Extra Minutes Could Mean Four Days Off for Kids

The school days might get longer next year–resulting in four pupil-free days--if the Board of Education votes to increase the number of daily instructional minutes.

The increase would not affect the number of contractual minutes for LCUSD staff and certificated personnel, Wendy Sinnette, assistant of human resources, told the board during its regular meeting this week.

But the four extra days would mean that kids have to go somewhere else–a notion that leaves at least one parent hoping the board will provide plenty of advanced warning to figure that out.

“There doesn’t seem to be a written plan for the [teachers'] use of that time,’’ said Ron Dietel, a former school board member and assistant director for research use and communications at the UCLA Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing. Dietel believes it would be a good idea to have specific measurable goals.

“Four days is a substantial amount of time,'' Dietel said, addressing the board,  adding that working parents scramble enough during routine school breaks looking for child care.

Recognizing that many families in La Cañada are two-working-parent households, Sinnette said the district will disseminate the information to the public in as timely a manner as possible. Further, she explained, officials formed a joint task force of the La Cañada Teachers Association and LCUSD to identifiy the most productive instruction days–so as not to cut those–and to pinpoint those days that could provide meaningful, collaborative work for teachers with their colleagues and administrators.

At , grades seven through 12, the district’s plan calls for increasing the school day by 12 instructional minutes per day during six-period instructional days and nine minutes on block days. That totals 3.9 hours more in 2011-12 than 2010-11.

The Recommended School Day Start and Ending Times:

LCHS: 7-12: 7:50 a.m. to 2:47 p.m.

At the elementary schools:

• AM Kindergarten: 8:10-11:35 a.m.
• PM Kindergarten: 11:35 a.m. to 3:05 p.m.
• Grades 1-3: Early Bird is 8:10 a.m. to 1:55 p.m. and Late Bird is 9:10 a.m. to 2:55 p.m.
• Grades 4-6: 8:10 a.m. to 2:55 p.m.

While the majority of the board seems inclined to vote for the four pupil-free days, at its May 31 meeting, member Joel Peterson disagreed with the plan, even though the number of instructional minutes--seat time--would stay the same.

"Changing the school day length to add two or three minutes to each class to accommodate a cut of four full teaching days feels disingenuous,'' Peterson said Thursday.

"In my mind it is taking away four instructional days from our kids, period.  And I am not convinced that giving teachers those days as non-teaching 'professional development' days will offer benefits that outweigh the negative impact of taking away that many instructional days from our kids.”

“I just haven’t been able to find a way to come to your way of thinking on this,’’ he said.

In other board news Tuesday, the district hired Patricia Hager as the new assistant superintendent of human resources, replacing Sinnette, who assumes the superintendent position this summer when Jim Stratton retires.

Hager is an administrator at ABC Unified and said she is thrilled to be a part of LCUSD. The Seal Beach resident said she won’t even mind the commute.

“I problem solve in the car,’’ she said, smiling.