|
Dear Editor:
I was so pleased to read that the Cherokee
School Board is considering extending the school year. I have long been
an advocate of year-round school for several reasons.
Number one on my list is that it has been
shown repeatedly that students perform better academically due to the
fact that they don't have ten long weeks for their brain as well as their
body to go on vacation. They work hard for several weeks and then they
get a quick break and are ready to go back to work without a loss in learning.
Secondly, as a family-friendly employer,
I have found it difficult to help employees manage the long summer break.
Ten weeks is too long to let a key employee have time off without having
to find a replacement. The employee then feels as though they have to
choose between their job and their family. Rightly, they often choose
the family. Often I've thought that it would be so much better if they
had one, two, or even three weeks off at a time.
Finally, it would be so much nicer to be
able to have a week off at "odd times" when vacation spots won't be so
crowded. The current proposal of one week off in September (Disney) and
February (snow skiing!) sounds like a big step in the right direction!
Additionally, families could use these extra weeks to visit places the
kids are studying such as Washington DC, Philadelphia, and so on in "real
time."
I applaud the School Board for being so progressive.
In a decade or so, most school systems will be wondering why on earth
they didn't move to year-round school sooner. It is long past the time
to move away from our agricultural-based school calendar!
Gina Carr
Tel (770) 516-5700 ext. 700
Fax (770) 516-1565
gcarr@ginacarr.com
Dear Editor:
On Thursday, December 4th, the Cherokee County
Board of Education will receive recommendations from staff and input from
parents on the proposed change in our school's calendar. For the citizens
of Cherokee County, this is currently the only scheduled opportunity to
state your feelings regarding the proposed calendar change.
The decision to be made is between a "Traditional"
Calendar and a "Modified" Calendar. The "Traditional" Calendar begins
in mid-August and ends on May 20th with all the traditional holidays (one-week
at Spring break, 3-days at Thanksgiving, and two-weeks at Christmas, etc.)
and four teacher work days. The proposed "Modified" Calendar begins on
August 1st and ends at the end of May and includes, in addition to the
traditional holidays stated above, two additional week-long vacations
in September and February and a five-day Thanksgiving Holiday.
There currently being
no public discussion on the benefits of the change, I would
|
|
suggest you contact
your School Board representative to find out why the "Modified" schedule
will be best for Cherokee County at www.cherokee.k12.ga.us. To view a
discussion as to why the "Traditional" schedule is best, please visit
the following website at www.georgiansneedsummers.com.
My casual survey of some of our School Board
members indicates that they are in favor of the change to a "Modified"
schedule. Personally, I could be happy with either schedule. However,
my only agenda regarding this issue, at this point in time, is the desire
to see full input by the public, especially when there is an appearance
that the Board may have already made up its mind.
Larry Singleton
Towne Lake
(770) 924-8421
Dear Editor:
In response to Larry Singleton's letter
(above) published in the Sunday, November 16 Cherokee Tribune
relative to school calendar proposals, this is to clarify a few points
that were made.
In previous public School Board meetings,
School Board Members requested that the Superintendent and staff develop
a traditional (analogous to the current) calendar and a modified calendar
for next school year and seek staff and community input, feedback, suggestions
relative to both proposals. We have sought this feedback from staff through
the School District website (www.cherokee.k12.ga.us) and have sent a letter
home with each student asking for input from parents, recognizing that
not everyone reads local newspapers and/or watches Metro Atlanta newscasts,
where this topic has been extensively addressed. The modified calendar
was developed to provide more breaks for students and staff within the
traditional school year, while maintaining an end to the first semester
before January, maintaining existing Winter and Spring holidays, and allowing
for enough time between school years to maintain a full summer program
for remediation at the elementary/middle school level and the tuition-based
high school summer program.
The School Board will receive all of the
feedback, input, suggestions that staff has received relative to the traditional
and modified calendars at its work session on December 4, 2003. The Board
will then consider a calendar for a vote at its January 15, 2004 meeting.
Pursuant to School Board policy, this, and all other topics considered
at School Board meetings, are open for discussion by interested members
of the public at every meeting of the Board. The Superintendent, School
Board Members and staff seek and welcome input from the public. Despite
Mr. Singleton's casual survey, the School Board has made no determination
that it favors one calendar over the other at this point.
Mike McGowan
Director, Public Information, Communications and
Partnerships
Cherokee County School District.
|
|
