T he Tahoma School Board is considering a proposal to change the school calendar next year so that Tahoma schools start late every Monday.
Principals in conjunction with district administrators created the proposal, which will be presented to the school board for discussion at tonight’s meeting. It could come up for a vote as early as the next meeting, April 10.
The idea is to give teachers time to collaborate more frequently. Currently, teachers meet for professional development during three full-release days and nine early release days.
The principals propose eliminating these release days and instead starting classes 90 minutes late every Monday. This means the elementary schools, for example, would start at 10:40 a.m., and the high school would start at 9:45 a.m. on Mondays.
The current release day schedule means that professional development “is sporadic with lengthy periods of time where teams have no opportunity within the work day to come together for collaborative learning,” the proposal says. “In the current calendar the number of weeks staff must wait for scheduled time to come together varies from two to six weeks across the course of the year.”
Administrators say this isn’t good for teachers, who need to meet “regularly and frequently” to satisfy demands that range from new national curriculum standards, a new teacher evaluation system and the school district’s own Classroom 10 teaching and learning initiative.
“Teachers working in isolation, no matter how hard they are working, cannot sustain and support the growth necessary that results in increased performance for all students,” the proposal says.
The weekly late start plan also aligns with schedules that most neighboring districts have adopted. In fact, Bellevue, Issaquah, Kent, Puyallup, Riverview and Snoqualmie all incorporate a weekly late start or early release of two hours or more. As Tahoma would under the proposal, Renton and Sumner offer 90 minutes, while Auburn, Enumclaw and White River offer 60 to 75 minutes.
Some of these districts lengthened the school day to accommodate the loss of instructional time, but Tahoma’s 90 minutes per week would take away only three hours of total instructional time over the course of the year compared with the current release schedule, the proposal states.
The Tahoma principals characterize the proposed change as more “family-friendly” than the current system because the calendar will be more predictable and consistent.
The parent-teacher conference schedule would not change, with Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving maintained as early release days.
The school board meets at 6:30 tonight at the Central Services Center across from Rock Creek Elementary. View the board agenda and a link to the proposal HERE.
What do you think of the proposed schedule change? Add to the comments posted below.
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I hope the parents will have a say in the final decision. I am surprised that the issue with parents seems to be childcare but yet I hear many of them voting for Wed early release. As a mother with one in High school and the other in elementary I can’t help but wonder how Wed would help out with childcare. Fridays make the most sense for early release or days off. I can tell you that by the time my 2nd grader has been up 4 hours before school he will not be roaring to go. Keep the schedule the way it has been and since we receive calendars @ the start of school that should allow people adequate time to set up childcare for those particular days! Maybe if they would address the over crowding issues and have less children per class the teachers would be able to make better use of the planning time they do have without taking away from their own families!!!
Horrible idea…early release any day of the week would be obviously the answer. Kindergarten is already crammed with so much info and the poor kids will begin school with a confused schedule of every other Monday???? Who makes this dumb decisions, I think that it should be something that parents should vote for.
I agree that a late start can become a sluggish start. Early release on Wednesday sounds like the best plan to make everyone happy. The staff gets their development, the parents have it easier than a late start– especially at the beginning of a work week when THEY need to be on their game as well. An early release on Friday sounds great but like one commentor said, it could give people an excuse to start their weekend early and not send their kids to school that day at all. Early release on Wednesdays seems like the best solution.
I have noticed that people talk about early release. Now, would that only be 90 minutes early or would they be taking off half a day instead every week. I am concerned about the lack of contact time with the kids. Teachers have in their contract, (if I understand it correctly), that they are to get a certain amount of time away from students each day. Thus requiring them to shuffle schedules if it is a 2 hour late due to weather, and recesses, and their lunch. This is at elementary level. The older levels have a period of planning time. I am just not sure if 90 minutes is actually enough especially since, from what I understand, that sometimes these get togethers are suppose to be district wide. I think there needs to be a lot more answers before a decision is made.
As a teacher of 12+ years before I had children, I agree that having time on a weekly basis would be more beneficial than longer periods of time spread out throughout the school year. As a parent (who stays home full time and would not have childcare issues), I know my daughter is more alert in the morning and I would rather see an early release (on whatever day the district feels is best) instead of a late start.
I think it’s a terrible idea! When I was in school we never had any early release days or waiver days. We went to school for the full 9 months. The teachers had weekly meetings from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. I always hear about the long hours teachers put in, but I find it hard to believe when they arrive at 8 am and are gone by 3:30 or 3:45 pm. And my children are constantly saying, “We had a substitute teacher today, so we didn’t do anything and we have no homework tonight.” What is that all about? Our teachers have more days off than most professions. Most schools start at by 8:30 so the kids can be home at a decent hour to do homework, play or be involved in sports or extra curricular activities, eat dinner and get to bed on time. We start so late as it is the kids don’t get home until 4 or 4:30 pm. So there is barely enough time for dinner and homework. With a late start kids will just be sitting in front of the TV in the morning waiting to go to school, which is just a waste of prime learning time. I personally think the teachers could meet for about 30 minutes after school twice a week and not go into our childrens learning time. How many of you have stayed late at your job or gone in early for an employee meeting. They don’t shut down the bank to have an employee meeting. No it’s usually an early morning meeting or an after hours meeting. Why should this be any different? But if you think you have to cut into our children’s learning time, like you’ve been doing for years; then please don’t take prime learning time – when children are most alert, on a Monday morning, for yourselves. As far as family friendly goes, this is not! We can’t get our week or day started until we get the kids off to school. So now we can’t start our week until 10:45 am. The morning is practically over by that time. Why not have your meeting at 6:30 am on Monday morning? Since that’s probably not going to happen, then my next suggestion would be for an early release on Friday’s so if we do have plans the kids can get the homework done and we can enjoy the weekend. Also, an early release on any other day would allow the kids to get the homework done and possibly have time for some extra curricular activities after school. But Monday mornings would just throw wrench in the schedule. Kids like consistency and getting up an hour and a half later one day a week to go to school is not consistent at all. I’m not sure I understand why the teacher’s need so many waiver days and meetings in the first place. But at least when we have a Friday off or a half day we can plan something fun and educational to do as a family vs having the kids just sit home an extra 90 minutes every Monday morning waiting to go to school. We’re not for this at all. I think you can do better at scheduling your meetings than this. You are robbing our kids of valuable time in the classroom.
You must be thinking about secondary teachers because I don’t know of any elementary teachers that leave before 4:00, in fact most are at school until at least 5:00 which is beyond their contract time.
Do you realize that most elementary teachers teach about 5 subjects a day and after their “secretarial work” end up with about 30 mins a day to plan for those 5 subjects?
Schools don’t shut down for employee meetings, they meet before school for these. This early release time would be spent planning for and learning ways to provide our children the best education possible.
Tahoma District is not ranked where it is in the state because we have lazy teachers or because it isn’t looking towards the future. It’s where it is because we have teachers that care and spend enormous amounts of their own time working at home and on the weekend (without pay).
I agree that early release is a much better idea than a late start.
Really! You think there is that much difference between the teachers in this district and ones teaching in other districts? Don’t be so quick to take all the credit. In all the studies that I have read, there are direct correlations between the positive education of a child and the amount of money parents make, the education of the parents, and how much emphasis the parent puts on education. We could go on about two parent families and when one parent is able to stay home with the child for the first 10 years of the child’s life. I would be willing to bet that if you took all the teachers from the Tahoma School District and put them in similar positions in the worst schools in the state, there wouldn’t be any improvement in those schools. In fact most would probably quit having it so easy for so long.
You also mention that you do work on the weekend without pay. If we are looking at what the hours a teacher is contracted for in this district, they make an average of $42 per hour. The reason this is so high is you are expected to work at home correcting papers and planning.
For those wanting to find out what teachers are paid in this district or others go to the website below.
http://wwwb.thenewstribune.com/databases/school_pay/index.php
Btw, I am not a contracted teacher. I totally agreed that parents are a HUGE part of having succuessful students.
I like the idea of consistency but I feel that Monday sets the tone for the week and starting on time is best for kids. A Wednesday or Friday early release makes more sense to me.
I agree.
I agree as well.
I have no problem with the teachers having planning time, but I’d much rather have an early release day instead. With the late start, I would be forced to find reliable _adult_ child care (i.e. I’d probably have to pay for EEP at the school – and would they have enough room for the number of kids who would need this?) for my elementary aged kids, since they are the last ones to leave for school. With early release in the afternoon, I’d be able to have my junior high aged child watch his younger brothers (or have a neighbor babysitter do it).
I taught at a school that had early release every Wednesday. That worked well for the teachers, and also seemed to work well for the families.
I’d rather have Friday early release. My kids can let themselves in at the end of the day by themselves, but have a harder time catching putting themselves on the bus. And if they missed the bus then what?
The idea of having professional development every week sounds good to me and for the consistency of having a known set schedule each week. Monday morning? No. I want my kid in school on Monday morning. Friday early release? Yes. Teachers have a job to do and one comment said Friday is not good because teachers are tired on Friday afternoons. First off we all are tired on Friday and i want my kids teacher to be teaching my kid when they are at their best. Teachers are professionals and I think they can handle Friday afternoon professional development just as they have for years in Tahoma. Great plan to train our teachers to be their best but please not Monday mornings.
Love the idea give both kids and parents a little extra time to get moving on Monday morning and start fresh rather than tired. Love the consistency. Love the frequency for teachers who need it. Great idea!
I love the idea of consistency. However, I’m not sure a “late-start” Monday or an “early-release” Friday is the answer. Late start on Monday would not very helpful to working parents. Early release Fridays gove families “permission” to start their weekends early and take their kids out of school the whole day. After all, “They won’t miss much, it’s only a half day.” WRONG! Miss a day and you miss a lot in Tahoma District.
I think making Wednesday a “late-start” or an “early-release” day would be more family friendly. There must be a reason the other districts at chose Wednesday. Have we asked them why?
As far as sports go, my experience has been that the District provides transportation to the “away” games, but not home from those games.
As far as Fridays being party days, what district do your children attend? I am frequently in the elementary schools and have 4 children in 3 different schools, I do not see Friday as a reward day, movie day, or a party day. There is TOO much curriculum to cover for that! The kids MIGHT get 15 – 30 minutes once a month for a reward.
This is NOT a good idea! What a terrible way to start the school week – I would much rather the schools let out early every Friday afternoon (or they could continue with the same 1/2 day schedule they have now). ANY educator knows that kids are more focused at the beginning of the week rather than at the end. Think about it – isn’t this true of adults as well. Tahoma School District, please rethink this issue!!!!!
I think the consistency would be great for families and the Teachers! It’s hard to keep up with these random/sporadic early release days even though they are posted in advance.
As a substitute teacher it helps me to plan how many days I can work during a months cycle. I think it’s a great idea for all situations!
I realize that Fridays seem like a logical solution for some but as some one stated that “teachers are tired on Friday afternoons” how will they be fresh and productive to work with their teams to provide great curriculum?
As a parent of 4 kids in the Tahoma School Dist. and having one in EVERY building this year, I think it’s a great idea for all situations!
Don’t you want your CHILDREN to be fresh and productive – let’s not take away their Monday.
What about switching to an early release every Friday – that would answer your consistency issue…
My kids attend a school that has early release every Wednesday. I love the consistency, it gives the teachers what they need and we don’t have to deal with half days twice a month like Tahoma (or whatever it turns out to be). The other plus: instead of adding on additional days of school to make up the snow days our teachers agreed to forgo the Wednesday early release ( which is only an hour) in lieu of adding days on. So we are still getting out of school on June 8th
I am strongly against the use of Monday mornings. It is the absolute opposite of “family friendly”. However, my largest concern is a late start on a Monday morning impacts students’ learning. Monday mornings are when a teacher is setting the tone for the instructional week. Our children should not be starting their week in day care. They should be starting a new unit of instruction and setting goals for the week’s learning. On Friday afternoons, teachers and students are tired. They are already frequently using the time after lunch for special, “Fun Friday” reward activities such as movies and popcorn incentives. Cutting students instructional time on a Monday morning is definitely more of an educational impact than shortening a Friday afternoon.
I like the consistency, but Monday morning is the wrong time. Working parents can not flex Monday mornings. This is the beginning of the week. It sets the tone for the week.
Friday afternoon when the week is winding down is a much better choice. Teachers throw parties & watch movies on Friday afternoons. Things are winding down for the weekend.
Consistency is great, but Monday morning is the wrong time for this.
I understand the reasons for doing this but I disagree with every Monday. It seems like the kids are getting less teaching time. My understanding is that if the kids are served lunch it counts as a full day. Do you realize how many part days these kids have that count as full days? Are we doing the kids justice?
Bad idea. All this would do is extend the weekend for kids. This is not a positive lesson, but I’m sure it’s nice for teachers to kind of ease in to the week. Almost any other day would be better. Early dismissal is the best solution. Late starts are a joke.
There was very little effort to notify the parents of this change. Have 2 kids in the district and wife on PTA, and not a word until I saw this in the Seattle Times. Early release is still more family friendly. Late Monday starts are not.
It isn’t a change yet. The school board said last night that it wants input from families. They are reading the comments on this story, so now is your chance to explain why early release is more family friendly. — Ed.
Why Monday mornings? I think Friday afternoons would be more “family friendly”.
At tonight’s school board meeting, the principals who presented the proposal said that early release can complicate after-school sports and activity scheduling and transportation. — Ed.
Better for it to complicate after-school activities than morning work activities.
Seriously, he is worried it will impact sports – how about the impact it will have on our kids’ learning? THAT needs to be the priority!!! How are sports impacted on early release days now?
How would that work with AM Kindergarten?
That was answered at tonight’s school board meeting: AM and PM kindergarten would switch off every other Monday and last five hours. — Ed.
I think it’s a great idea and as stated many other districts have implemented the late start with positive outcomes.
Which districts already have a late start day? I know Bellevue and Oak Harbor school districts each have early release days for teacher planning. I’d like to compare the positive outcomes between any weekly early release day to that of a late start on Mondays.
I agree with those that say Monday mornings set the tone for the week. I approve of consistent weekly teacher planning time, but I don’t believe having our children adjusting their alarm clocks and beginning their school days will feel very consistent to them.
I also believe the magnitude of the topic warrants an open forum meeting with the school board rather than simply posting comments to Facebook and a newspaper blog that many families affected don’t utilize or aren’t familiar with.
Great idea! I love the consistency of it. A lot easier to manage than the random late starts/early releases we currently have.