Christopher J. Marczak
By Chris Marczak
It’s that time of year again: the time to vote for school calendars for the 2015-16 school year. As we move into this time of change, there are two calendars that are being proposed for the Oak Ridge School system.
The two calendars being proposed are called a traditional calendar and a balanced calendar. Both of these proposed calendars have been looked at and discussed by the district’s Curriculum and Instruction team; a district Calendar Committee comprised of teachers and administrators; the Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Board made up of parents from all schools; Bruce Borchers, the superintendent; and myself. Both calendars give staff and parents a choice in the type of calendar they want for the children of Oak Ridge.
The traditional calendar is the calendar that most of the Oak Ridge schools have had for quite a while. Students come to school in the middle of August, have a one week fall break, two weeks off for winter, a one week spring break, dismissal at the beginning of June, and an eleven- to twelve-week summer.
The balanced calendar is a new calendar that Oak Ridge has never had before. It is called a balanced calendar due to the balance that it gives for instructional time in the classroom; about nine weeks at a time. Students typically arrive for school the first week in August, have a two week fall break, two weeks off for winter, two weeks off for spring break, dismissal at the beginning of June, and a seven- to eight-week summer. The balanced calendar is not like the Willow Brook Elementary or Preschool calendar, where students start school in mid-July and have three-week breaks.
Opportunities with having the balanced calendar mean that during the two week fall and spring breaks, schools are able to offer time for students to make up things they missed in instruction, called remediation, or offer opportunities for students to extend their learning, called enrichment. In addition, because of the shortened summer when compared to the traditional calendar, students are able to get back into the classroom quickly to continue their learning.
Parents and Oak Ridge staff will have the opportunity to vote for their choice of calendars for the 2015- 16 school year. On Feb. 10, both groups will receive automated call-out votes. All parents need to communicate with their child’s school to make sure their phone numbers are accurate in our call-out system. The parents will get to vote on Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. The staff will get to vote on Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. The two voting options will be: Press 1 if you would like the balanced calendar for all schools for the 2015-16 school year, or press 2 if you would like the traditional calendar for all schools for the 2015-16 school year.
We are excited to see how both the parents and staff vote for either of the proposed calendars and the direction our district takes, together, moving into the 2015-16 school year!
Chris Marczak is assistant superintendent of Oak Ridge Schools.
See the traditional calendar here: 2015-2016 Traditional CalendarB.
See the balanced calendar here: 2015-2016 Balanced CalendarB.
See a flyer for parents on the calendar options here: Oak Ridge Calendar Options Parent Flyer.
Joshua Hamilton says
I’d just be happy if we dropped the whole short Wednesday thing… It was awesome growing up going to school here, but now that I’m a parent the whole idea seems kinda off to me… I’m sure this puts a strain on many households in Oak Ridge where both parents work.
Andrew Howe says
I concur. It’s a hassle and a half having one day of the week a “special case”.
Joshua Hamilton says
I never thought much about it until my wife moved here from Cookeville. She was kind of taken back by the short Wednesday thing lol. And of course ECC was full so my son had to go to boys and girls club. Just seems that by having a short Wednesday that it puts more strain on programs like ECC and Boys/Girls club that wouldn’t have to be there if they just went to school like normal. After my daughter was born the cost of childcare exceeded my wife’s income, so we just bit the bullet and she stays at home with the kids, but not everyone has this opportunity. I was told when I was young that the whole town used to shut down early on Wednesday for church, but if the rest of the town no longer does this, then I fail to see why the school system still does, and why there isn’t more talk about changing it.
Cindy McCullough says
Agreed here to. The early release on Wednesday thing is one of the strangest things since moving here. Never have seen any other school district do that. I grew up in Ohio, hubby in Maryland and lived in Wisconsin and moved here. Wednesday early release is a nuisance.
I do have to say I have never seen a school district take a vote on a school calendar before. But then other districts didn’t have a skyward phone system either. I wonder even with all the reminders, how much of a response there will be. Felt strange putting a phone call from the school on our calendar, but that is about the only way to make sure one of us will be home and available, rather than out and forgetting it.
Steve Dittner says
Having had experience with both of my children going to the year round programs, I can say with absolute certainty that the balanced calendar is the way to go!! If all of the schools would be on the same schedule it would make everyone’s life with children in more than one school much easier.
Trina Baughn says
Some additional points to consider from a mom of a former WillowBrook student:
http://trinabaughn.com/2014/02/06/traditional-vs-balanced-school-schedules-part-2/
FWIW, because the merits of the year-round schedule are being touted as merits of the “balanced” schedule, I hope that the BOE will factor in and publicly discuss the impact data of all three types of schedules. One size does not fit all and if we are going to change from a two-schedule paradigm, then we need to understand the statistics that support each proposed option.
Dave Smith says
In the article, Dr. Marczak wrote, “Both of these proposed calendars have been looked at and discussed by (#1)
the district’s Curriculum and Instruction team; (#2) a district Calendar
Committee comprised of teachers and administrators; (#3) the Superintendent’s
Parent Advisory Board made up of parents from all schools; (#4) Bruce
Borchers, the superintendent; and (#5) myself.” Added to this will be the input provided by the community of teachers and parents.
I wonder, then, why you think the BOE will need to add their own analysis to the mix? Why in the name of efficient management would the school system hire experts to administer the school system and go to the trouble of convening committees of experts to advise the system on educational policy if the BOE is going to trump the whole school calendar decision process by factoring in some specious “impact data?”
I read your blog entry. You have one data point. You should expect that others have differing experiences. The fifteen-year-plus trial period for the year-round calendar is nigh unto over. If it had been worth the effort all the other schools would have signed on years ago. It’s time to quite wasting $100k a year with two calendars. It’s really that simple, Trina.
By the way, I support the balanced calendar because I think Dr. Marczak has presented a good case for its adoption.
Trina Baughn says
Sorry if I was unclear, but I wasn’t suggesting hiring anyone to do anything. The data I’m referring to shouldn’t be too difficult to glean or simply share if they already have it.
As for “expecting others to have differing experiences,” I made that when I said that I knew “a lot of parents who’ve had very positive experiences” with year round schedules.
Hope you get to feeling better, Dave. Nice chatting with you as always!
Karen Thompson says
I see the merits of both systems and appreciate the research into the options. But it doesn’t seem to go beyond the educational system. A change in the education schedule impacts everyone’s daily lives. Primarily, childcare issues abound. What has the school system done to coordinate these schedules and efforts with after school programs, Girl’s Inc, Boys and Girls Club, etc.? They will need to staff accordingly, and the schedule will not coordinate with colleges or surrounding programs to offer part-time staffing for just two weeks at a time. Most parents cannot take off work 3 times a year plus summer or afford additional daycare. It looks like even the teachers will be involved in programs over the breaks. The school system needs to look beyond their program and work out these details if they want to offer a program that will work. Please think BIG PICTURE before proposing these huge changes.