From Sharon Lawrence,
Our new elementary student day will begin ten minutes later and end ten minutes earlier. Our main purpose for the change was to provide a more effective instructional day for students. This is accomplished through the use of split specials which will allow teachers to have more direct instruction with a smaller group of students. This will allow for a reduced student to teacher ratios for ELA & Math instruction.
In addition, it is a more effective instructional day because it allows for teacher common planning time (for enhancing collaboration) which has been moved outside the student day. We also have incorporated an integrated library model which will allow for teachers to team teach with the library media specialist. This will increase the use of project-based learning and other instructional methods that will be beneficial for your children.
Lastly, we will accomplish some savings through the compression of our transportation schedules. This is a district wide initiative across all 3 elementary buildings.
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15 comments:
After finding out that the unmod people track computer (IP) addresses, I no longer participate in discussions on that site. I will post here instead.
I just have to comment on the losses in the elementary schools - Magic Moments, library, shortened day, 25 more minutes of day care. Awful. Parents keep asking why they were not asked about these changes. It is not a perfect process, but the VOTING process is how you are asked!!
The school district was not supported. Many claimed that voting NO on the budget would hurt the admin., but I keep coming back to the question: How can cutting millions of dollars NOT end up hurting the kids? I feel terrible that the APCSD kids do not have what my kids had or even what I had when I went to school here. Teachers have a contract to work X number of hours a day. They cannot make up the time that was lost by cutting library, health, etc. Those areas now fall back on the parents as this community does not want to share that burden any longer.
Now sport groups and others are raising money, instead of using tax money, to keep what they feel is important to their children. Some must be happy about that method of maintaining programs for the schools. The elementary parents may have to go out and raise funds to donate to the schools to cover the costs of the programs that they feel benefit their children. It takes effort, but it is likely well worth that effort!
One way or another (monetary donations, volunteerism, fund raising, or supporting the budget) it is going to take time, energy, money and effort to keep the programs that benefit the kids. I fear for next year and the cuts that we may see.
Please stop blaming everyone else for the cuts and go raise the funds to keep our schools alive. Next year, when it comes time to support the budget, look at it with an open mind and realized that your vote may just speak louder and with more impact than you thought. If not, private school may be our next best option.
WHO says the unmod site tracks IP adresses? Do you have any facts?
And one point the last poster seems to overlook - if the budget had passed, there was NO GUARANTEE that the same cuts were NOT going to be made.
Case in point - GWS!!!!
Without the current BOE REFORMING this ADMIN. with new guidlines, operating procedures, and approval levels, the cuts will continue. AND your VOTE means NOTHING until that happens!!!!! The budget in APCSD means nothing, until we reign in this ADMIN!!!!!!
A good budget can be presented to the public that does not effect the students. Unfortunatly we have not had the Admin in place willing to do such a thing. It's much easier to cut student programming and scare everyone in to voting FOR an irresponsible budget then it is to do the hard work of making responsible cuts and keep student programs in place.
I agree,
We can spend $25,000 on magic moments and other kid programs or spend it on a headhunter. We can only spend it once. What is the greater benefit?
I agree that voting is the way to make the changes, this will be the year to solidify the pro kid side of the BOE.
A few years ago when the budget failed, transportation services were withheld. Just to make things inconvenient.
Now it is programs. Teachers have been contracted to work the same hours for years. that hasn't changed. So why cut teaching time and programs?
I will be asking....
I may be wrong, but I don't think it cost the district any money at all to run Magic Moments. (Unless you count the birthday pencils and certificates)
I don't think it does either. Maybe we are both wrong.
Since three local big school districts are also searching for a superintendent, our district had better do something special to attract someone who knows how to run a school district!
Bill,
Please ask Ms. Lawrence what exactly this statement means:
"we will accomplish some savings through the compression of our transportation schedules"? Who asked her to "accomplish some savings", at the expense of students education time, and safety?
I know this may sound repetitive, but failing the budget is the communities way to demand "savings" from where the district can. Our community has STRONGLY asked to keep taxes low. I would rather see full busses than see another program gone. Didn't many complain last year that too many buses were half empty? Looks like the transportation people listened. The more full the bus, the longer it will take to empty it.
buses may have appeared to be empty last year but keep in mind there were late buses last year. this year no late buses means more kids riding the one and only bus home. Now this year we have buses that are so crowded kids are standing on the bus. Im sorry but kids standing on the bus is a huge safety concern.
Kids are supposed to sit 3 per seat (per safety guidelines). My child told me that kids are standing by choice - because they don't want to sit with someone else or not sit with 2 other kids.
There were no late buses on Monday nor Fridays last year, so I fail to see how not having late buses impacts the overall overcrowding on the buses. Aren't all the same kids on the bus for the morning run?
How can students in high school be required to sit 3 to a seat? 3 students plus book bags, afterschool sports bags, school projects and instruments all in one seat?
Have you seen the size of some of the kids in middle school and high school to expect to see 3 kids sit in a seat is unheard of
Better use of school buses. Do you need a seat for every student?
Education Law section 3635-c prohibits standing passengers except during the first ten days of school and in an emergency. This should not be interpreted as having a seat for every student regardless of actual ridership. In fact, numerous Commissioner's decisions have emphasized the responsibility and authority of boards of education to provide not only a safe, but an efficient transportation system. School officials should design routes and assign buses so that buses are used safely and efficiently. Whenever possible, buses should be filled to capacity. We encourage school districts to gather information on the capacity use of their transportation fleets. School districts should instruct drivers to take an actual count of pupils riding the bus periodically on each route and should maintain records in case of an appeal.
Some districts have a policy of holding an available seat for every potential rider. This policy goes against cost-effectiveness and gives the appearance of the under use of school buses. The Department encourages school districts to have an available seat only for those students who are expected to ride the bus. They may wish to survey parents on their intentions but in no case can a parent's response be seen as waiving their right to transportation for their child. It is advisable to have an additional 10 percent of the seats available in case of unanticipated riders, in relation to the district’s own routing calculations based on the students transported (not the posted capacity). It is not prudent to have buses with 50 percent of the seats empty in order to accommodate every possible student. We encourage school districts to have a back up plan as part of their emergency management practices for pupil transportation in the event that a bus is filled beyond capacity.
Here is the IMPORTANT PART Bill:
"They may wish to SURVEY parents"!!! And NO, to the bonehead that thinks the budget vote is a PARENT SURVEY!!!! It is NOT the same thing. If you think it is, then I guess the voting booth was missing a few hundred questions.
Gee, do we expect Sharon Lawrence, Mike Ouimet and Neil Bonesteel to sit "three to a seat" at BOE Meetings? Let's start that and see how it goes.
Bill, I challenge you and all the BOE members and admin, at the next BOE meeting, to go out to an actual bus, sit three to a seat, and attempt to put seat belts on. I KNOW, most kids don't wear seatbelts, but is that because someone is sitting on theirs?? And I then further challenge the BOE to stand, while on a moving school bus!!!!
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