Thedebate is over and the result is “No short school week.” That’s fine, but I think it is important we understand what happened here.
Over two years ago, at the direction of the school board, Superintendent Futterer was asked to investigate the four-day school week.
Thesame direction was given to new Superintendent Beth Schwarz. A small group of mostly teachers started investigating the idea, primarily as a way to save money for our district. I thought it was a ludicrous idea and was stunned when the study committee came out in favor of the four-day week to our academic advisory group in May of this year.
I had serious questions, and I wondered if they were serious. With a critical eye, I read the reports and studies from districts that had tried it. Many of my worries didn’t seem to be borne out. I still have concerns, but to my surprise, the reading showed multiple reports of reduced absenteeism and decreased discipline problems.
The current school schedule is very nearly a four-day week already with all the early dismissal days and three-day weekends throughout the year. That, coupled with the increased time that would be available for teachers to collaborate and meet without students on a regular basis, and the idea began to sound very appealing.
The projected money savings meant that there would be funds available to mitigate problems that would surely develop. As our committee learned and talked about the idea, it became clear that cost savings (and there were real savings) were not seen by anyone as sufficient reason to move forward with the shortened school week. It was instead because of all the other positive results.
Thebiggest reason I changed my mind was the enthusiasm of the study committee and Superintendent Schwarz. With cuts in funding, decreases in enrollment, curriculum mandates from the sate and federal departments of education, there is not a lot to get excited about in the schools lately. The four-day-week would require extensive planning, changes to every teacher’s lesson plans, rethinking the rhythm of the school day, and present huge opportunities for staff development.
In short, some of the very things many people think we need. And the school staff (at least those who had done the investigating) was excited about it! I recall from my college studies that change in the workplace can improve productivity.
We humans are at our best when we are solving problems. This change could be a catalyst to shake up our school in a positive way with the united goal of making our school a better environment for our kids to learn.
For these benefits to occur, community support would also be crucial. Unfortunately, that hurdle has proven too high. It took me weeks of discussion and research to come around to favor the proposal. Theshort time within which to make the decision wasn’t enough to bring public opinion around. I watched the effort close up and I saw the sincerity and humility with which Superintendent Schwarz approached this difficult task. Our very diverse community suffers from lack of trust in the school system. I hope this episode will fall under the column of “Sincere And Informed Efforts to Improve Our School.”
The district hired Beth Schwarz to lead us through some very difficulttimes. It is important to recognize that she still needs and very much deserves our collective community support.
Jeff Kern
Grand Marais
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