Who knew that shortening the school day for Newton high-school students was on the table? Well, anyone who closely follows School Committee meetings, I guess. Jeffrey Pontiff recently wrote an open-letter email on this topic (entitled “Save Newton Schools”), and it’s been forwarded among Newton residents and discussed on various local listservs. The School Committee has written an email in response to inquiries about it. Both emails are copied below. If you have questions about this topic or these emails, please ask in comments below. And if you have answers — or opinions — chime in. I hope the authors of these emails will respond to questions here aiming to clarify what’s going on.
All of this is related to the possible change of high-school starting times, which the School Committee has been working on for at least three years. Jeffrey Pontiff has been a strong proponent of implementing later start times as soon as possible. Here is the School Committee’s record of activity on high-school start times.
The School Committee will hear a presentation about shortening the high-school day at its next meeting, on December 10 at 7 PM in Room 210 at the Education Center, 100 Walnut Street.
Here’s Jeffrey’s open-letter email:
Dear Neighbor,The Newton School Committee is about to make a horrible decision that will hurt Newton students. You can stop it. Are you willing?The public has demanded later high school start-times, to improve health and learning. The School Committee has failed to do this. Instead, it plans to start school at the same time but end early. This will shorten the school day–cutting the equivalent of over 3 weeks of school time per year! Newton’s school time will be 4½ weeks shorter per year than Weston’s and 4 weeks shorter than Brookline’s. The school committee won’t act on later start times until, at least, the 2020-2021 school year. That’s ridiculous.Evidence shows that shorter school days result in lower academic achievement and higher achievement gaps.If the school day is shortened without a firm commitment to later start times NOW, it will never get done.The School Committee will unveil this new schedule publicly and potentially vote at the December 10 School Committee meeting.The public has been hoodwinked. You probably do not know about the severity of the cut because the School Committee has resisted telling the community. It even refused to include a question about a shortened school day in its recent survey of high-school parents.No parent wants the school day to end early. It’s time to speak up.Please contact Mayor Fuller before the December 10 vote. She is a member of the School Committee and a key driver of this decision. If she stands up for our children, the school day will remain intact.Call Mayor Fuller at (617) 796-1100 or email her: [email protected]and tell her,
- As a Newton resident, you value education.
- The School Committee should listen to parents.
- The school day should NOT be shortened.
- We need later start-times for high school now.
Thank you for your actions.Sincerely,Jeffrey PontiffPS. Please email me at [email protected] if you would like occasional emails about school issues.
Dear _______,Thank you for writing us to inquire about the email sent out on November 29th entitled “Save Newton Schools.”Here is what the school committee has discussed and we want you to have the most accurate and up to date information:
- The information on the proposed HS schedule that will be presented at the upcoming December 10th meeting will be informational. It is a proposal we will all be seeing for the first time. No vote is taking place.
- The current work being done on the HS schedule is a step towards making a later high school start time a reality. This is is the first time the schedule has been looked at in 20 years. For the first time, we hope to have the schedules at the high schools aligned, allowing for synergies and expanded options that have never before existed.
- State laws regulate the number of days and hours of instruction at the high school level. Any schedule approved by the school committee must comply with those state laws.
We understand people are passionate on both sides of this issue. However we have a deliberate and intentional process. We are committed to moving forward and keeping the community informed.
We encourage all members of our community to review the information on later start time posted on the Newton Public Schools website and to review the latest presentation/update we received on this subject. Additionally we have assembled FAQs in order answer questions you may have.Thank you,MatthewMatthew B. MillerSchool Committee Member, Ward 8(617) 394-8833twitter: @mmiller942
Thanks to the community for the supportive emails. Let me clarify two things.
When I wrote my letter there was no January vote on the school committee calendar. Chair Goldman told me on Nov. 14 that if the vote did not take place on Dec. 10, it would occur during the early January meeting. The new schedule, as planned, will remove over 100 hours of annual schooling for each of our 4,000 high school students. This is a big decision. I am happy that the Mayor and parents have a little time to think about the implications before the vote.
All of my calculations are based on a 6.5 hour school day. The slides for the 3/5/2018 meeting say, “…our new schedule must be 6.5 hours in length.” In May, I asked the school committee to consider an array of schedules with varying day lengths. Although they responded to my email, this question was unanswered. No presentation since entertains varying day lengths.
For a useful case study, look at Newton elementary schools. I studied the schedules and did all the math. The Newton elementary schedule provides the BARE MINIMUM of teaching hours required under state regulations. They have it whittled down to the last hour. Where I grew up we had a full day of school every weekday. I was shocked when I found out about weekly early release in Newton. It is a real hardship for families and deprives the kids of ~80 hours of learning every year! When I asked why the schools did this, I was told that the teachers’ union negotiated it into their contract.
If you look at bullet point #3 in Matt Miller’s email, copied above, you can see he mentions state regulations. That is probably what NPS wants to do with high school–reduce hours to the minimum required by state law.
Who is supposed to benefit from a shortened school day? I don’t see how it can benefit the kids. And that is the one group that our school committee should be protecting.
Hello, I would love to hear more from the SC or from proponents of the earlier dismissal time about the rationale for this change. For example, how does earlier dismissal help take a “step towards making a later high school start time a reality”? In what ways do proponents of this proposal believe it benefits students?
Jeff and others are stating clearly why they think reduced instructional time is bad. I understand if an SC member does not want to come out “for” the proposal before it has even been presented, but I am not hearing what the benefits would be, even hypothetically.
The FAQ link in Matthew’s email links to an FAQ about history curriculum. Could it be pointed to the correct page please?
Thanks to Jeff and Matthew for taking the time to write, and thanks for being responsive in this discussion.
Wayland just pushed back high school start time by one hour. Where there is will there is a way.
A historical note without taking immediate sides in this contentious debate. Early release days are nothing new in Newton. We had every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons off when I attended Hyde elementary during the 1940s and I also recall that we didn’t have full day classes when I attended Weeks Junior High in the early 50s. I have no idea why we had these afternoons off, but we made good use of the spare time to organize our own recreational activities.
I’ve had the opportunity to talk with classes of elementary school students over the past several years and have come away totally impressed by the way both teachers and kids seem to thoroughly enjoy everything they are doing. Learning seems to be effective, fun and visionary. I just sense that this combination helps build a high level of self confidence at an age when it’s particularly vital to start nurturing this quality. This was not always the case when I was attending elementary school. at Hyde. A lot of the work was tedious, repetitious and frustratingly difficult to fully comprehend if you had any kind of learning disability which I did and still do, to some extent. Every teacher I had was caring, kind and dedicated, but they were puzzled at how even dedicated and hard working kids had difficulty understanding things that were easily mastered by most other students. This is a major reason the free Tuesday and Thursday afternoons were so welcome for many of us. The column I recently posted about bicycling up 128 in the early 1950s showed what we did with some of this time.
Count me in with Elizabeth Cooper’s request for more information from the SC. What is the rationale for doing this? On face value, it seems like a terrible idea. Really, it’s such an obviously bad idea that it makes me think there must be some reason that I just haven’t thought of. And it doesn’t seem to immediately pair well with later start times. The SC would be well advised to get ahead of this with some explanation. Matt’s letter is appreciated but doesn’t really explain.
Newton schools still have a very good reputation, deservedly so, and scores seem to back that up. Not sure that will hold if we’re shooting for meeting the state’s minimum requirements.
How can we discuss this without any actual information from either side? I have not been able to find exactly what it is that the SC is proposing, meaning an actual block schedule. Jeff states that the schools are working on a 6.5 hour day, which will result in a loss of 100 hours of instructional time. But where’s the info to back that calculation up? What is he using for the current school day? Does it include X blocks (and whatever the equivalent is at South?) Does the new schedule include X blocks? What about the comparisons to other districts – what numbers are being used?
It would much more useful to have this discussion after an actual proposed new block schedule is released.
Tricia, if you (or anyone) emails me ([email protected]) I will give you an NPS spreadsheet that has all the information you want about the length of our day and the length of the days at 10 districts that the NPS calls “peers.” I am happy to walk you (or anyone) through the calculations.
Tricia pointed out that the NPS data that I used does not reflect the fact that Weston moved to a late start in the fall and in doing so, their school day was reduced. In light of this, I am changing the comparison sentence in my email to “Newton’s school time will be 4 weeks shorter than Lexington’s and Brookline’s.” If you want an updated email for distribution, please email me. Thanks Tricia.
In my opinion, it’s the quality of the learning experience, not the number of classroom hours that really matters…
Regardless, ambiguously linking this current scheduling nonsense to later high school start times is very misleading on the part of the School Committee. For far more than a decade the Newton School Committee has proven themselves incapable of changing high school start times. So I like to remind parents that the City Charter does provide Mayor Fuller the autonomous opportunity and authority to move high school start times later. That’s where the pressure should be applied.
Jeff, please stop trying to make your case with the “Newton’s school time will be X weeks shorter than…” argument. It’s a misleading scare tactic, because you never define what “school time” actually means in your argument, but it’s also just plain wrong (as it was with Weston.) I am assuming your new Lexington H.S. calculation was done using 7.25 as their length of day, as was listed in that NPS spreadsheet. But you don’t mention that the spreadsheet also notes that that includes a daily 35-minute z-block from 2:25-3pm in which there are no scheduled activities. Lexington itself describes their school day as being from 7:45-2:25, which is 6hrs, 40min. Brookline’s length of day is also listed as 7.25, but that includes a daily 45-minute z-block before school.
A later high school start time is extremely important. I am much less concerned with the overall length of the day than I am with the quality of the day. I don’t see how a day that is technically longer by including significant amounts of unscheduled flex time (usually at the beginning or end of the day, so most students aren’t even present) is better than a slightly shorter day that optimizes academic time and incorporates meaningful “flex” time (to meet with teachers, work on projects, etc.)
But again, until we see an actual proposal from NPS, this discussion is meaningless.
Hi all! Good questions and comments. I’m just finishing up a full day.
I will read all comments and respond tomorrow!
Matt, I look forward to your assessment. Some people will want to know how we got here. Below are some facts for which I think we both agree. If we are not on the same page, please tell me. I know that you won’t think all of these facts are relevant. Thanks for putting up with me. Really!
F1. The school committee formed a working group that was charged with making recommendations that would help making a healthy high school start time possible. The group included the assistant superintendent, both principals, and the teacher’s union president. The group included neither anyone on the school committee nor anyone charged with representing parents.
F2. Neither of us knows of any NPS survey of parents that asked how long the school day should be. Neither of us knows of any survey that asked parents how comfortable they are with explicit ending times—such as 1:40, 3:00, 3:20, etc.
F3: The working group has told the school committee “…our new schedule must be 6.5 hours in length.” (3/5/2018)
F4: A 6.5 hour day is 36 minutes shorter than the current Newton South day.
F5: The school committee does not plan on voting for a fall 2019 healthy start time. The school committee does plan on voting on a proposal that may decrease the length of the high school day.
Chiming in to just add a data point. Schools are required to be open for a minimum number of days, and provide a minimum number of instructional hours pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Here is a nutshell, is what is required:
September 1997: Schools must schedule all enrolled students to receive a minimum of 900/990 hours of structured learning time in a minimum of 180 student school days. Time not counting toward the 900/990 hours of structured learning includes time spent in homeroom, passing between classes, at recess, at lunch, at breakfast, as well as time in non-directed study, receiving school services, and in optional school programs.
And here is a link to the source with additional information:
http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr27_guide.html
It is also important to note what constitutes “structured learning time”.
I hope this helps with the discussion.
Lisap
Hi Mike,
I’m not sure that the mayor has the authority to change high school start time on her own. That is not consistent with the powers that the state grants to school committees.
@Mike, we have not seen any proposal so it is premature to say what the administration has in mind. What I can tell you is that “Academic Excellence” is one of our core tenants that we remain committed to. This will absolutely be a factor in the discussion.
@Elizabeth I copied the wrong FAQs from an email thread. The other two links I provided contain the info. The idea behind shortening the school day stemmed from a survey conducted that demonstrated the community wanted a later start time but did not want to extend the end time. Arguments against extending the end time included athletic logistics, traffic concerns, child care, after school jobs etc. This information led to taking a look at the schedule for the first time in 20 years to see if there were any efficiencies and/or changes to be made that would allow us to start school later but still end at a reasonable time. We have not seen any proposal yet.
@NewtonNewbie, I tend to be a pretty competitive person and I want Newton to be leading the way. Wayland’s success is definitely on my mind.
@Dan to take this a bit further, what we have gathered from the last presentation is there are a few additional added benefits of the schedule adjustment. 1st of all, it’s important to note that there is a difference between instructional time and overall start and end time. One of the goals of the schedule adjustment is to add more time for Social Emotional Learning. As it has been explained to be, we are not taking away hours but rather changing the way students spend them. In addition, we will most likely be seeing a proposal that will have each day ending at the same time and will have both high schools using the same schedule to create synergies for our dual programs.
@Jeff I don’t think the statement “Newton’s school time will be 4 weeks shorter” is correct. They might have less instructional time in certain areas but it is likely the proposal we see coming up will have those minutes each day being used in a different way. As to our facts I would need to confirm, however I did think the working group included 2 school committees (Ellen and Ruth) who spent quite a bit of time engaging and listening to the community. As to the survey showing the desire to not extend the day…I am am working on that promise! I just haven’t had the time to find it. Your final fact is not correct. At this point we don’t know what the proposal is so we don’t know what we are voting on.
@Mike HSST is staying at the forefront of my mind. I agree that there has been a lot of ambiguity. I am hoping the upcoming presentation start to clear things up. I am staying cautiously optimistic and will of course, remain as communicative and clear as possible.
@Everyone, I appreciate the tone that everyone is taking here. Asking questions in this fashion makes my job a lot easier and I really appreciate it!
@Jeff and all, please click through these links to review a summary of the info gathered during surveying of parents, staff and community.
https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/cms/lib/MA01907692/Centricity/Domain/112/HSST%20Community%20Feedback_1_23_17_Full%20Memo.pdf
https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/cms/lib/MA01907692/Centricity/Domain/112/Recommendation%20-%20Start%20Times%20-%203.6.17.pdf
Matthew. If you look at the surveys, parents never ever say that ending after 3 PM is a problem. These surveys do not tell us that parents think that the school day must be 6.5 hours. The conclusion that the superintendent makes in the 2nd PDF, “the feedback was clear…” was not based on surveys from parents. Frankly, it is unclear what feedback he is talking about.
You, Bridget, Kathy, Anping, and Mayor Fuller were not around for the discussion. My recollection is, to their credit, Diana and Margie gave some pushback at the time. I have been in a school committee meeting during which a new school committee member asked about the 3 PM pronouncement, was pointed to these documents, told something like “we already decided that last year, you were not around, let’s move on…”
In the next few week, the school committee (and the public) will undoubtedly hear the mantra, “we already decided this, this is what the community wants… we can’t have a school day longer than the state minimum…we can’t end school after 3 PM.” I hope that we all have the courage to say, “Parents are part of the community. Parents never said so. ”
Once and for all, let’s correct the record. The new school committee members need to confront the truth and step up.
I completely agree. The main argument I hear for ending after 3 is sports and frankly I don’t think that is enough of a reason. Curricular should matter much more than extra curricular. There certainly must some ways to accommodate leaving early for sports games. If you play sports, let that count as gym. How about scheduling free time at the end to the day for athletes etc. – how many years have we had to figure this out? Everybody cannot have or do everything. To sacrifice the length of the school day for ALL students so that varsity athletes don’t have to make a choice between missing classes or being on time to far away games just seems wrong!!!
@Susie Heyman– The City Charter specifically affords Newton’s Mayor control over ALL municipal buildings. The Mayor has the authority to stipulate what time any building opens in the morning, including school buildings. The Mayor should politely inform the School Committee that come next September the doors at NNHS and NSHS will be opening one hour later than they currently open. That will provide the necessary incentive for the SC to make the change. Oh they’ll bitch about it and claim the sky is going to fall. But in the end, they will make the change before September.
The problem here has been a lack of leadership from the top. Mayor Cohen never recognized or acknowledged the health problems associated with early morning high school start times. Same with Mayor Warren. Now a third Mayor, Fuller, has the opportunity to FIX this problem that has had such a negative impact on thousands of Newton children everyday. She should show a little courage and exercise the leadership people expect from their Mayor.
@Mike Striar, just for some clarification, the City Charter pre-dates the Education Reform Act of 1993 by some 20 years.
The laws and regulations of the Education Reform Act of 1993 supercede the charter. They made significant changes in the powers and duties of local government over K-12 education.
Here is where to find information from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on the general laws and regulations that govern the school day – http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/603cmr27.html?section=07
Why isnt the SC required to post agendas as are all the other committees and the city council? Why don’t they send out email newsletters? Why are parents and other residents kept in the dark about proposals to be considered by the SC? Why does the SC itself not know in advance what will be presented to them?
What does shortening the school day have to do with later high school start times? I would understand if the SC was looking into later end times in order to accommodate later high start times. But not the other way around.
I hope this presentation is worth it. Arbitrarily shortening school days seems wrong on all counts. Why does it say above that there will be no vote on the presentation Dec 10 but there will be in Jan if the SC doesn’t know what’s going to be presented?
@Margaret Albright– The Education Reform Act of 1993 does not preclude the Mayor from using the City Charter to follow the course of action I have outlined.
@Marti
NPS has invested time and resources into training staff on how to use Responsive Classroom techniques in order to increase social emotional wellness. With all the national vitriol, I believe using these responsive classroom techniques in our citywide conversations can benefit us all.
This being said, allow me to revise your questions using this methodology and then answer each one:
Is the SC required to post agendas like all the other committees and the city council?
Yes, we are required to post agendas. All agendas are posted prior to the meeting. We just had a docket meeting yesterday so I would anticipate the finalized agenda to be posted shortly.
Does the SC send out newsletters?
Yes, we do! This was an initiative that I took up when I took office and have continued ever since. We send out newsletters following every meeting. The newsletters go out to 1200 individuals who are signed up. They are also posted on the NPS Facebook page. The sign up is available on the School Committee page of the NPS website. Or you can send me your email I will personally add you to the list.
Sometimes it can feel like residents are kept in the dark about proposal to be considered by the SC. Can you help me/us better access information?
I am sorry that it feels like you are being kept in the dark. We are subject to Open Meeting Laws and take that very seriously. On the subject of the high school schedule, we do not have a proposal yet. Since we have not seen a proposal, there is nothing to share.
Does the SC know in advance what will be presented to them?
Yes! We do get a packet of information usually the Friday before a meeting. As soon as the information is available to us, it is also available to the public. This gives us time to review information prior to the public meeting.
I am still unclear on what shortening the school day have to do with later high school start times. Would it be possible have a bit more info on this?
At this point, I think tuning in on the 10th will be helpful in understanding this question more fully.
I am not sure I understand why it say above that there will be no vote on the presentation Dec 10 but there will be in Jan if the SC doesn’t know what’s going to be presented?
I am not aware of any vote on this subject in January. Looking at our agenda for January I do not see any mention of a vote on this subject matter.
Matthew, no offense intended but please do not revise or rewrite my questions and put words in my mouth. I can speak for myself. If that was what I intended to ask, that’s what I would have asked. (“Sometimes it can feel … “ or “I’m still unclear … “ are not what I intend d to say.) With an adult, well with me, it’s disrespectful and condescension at its worse. I’m curious as to why I was singled out but not say Mike Strair or another commenter? Thanks.
You say the SC is required to post agendas and will shortly for next Tuesday but then you say that a vote is not on the January agenda. So an agenda exists just not on the city website. The SC knew that this presentation was coming – publishing agendas ahead of time on the city website would help residents and parents keep informed.
The SC must have known the proposal for shorter high school days – by ending earlier but not starting later – was in the works yet I don’t know anyone who knew it was coming. Surely it has been discussed somewhat among the entire committee before being presented by the working group. If not then how can the SC discuss it’s reasoning in so little time? (Just what I intended to ask, btw.)
@Mike Striar, I am certain that the mayor and the school committee are both required to follow MGL’s when they conflict with the charter. We take an oath to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth.
@Margaret Albright– You’re apparently seeing a “conflict” that escapes me. But let me just ask you a direct question…
If Mayor Fuller notified the School Committee that come next September, based on her authority under the City Charter, she intended to open doors one hour later at the high schools, what would be the School Committee’s response?
Matt (and maybe Margaret), when I emailed Ruth in the middle of November, she said, speaking about the December 10 meeting, “But it is there and if we don’t vote at that meeting it will take place at early January meeting.”
Matt has clarified in an email to me that the decision has been made to definitely NOT vote at the December 10 meeting. Thanks Matt. Is the school committee saying they don’t know if there will be a vote at a January meeting? Are they saying that they know there will be a January vote, but they don’t know at which January meeting? Are they saying they know that there will definitely not be a January vote?
I plan on ratcheting-up outreach before a vote. Outreach takes planning and time. The holidays are upon us. I hope the school committee can give the community clarity so we can put the vote date in our schedule soon.
Jeff, I hope that in your outreach this time, you will stop using that “Newton’s school time will be X weeks shorter than…” argument, as that has proved to be either false or extremely misleading several times already.
And for the record, Weston implemented a later start time this September. What did they do in that process? Revised their schedule. Length of day? 6.5 hours. Lexington is going to a later start time in September. What are they doing now? Working on a revised schedule. Length of day? 6 hrs 40 min. Wayland is also looking to go to a later start time. What are they working on right now? That’s right…
Marti – did you have a chance to look at the linked material that was released back in March 2017? From the Superintendent’s letter to NPS families:
This process was announced – publicly – eight months ago.
Also, a discussion of this item IS on the agenda for the December meeting, which is available on the SC website (as is the agenda for the January meeting, but obviously it’s a preliminary agenda at this point – maybe a vote isn’t on the agenda because the proposal hasn’t even been discussed yet?) Maybe it would make sense to let the committee present their proposal and have a discussion before accusing them of keeping parents in the dark?
We are actually a part of the Illuminati. We will soon achieve our goal of slashing all academics from Newton forever!!! (Insert evil laughter here)
@Matthew Miller. There is a grain of truth in every joke, including yours. Our city, state, and federal governments have done terrible harm to our children (and grandchildren) by borrowing trillions of dollars from them without their consent. How convenient for our politicians that the victims are the ones who can’t vote. The City of Newton is complicit in this to the tune of $1 billion or more. Our children will pay the pensions, Social Security, Medicare for many people on your committee. They’ll be lucky to receive a fraction of those benefits when it’s their turn.
And before anybody retorts that public debt has existed in America since the Revolution: this time is different. Over the past 30 years our so-called leaders have transferred massive amounts of wealth to themselves from the children of today and the future. This has come in the form of entitlements and tax policy that favor Boomers, deferred maintenance on our infrastructure, and the erosion of public institutions that serve children.
So when I see that your committee wants to cut school hours, I have reason to be cynical. For the record, this is not selfish activism on my part. I don’t have kids in Newton Public Schools, but I care very much about my neighbors who do.
Everyone should watch two minutes of the June 18 School Committee meeting on NewTV Go to 111:15. Mayor Fuller says the following, “I had the pleasure, … being at a Newton North High School class…, and a very numerate student had taken the 30 minutes per day and multiplied it out by the 180 days. … I think it was 3 weeks plus… ‘are you, mayor, comfortable with us having 3 weeks less of academic time/instructional time?” You can feel the air leave the room. A very agitated superintendent cuts off his assistant and tries to salvage the situation. From my experience watching SC meetings when the superintendent intercedes, things get interesting.
What argument does the superintendent make? He claims that losing 3+ weeks of school is counterbalanced by the benefits of a late start.
The School Committee is voting to cut the day. No late start vote is on the horizon. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, watch the October 1 meeting. The only justification that the superintendent could give the mayor is not on the table. The administration has worked hard to cut the day. If we let them do it, a late start will never happen.
Jeff….What we will be seeing on the 10th is a proposal of a revised schedule. We will be seeing this for the first time. I expect the proposal to have less academic time. However, I also expect there to be a balance of more Flexible Learning Time. At this point, it’s all guess work.
Mike… it is not MY committee. It is ours. You may have read somewhere that we want to cut school hours. However, without a crystal ball there is no way of you knowing. We have not seen a proposal yet. I cannot determine what I want to do until I have all the facts and see a proposal.
I can tell you personally, that I do not think having more in Class Learning Time (as opposed to Flexible Learning Time) is the absolute end-all when it comes to a best-in-class education. I do not think our students would stop succeeding if we replaced some class time with time to unwind, take electives, work on homework, participate in a club and/or go see a tutor. AND if we can get a later start time on top of that, it might be something I get behind and support.
I am keeping an open mind and I would ask that you do as well. I am doing my best at keeping everyone up to date with info…new newsletters initiatives, increased social media presence and online virtual office hours. However, I am finding lately that all my time has been spent addressing rumors and misleading info.
Jeff – so you must have seen the proposal, and it must remove academic/instructional time only, leaving HR, lunch, passing, and X/J block the same, because that’s the only way academic/instructional time could be reduced by 30 min day. If the new proposal keeps the same proportion of academic time, HR, lunch, passing time, X/J-block time and reduces them all equally, or changes the proportion in some other way, that would obviously not mean a 30 min decrease in academic/instructional time, would it?
Why are you so adamant that reducing the length of the day means a late start time won’t happen? Because that’s exactly what Weston and Lexington did to enable a later start time – just in one step, not two.
I want to clearly say that I applaud Matthew for trying to answer our questions.
@Michael Singer – Your comment is confusing to me, it sounds like you’re complaining more about national debt policy than anything that applies to the Newton School Committee. Unless I’m missing something?
@Brian Barash: I am saying that out-of-control debt and cuts to children’s services are related components of a long-term political trend, and that because of that trend I am skeptical of efforts to shorten the school day inserted under the guise of sleep hygiene.
Hi all. I owe a public apology to Marti. My intention was not to be condescending to anyone. However, perception is reality. Once I reviewed my statement I realized the tone was not appropriate nor was it fair to her. Additionally, Marti pointed out to me that I did not react the same way when men commented. I like to think, as we all do, that I have progressed passed “isms.” But the truth is subconscious judgments need to be pointed out and addressed. I have connected with Marti and have committed to being more vigilant on both fronts. I wanted to let V14 readers know as well.
Here is a post-meeting update. The good news is there is time to take a deep breath.
Chair Goldman has told me that no action will occur on schedule changes or start times until (at least) fall of 2020. During spring 2019, the impact of these decisions will be further investigated and serious community vetting will occur. It is unlikely a vote will occur until fall 2019. This seems to me to be a prudent decision by the school committee and the mayor.
As predicted, the proposal is to cut 34 to 36 minutes out of the school day, which amounts to over 100 hours per year. The administration says that the new day will provide 44 fewer minutes for traditional class time. This loss amounts to a loss of 132 hour per year.
If you want to see more complete assessment of the meeting, please email me at [email protected].