More Time In School Explored

UConn Study Finds Charter Schools and Private Schools Have Longer Day

By GRACE E. MERRITT, gmerritt@courant.com

Tue Jun 28 2011 4:48 PM

STORRS —--
Charter schools and private schools have longer school days than traditional public schools, a new University of Connecticut study has found.
The study by UConn's Neag School of Education and the National Center on Time & Learning in Boston, also found that students in schools with longer days not only get more time in core subjects — particularly math, science and social studies — but also get more exposure in other subjects such as physical education and music.
The study concluded that more research is needed to determine whether longer school days or school years actually reap educational benefits and set a baseline for further research.
The study comes out in the midst of periodic calls by national leaders and researchers to increase school time to improve underperforming schools and to compete with top school systems in other countries. Most recently President Barack Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called for increased learning time to improve low-performing schools.

Parents vent over WL schools early dismissals

By Harlan Levy

Journal Inquirer

Published: Friday, June 24, 2011 3:06 PM EDT

WINDSOR LOCKS — More than a dozen parents came to Thursday’s Board of Education meeting for one purpose: to blast the panel for its plans for an early release schedule next year.

Every Monday, high school, middle school, and elementary school students will be dismissed one hour early while teachers meet for student analysis and strategy review. Whereas this year substitutes took over when teachers met, that policy has been shelved in favor of early dismissal.

The move, the board said, eliminates 33 class hours and will save $35,000 to stay within next year’s bare-bones budget.

Many parents disagreed.

The lost hours of teaching are worth far more than $35,000, according to parent Amy Mackey, who calculated that with early dismissals and a full day off Jan. 17, the students would really lose 51 hours. But what really stoked the parents’ anger, she told the board, was how they found out.

“Why were the parents not included in this decision?” she asked. “Instead it was instituted with no questions asked, and we were informed via backpack flyers and a letter received at home on the last day of school.”

The board and Superintendent Wayne Sweeney apologized for the late notice and the bureaucratic mix-up that caused it, but that hardly assuaged the group’s concern for the hours of missed learning time.

“With a substitute there is still some learning activity taking place,” Mackey said. Under the new policy, she said, “the children are losing valuable learning time, and the parents are the ones burdened with additional taxes and increased childcare costs.”

Kevin Brace, a parent of three elementary school children, said the early dismissal on Mondays would be a burden.

“I know on Mondays I’m going to have to scramble to find somebody to get my kids off the bus,” Brace told the board, “because unfortunately my employer will not let me leave an hour early, and the response from Mr. Sweeney that I need to find a relative or next-door neighbor — that’s a huge burden to ask someone to be there every week for your child.”

Sweeney passionately defended the policy change, denied it was only a budgetary matter, explained its rationale, and predicted dramatically improved results. And he bet his job on it.

First, Sweeney said, substitutes don’t provide the quality of instruction that teachers offer. Second, he said, the teachers’ meetings won’t be about simply preparing lesson plans. Rather, they will further a specific strategy using data to improve achievement.

“It’s about taking student academic data from the week before, from the month before, looking at how each child is progressing a week at a time and then making decisions about how I, as the teacher, can change how I teach or how I can change the lesson for the next week to meet the needs of your specific child or groups of children,” Sweeney said,

All across the country, he said, it has been proven that using the data in the meeting hour “will allow teachers to really differentiate their instruction or to teach to different groups of children, rather than just teach to the middle,” he said.

Sweeney added, “Where they implement this strategy, student achievement skyrockets, easily within 18 months. For sure you begin seeing it in two years or three years, and I’m talking double-digit increases … not just CMT and CAPT test scores. I’m talking about the daily assessments.”

Then, he said, “As a result of good teaching, good curriculum, and time for teachers to talk and work together, we’ll see CMT and CAPT scores blow the charts off, and if they don’t I’ll resign.”

Mackey said she doesn’t buy it. “I understand what they’re trying to do,” she said after Sweeney’s response. “But they need to take the burden off the parents. If they could adjust the hours of the schools so the teachers can come in an hour early, that would be fantastic.”

After the meeting, school board member Michael Royston said the panel is investigating some alternatives. Meanwhile, he backs Sweeney and the new policy.

“We want immediate results,” Royston said, adding that that’s what Sweeney intends. “We don’t want a three-year plan or a five-year plan to start improving our system.” As for Sweeney’s personal guarantee, Royston said, “You can’t ask for more than that.”

In other action, the board voted to raise the cost of daily lunches from $2.41 a day to the new federal minimum of $2.46 to comply with a newly passed federal act, which aims to raise school lunch standards nationwide, the first major change in 30 years.

A Mother Speaks Out...

Mr. Sweeney:

As I stated previously, I do not believe that you addressed my questions and concerns adequately.  Unfortunately, at my job, in my position, I am unable to call you during the day, so I am responding to you via e-mail.  I have bullet pointed my comments to your responses.

______________________________________________________________________

Dear Mrs. Mackey:

Thank you for your letter.

First let me apologize that you received your first information on the bottom of your child’s backpack.  By now you should have received, from me, a letter in the US Mail describing the hour release and the very specific purpose for the release.

·       I received the letter in the mail yesterday, Tuesday, June 21, 2011.  In looking at the minutes from the Board of Education Meeting the change in school hours was discussed on May 26, 2011.  Why did it take over a month to notify parents?

·       Also, with such a big change that would affect many families, why were the parents not inlcuded in the decision making process or better informed about these changes?

While I do understand that the hour can cause some hardship on families, it is for the exact same reason you quote, increasing student achievement, that we are scheduling this time with very specific activities and responsibilities for every teacher to meet the needs of individual children.

·       It is not just an hour we are talking about.  It is an hour, every Monday of the school year, which adds up to 33 hours of missed learning time for the children. 

As I mentioned in my letter, each week teachers will be expected to review student academic data, lesson plans and assessment results to plan for the next week, design lessons to meet the needs of individual children, and discuss how each student is progressing.  The extra hour will have an impact on student achievement in the future. 

·       You argued during budget sessions that a budget increase was needed to prevent a decrease in student achievement.  How is taking away 33 hours of class time not affecting student achievement?

In addition, as you know, there are many many times during the year your child’s teachers are taken out of the class for professional development, curriculum work, and committee work resulting in your children having a substitute in the classroom for the day or days.  This behavior has ended.  I will no longer take your child’s teacher out of the classroom for the listed reasons leaving the best teacher in class with the children.  Of course, our teachers might miss school when they are ill and a substitute will be required, but a teacher absence will not be directly related to the district removing them form class to complete tasks.

·       You stated in the minutes of the May 26, 2011 meeting that this was done for a budget savings of $35,000 because you would no longer need to use substitute teachers during the day.  Is $35,000 not worth 33 hours of missed learning time?  With a substitute, there is still some learning activity taking place in the classroom.  A budget increase was granted, however with this decision the town is saving money, but the children are losing valuable learning time and the parents are the ones burdened with additonal taxes and increased childcare costs.

I have publically said and will continue to do so, I will be monitoring the time very very closely and will not ask the board for this time in subsequent years should the time not be used appropriately.  I have also publically guaranteed increased test scores, almost immediately, but within 3 years for sure,  if we as a district implement very specific research based practices that have an impact on student achievement; this being just one such strategy.

·       You state you have publically guaranteed increased test scores “immediately, but within three years for sure”; please clarify if it is now or three years from now?

I ask your help and support of this very important strategy to increase our children's achievement.

·       I cannot support this decision since, as a parent, I was not even included in the discussions.  I welcome any changes that will increase the education of the children in this town, however I question the way it is being done.  What if your 3 year timeline doesn’t work? What are your alternate plans to help the children and teachers of this town succeed in their academic and professional careers?

I would be happy to talk with you further about this initiative.  860.292.5701

·       I hope each of these points will be addressed at the Board of Education meeting on Thursday. 

Thank you again for your letter.  I will provide the BOE copies.

Wayne Sweeney

Windsor Locks Superintendent Places Unfair Burden On Working Families

A couple of days ago we received an end of the year letter from our son’s principal.  In this letter there was a small paragraph informing us that next year our children would be dismissed from school 1 hour early every Monday throughout the school year.  The reason given for this; “The teachers can spend time in professional learning about your children’s progress.”

After investigating and getting an earful from parents in town, I found out that the Board of Education approved this new policy.  When you are talking about a sweeping policy change, I think it would be prudent for the Superintendant to notify Parents before he presented this to the Board of Ed.  Parents would have had the opportunity to speak to the Board of Ed Members before they voted.

For years we were told that the correlation of teacher-student contact time increases so will the grades?  With an erosion of that quality time we lose precious opportunities of teacher student interaction.

Teachers should be doing enrichment training outside the core school day window not during prime time teaching hours.

I wrote Superintendant Sweeny a letter explaining the impact and hardships his policy was placing on families.  I explained that in these tough economic times that it is career suicide to ask your employer for 30 early dismissals.  Superintendant Sweeny’s answer to this is,  “We are hopeful moms and dads will work with family, neighbors and friends for that one hour for approximately 30 weeks that is why we notified our community as soon as it was approved.” 

What this policy appears to be is a cheap and easy way for the Windsor Locks School System to save money on substitute teachers, and place the burden on the backs of the people that voted for a $400,000 budget increase.  I urge the Board of Education members to reverse their decision, and I hope all parents in town will attend Thursdays Board of Ed meeting at 6:00pm at the High School.

North Street School Children Dismissed Early Every Monday?!?!

The attached is a memo that some parents received from North Street School.  North Street School Students will be dismissed early every Monday.  How will this impact your ability to be home for your child on Monday's?  Should the parents of North Street School Children been consulted before this policy was enacted?  Sound off here!

Update:  Board of Ed meeting:  Thursday June 23rd at 6pm.  Meetings take place at the High School in the media center. 

WL selectmen discuss proposed changes to Route 75 interchange

By Harlan Levy
Journal Inquirer

WINDSOR LOCKS — The Board of Selectmen decided Tuesday to hold a July 12 public hearing on the proposed realignment of Route 20 interchange with Route 75, which also involves a private developer’s plans to build a major mixed-use residential and commercial building project at the site next to the Ramada Inn.

In early May — after six years of stalled planning efforts and 20 years of suggestions — the state Department of Transportation agreed to a modification of the westbound exit ramp to be managed by the town and to be built in the next two years at an estimated cost of up to $4.6 million — $3.6 million of which has already been funded.

Six years ago BDL Real Estate Holdings LLC, a local group, bought two parcels totaling 17 acres at that intersection, hoping to build the complex as part of what backers call an “aerotropolis,” an economically developed, broad area around airports like Bradley International Airport.

Instead of the Route 20 exit ramp running directly to Route 75 at the stop light there, the plan calls for the ramp to curve more sharply like a horseshoe and come to a stop at a light at a new two-way access road perpendicular to and 450 feet from Route 75 — and requiring a left turn to get to Route 75. A right turn would take a driver to the mixed-use project to be located adjacent to the Ramada Inn site. The ramp will have three approach lanes: two exclusive left-turn lanes and an exclusive right-turn lane. The access road will also have three approach lanes: a combined left and through lane and two exclusive right-turn lanes to Route 75. Route 75 also would be widened to allow for a southbound left-turn lane.

To build the roadway project the town will utilize a $250,000 grant, $2.6 million in federal money, $278,000 in state highway funds, and more than $500,000 from BDL.

BDL’s transportation-oriented mixed-use development would be called “Governor’s Station,” in honor of Ella T. Grasso. It calls for a combination of 200 market-rate apartments and condominiums, one or two hotels, and three or four commercial sites for restaurants, retail, drug stores, a health club, a bank, and professional offices.

The housing component will consist of studio apartments and one- and two-bedroom units designed to cater to young single people and couples with no children, including engineers, sales people, and people who travel for their companies.

The exit reconfiguration is programmed for the 2012-13 but may be completed by the summer of 2012. The housing and commercial development would follow completion of the road project and may be done in 2013.

The selectmen’s hearing on the proposal will be held Tuesday, July 12, at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.

BDL expects to submit a site plan to the Planning and Zoning Commission late this summer or early in the fall.

In a related economic development matter, the selectmen voted Monday to take an option to apply for as much as $500,000 from the state’s $20 million Small Town Economic Assistance Program. The town qualified for the option after being designated this year a “public investment community,” allowing it to apply for not only the state funds but also federal Urban Act money. However, it has to “opt in” to the STEAP program to be eligible for both.

“That designates us as a distressed municipality, eligible for about $500,000 in capital projects that weren’t funded in the current budget,” Wawruck said.

The town will apply for funding for three projects, he said. The top priority is replacing the sidewalks on Main Street and Elm Street. The second priority is updating the Veterans Park public address system and press box. The No. 3 project is rebuilding sidewalks on South Elm Street from the high school driveway up to Harrison Street.

“I put a plea out to directors of the town departments if they have any other projects to be considered to get them to me,” Wawruck said, “but I haven’t heard anything yet.”

The town has until June 23 to submit its proposal.

WL Memorial Day Parade 2011