went up in 1957 and have not relented yet only grown bolder. Now lately even the government agencies and not for profits have jumped into the arena to make money off of our students and our school system by making and marketing lesson plans which our teachers could have made at no additional cost and would have done a better and more relevant job of designing the needed lesson plans. That money saved could then have been given to our deserving teachers many of whom are now moonlighting to make both ends meet.
Real educators would never let that happen and then have the audacity to say that they are doing all that for the benefit of our children and our country.
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