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Post by RiverIsis on Aug 9, 2015 19:33:57 GMT
I would have to ask my friend whose son went there, and that info could be out of date, but I think you are right. Oh I hadn't heard of the fire, surprised the in-laws didn't say or they did and DH didn't say. Haha I thought you were rich enough to send you son there If only! I used to laugh internally riding public transport with their in depth educational discussions when I was going in to do some Saturday shopping I always liked to go in early and miss the crowds.
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Post by 950nancy on Aug 9, 2015 19:41:13 GMT
I would have never made it in a classroom where you had to move every nine weeks. I had 13 bookshelves full of books. When I retired, I had 66 boxes to sell. Paring down to the essentials with books wasn't in my vocabulary. I loved having the right book for the nonreader.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2015 19:45:04 GMT
I would have never made it in a classroom where you had to move every nine weeks. I had 13 bookshelves full of books. When I retired, I had 66 boxes to sell. Paring down to the essentials with books wasn't in my vocabulary. I loved having the right book for the nonreader. That's intrigued me...do you not have libraries in your schools?
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Post by myshelly on Aug 9, 2015 19:47:59 GMT
Here's another school permutation to twist your noodle - when I lived in Oxford, Magdalene College School went 6 days a week. They did 2 full days 1 half day, 2 full days 1 half day and then Sunday off. They still had sports etc. and are one of the top non boarding schools in England. I know it would never work here but TBH my eldest spent as much time at school after hours and on Saturdays from the parental perspective it wouldn't have made a big difference. That sounds horrible. I would hate that so much. Families need down time and family time.
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Post by RiverIsis on Aug 9, 2015 20:07:06 GMT
I would have never made it in a classroom where you had to move every nine weeks. I had 13 bookshelves full of books. When I retired, I had 66 boxes to sell. Paring down to the essentials with books wasn't in my vocabulary. I loved having the right book for the nonreader. That's intrigued me...do you not have libraries in your schools? Libraries (or media centers as seems to be the trend to call them now) are only as good as the Librarian, also in this case she may have known she had just the right book, where the library may have it checked out. I know a lot of teachers that have "what if" supplies in their rooms.
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Post by darkchami on Aug 9, 2015 20:38:17 GMT
I think it is unwise to jump into a change for change's sake. It is unwise to adjust something that affects so many people, when past evidence in an area suggests that it would not work. Especially when there is no clear evidence that the change will have a positive effect. You're saying "do this - it might work even though no study has shown conclusively that it will." while lambasting someone for saying "we shouldn't do this because in the past we've had these problems and these are the obstacles we will face." That doesn't make sense to me. But no one here has offered sound evidence that it doesn't work. They are only saying "I think it won't". I'm saying that there is plenty of ways to look at this topic and that dismissing it out of hand based on "experience" in a bubble is weird. If you haven't worked it or lived it then how can you say with such certainty that it won't work in your area? In the past lots of things have happened. That doesn't mean at a different time it won't work going forward. A small example. A guy I work with had a really good idea about a form that needs some work. It's awkward and creates a burdensome amount of paperwork. He created something new that is equally effective and fits on one sheet. It creates 12 sheets of paper per year instead of several hundred. He brought it up about 2 years ago and was pretty much dismissed. No one would give it five minutes to even consider making the change. Fast forward. Now that things are tightening up in the budget he brought it forward as a cost savings mechanism. It was given time in two meetings and was taken immediately to the management team for approval. In a week he had it, and final edits are going in this week. This is clearly an oversimplification, but truly sometimes there is a reason something won't' work out in one period of time and then it does in another. nothing changed about his proposal, but the community changed. (ie: company needs were altered). So maybe it didn't' make sense in 2002, and maybe it doesn't make sense in 2015, but if you havne't visited the idea in over a decade maybe you should consider it. Unless what you are doing now is giving you crazy improved results and whatever. But if you are flat lined in your district, I fail to see how trying to shake it up and trying something new is something that people want to resist. "If you always do what you've always done..." right? I love how passionate about education you are. It shows how much you care about our children. The pushback that you are getting from teachers is a result of our experience with school budgets. We live, eat, and breathe budgets. We work in buildings with leaky roofs, outdated electrical systems that won't support technology needs, boiler systems that don't work. We run out of money for supplies, including paper. We teach in closets and store rooms. When we end up with more classes than classrooms, alternative spaces are used as classes. The gymnasium or a hallway may be used. Budgets are beyond tight in many districts. I would be thrilled with the community to rally and raise the money we need. The reality is that our community is impoverished. They are fighting to put food on the table. Honestly, every district is different. Each has its own budget, population, and challenges. There is no one size fits all answer in education. If there were, we would be all on the same page doing the same thing. Year round schooling will work great in some areas and not in others. It will work for some students and not for others. Most school districts can't afford to spend millions on something that doesn't have any research to support it. As I have read this thread I have seen that some districts have tried it in one school and not the others. That school is a pilot. They are trying out a new system without investing huge amounts of money. If they don't expand the program, then it didn't have the positive results they were hoping to have. You are much more likely to see schools make changes that don't impact the budget but still yield positive results. We have restructured our school day to include time for intervention as well as enrichment. We made a huge internal structural (research based) change that resulted in incredible gains. Schools aren't necessarily doing what they have always done. Our change just didn't include year round schooling. Again, I would absolutely embrace year round schooling. It just isn't an option for us right now. That isn't an excuse. It is a financial reality for a school district barely making ends meet in a community that can't afford to give more.
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Post by Yubon Peatlejuice on Aug 9, 2015 21:06:10 GMT
Holy shit. My first 10-pager and I wasn't even being a bitch!
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Post by darkchami on Aug 9, 2015 21:08:04 GMT
I would have never made it in a classroom where you had to move every nine weeks. I had 13 bookshelves full of books. When I retired, I had 66 boxes to sell. Paring down to the essentials with books wasn't in my vocabulary. I loved having the right book for the nonreader. That's intrigued me...do you not have libraries in your schools? We do have libraries. Students in class still often have no book to read. They leave books at home. They lose books and are no longer allowed to check books out of the library. Books need to be available in the classroom. You would not believe how extensive some classroom libraries are. The librarian used to send students to me if they were looking for a particular book that he didn't have. He knew it was likely in my collection. I thought it was important to keep the newest and the best on hand to keep my students reading.
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Post by darkchami on Aug 9, 2015 21:14:15 GMT
Holy shit. My first 10-pager and I wasn't even being a bitch! Well, you did blame teachers in the OP. We aren't going to just sit on our hands and not speak up when we have no control over the schedule. It is a great topic of conversation. I love to talk about educational ideas. The more we talk about education, the better. Thank you for asking the question.
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Deleted
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Sept 27, 2024 23:06:06 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2015 21:22:14 GMT
That's intrigued me...do you not have libraries in your schools? We do have libraries. Students in class still often have no book to read. They leave books at home. They lose books and are no longer allowed to check books out of the library. Books need to be available in the classroom. You would not believe how extensive some classroom libraries are. The librarian used to send students to me if they were looking for a particular book that he didn't have. He knew it was likely in my collection. I thought it was important to keep the newest and the best on hand to keep my students reading. Thank you, appreciate you explaining.
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Post by 950nancy on Aug 9, 2015 21:37:57 GMT
I would have never made it in a classroom where you had to move every nine weeks. I had 13 bookshelves full of books. When I retired, I had 66 boxes to sell. Paring down to the essentials with books wasn't in my vocabulary. I loved having the right book for the nonreader. That's intrigued me...do you not have libraries in your schools? Oh, yes, we had a nice one. I have a huge passion for reading and wrote grants for many different units if studies. I also got tons of free books from book orders and kids donated every year too. I'd like to think I never had a kid that hated to read that couldn't find something in my room that would interest them. I had over a 1,500 non fiction books that the boys seemed to love. Whenever my kids finished their work in class, they would have out a book to read. My classes always did extremely well in state/district reading tests. Our kids could only visit the library once a week (700 kids) and sometimes there would be weeks that they couldn't get a book.
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Post by Meri-Lyn on Aug 9, 2015 21:43:55 GMT
I have to address the A/C issue, as this is going on right now with the high school I went to.
The school was built in the 50's. It was retrofitted with A/C in the early 70's. Even in the 80's, it was temperamental at best. This is an inner-city school with almost all on free/reduced lunch.
The school was slated for a major rebuild in 2004, but the money to do that dried up. The last several years, the a/c has been held together by spit and a prayer. In 2012, the money was finally allocated to fix it, and many other issues physical plant issues at the school. Repairs were never done. A bond issue was passed late last year, again, to make sure major repairs/renovations were done. Still nothing. Despite meetings, protests, petitions, etc., the school board still cannot come up with good answers about where this money is and why isn't anything being done. The lastest I heard was that repairs would begin in June of next year!
A few weeks before finals, the system gave out completely. Keep in mind, when the unit was installed, the windows were sealed shut. So we're talking kids taking finals in 90+ temperatures with no air circulation what so ever. Some teachers even resorted to teaching classes outside. Still nothing has been done, and with school starting in a few weeks, there are questions on whether they can get it functioning or not. And this is not the only issue. The roof is just about gone. There have been several teachers who have had either ceilings collapse on them or floors give way below them. There is a boiler system for heat, but that hasn't worked in quite a few years, either. Now, I know what you're thinking, who needs heat in South Florida? But last winter, there were a few days of 40 and upper 30's temperatures. And again, considering the demographic, several kids do not have coats or jackets. Teachers have resorted to keeping sweatshirts in their classrooms to hand out to kids on those few days.
So, bottom line, if a school in the south, known for miserable, humid summers (even April/May, August/September when school is in) can't keep up with A/C, it's not too far out to imagine why schools who are in more mild climates don't have any either.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2015 22:06:53 GMT
That's intrigued me...do you not have libraries in your schools? Oh, yes, we had a nice one. I have a huge passion for reading and wrote grants for many different units if studies. I also got tons of free books from book orders and kids donated every year too. I'd like to think I never had a kid that hated to read that couldn't find something in my room that would interest them. I had over a 1,500 non fiction books that the boys seemed to love. Whenever my kids finished their work in class, they would have out a book to read. My classes always did extremely well in state/district reading tests. Our kids could only visit the library once a week (700 kids) and sometimes there would be weeks that they couldn't get a book. Wow 1500 books !!! Thanks for coming back and explaining. That's some collection there.
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Post by Katiepotatie on Aug 9, 2015 22:39:44 GMT
I'm a teacher and I would LOVE year round school! Shorter breaks here and there would mean refreshed students and teachers. And the retention rates??!!! Wow!!!
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,969
Jan 4, 2015 1:47:52 GMT
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Post by AnotherPea on Aug 9, 2015 23:20:04 GMT
I would have never made it in a classroom where you had to move every nine weeks. I had 13 bookshelves full of books. When I retired, I had 66 boxes to sell. Paring down to the essentials with books wasn't in my vocabulary. I loved having the right book for the nonreader. I have games that I can swap out for different units throughout the semester. I have supplies that students need several times a week. I have all sorts of things that I bought and selfishly do not want to share, that would have to be packed and unpacked. I would eventually stop using them. Oftentimes, it is these little things that keep students who struggle, engaged. The higher students, with great support at home, can muddle through boring lectures that don't have extras. But other students would simply give up. I've seen it happen when teachers had to float into my room for students that disabilities. These teachers have remarkable scores, student engagement, etc. But when they can't bring their "toys" with them, the class is a chore.
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Post by 950nancy on Aug 10, 2015 0:04:40 GMT
Oh, yes, we had a nice one. I have a huge passion for reading and wrote grants for many different units if studies. I also got tons of free books from book orders and kids donated every year too. I'd like to think I never had a kid that hated to read that couldn't find something in my room that would interest them. I had over a 1,500 non fiction books that the boys seemed to love. Whenever my kids finished their work in class, they would have out a book to read. My classes always did extremely well in state/district reading tests. Our kids could only visit the library once a week (700 kids) and sometimes there would be weeks that they couldn't get a book. Wow 1500 books !!! Thanks for coming back and explaining. That's some collection there. I had 3500. Two thousand were novels.
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Post by ptamom on Aug 10, 2015 1:43:33 GMT
I'm coming back to this after having no internet access during a trip to my dd's college orientation. So I've been out of the loop. Also, I'm on an iPad, so I haven't mastered quoting and answering multiple posts, so I'm just cutting and pasting from the "notes" app. Sorry.
"We educate everyone. Don't speak English? That's fine, come on in to high school. Take the standardized test, do poorly, then we can point fingers at teachers for not working hard enough.
Don't want to be educated, don't want to study? That's fine, we'll enroll you anyway. If you show up on testing day, you'll take the test and your results will affect your teachers' pay and evaluations.
Have to go to school as a term of your probation? That's cool, we'll sign you up. You can come in, disrupt the class, cause trouble for the teacher - and then you can test and we can blame the teacher for poor results.
In many countries, they do NOT send these types to high school. High school is for kids who are academically inclined and who WANT to be there. Those who don't get shunted into a vocational program. So we compare their test scores (of the kids who like school and tend to do well at it) with our test scores (of all kids, even those who are absent 80% of the time) and then we end up looking bad.
The good students in the US are comparable to the good students anywhere. The middle to bad students - well, we can't really compare them since the middle to bad students don't make it to high school in other countries"
Are we talking about developed countries? Because I haven't heard of leading countries that leave a good portion of their population without education. Now, underdeveloped countries, sure. Don't measure up, no education for you. How's that working for them?
Re vocational vs college bound education: "I think we do our kids a disservice by forcing them to fit the college bound cookie cutter mold and not allowing them to do vocational. There no shame in learning a trade, and in many cases it pays better than a university degree does. My son is not academically inclined, but could do well in a trade. He doesn't have that option. So he will take the same classes and tests as his more academically gifted sister, though his goals are very different from hers. But his low test scores will still count against his school even though it's an issue with him and not the quality of education he's receiving,In the U.S., we don't offer that choice at all - at least not anywhere I'm familiar with. We don't allow them to not attend the pre-university career path, it is assumed that ALL students need to prepare for university. So every student gets tested and then we compare our test scores to those of other countries - countries with very different systems. There are students who would in other places choose an apprenticeship or a bac professional type program - nope, here they have to take the university bound program. Want to be a mechanic? Too bad, you need to be ready for college. So that kid who may be an amazing mechanic and could pursue that path in France instead takes the same courses and tests as the kid who is going to university.
I think we do our kids a disservice by forcing them to fit the college bound cookie cutter mold and not allowing them to do vocational. There no shame in learning a trade, and in many cases it pays better than a university degree does. My son is not academically inclined, but could do well in a trade. He doesn't have that option. So he will take the same classes and tests as his more academically gifted sister, though his goals are very different from hers. But his low test scores will still count against his school even though it's an issue with him and not the quality of education he's receiving"
Mostly true. But there is ROP training in some districts, teaching trades. My hairdresser went that route, taking cosmetology courses in her high school. In my district there are many ROP tracts that teach career skills that can lead to jobs right after high school: plumbing, car repair, even catering.
I think that the fact that the U.S. Has such a variable climate plays into whether year round would work or not. Here in northern ca, even in the dead of winter we could find something to do. Maybe not so in far north communities. And August can be pretty brutal elsewhere.
But it just for myself, and my high schooler son, this summer has been the most boring ever. I've been working as a substitute teacher, which means no work over the summer, so no extra money to go have fun. DS has no extracurricular interests, so no activities planned.
I would have have much rather have spread my/our time off throughout the year.
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Post by Karene on Aug 10, 2015 2:49:51 GMT
Here in my region of Ontario, we mostly have traditional school schedules but there are a few on year round schedules. Also, in high school, when the student picks their courses each year, they pick the level that is best for them. In grade 9 and 10 courses have Academic or Applied levels. When you get to grade 11 and 12, it is called University, University/College, College, or Workplace levels. Students try for the highest because you can always move down if you have to, but it is hard to move up without extra classes. Some courses are labelled Open, meaning that anyone can take them no matter what level your other courses are. Everyone who gets the right amount of credits (no matter what level) still receives their high school diploma, but you need university credits to go to university, and college credits to go to college.
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Post by rahnee on Aug 10, 2015 4:44:24 GMT
I'm in Australia and we have what you call 'year round schools. Each semester has two terms, so four terms per year, with a two week break between all terms, except in summer (Christmas time) when they have approximately 5 weeks off. While we would all love a long lazy summer, my kids are well and truly ready for the break at the end of the term. I can't imagine how exhausted they would be without the breaks. I guess its what your used too. I can't imagine trying to find childcare for most of a three month summer break. Whereas, two weeks is not difficult at all.
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AllieC
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,086
Jul 4, 2014 6:57:02 GMT
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Post by AllieC on Aug 10, 2015 4:45:12 GMT
In Australia I guess we have what you would call year round education. We start the school year usually at the end of January and have 4 school terms. There are 2 weeks holiday around Easter, two weeks in June/July and another 2 in September. Our main break is from mid-late December through to about 25th January.
It is what I've always known but I like it this way. Kids get a decent break after 10-12 weeks and then have a big chunk of the hot weather off. Kids in late high school seem to finish up around the first week of December so they have a 6-7 week Summer break.
All workers here employed on a permanent basis get 4 weeks of annual leave so it is generally manageable although obviously doesn't cover the whole of the holidays. I worked part-time during my daughters early years so was often able to swap days with friends or use up time that I had built up to take additional days.
Also just adding re the vocational schools re preparing for university, many states here have excellent school based vocational training. It is aimed at those students wanting to do a trade but also finish formal schooling in Yr12. My husband's employer has several school based mechanics who do school 3-4 days a week and are at the business on the tools the other days. It works really well. Most will lead into a full apprenticeship at the end of school but they still get recognised for finishing schooling. They have all sorts of traineeships and apprenticeships - at my dd's school they have a full hospitality set-up, hair-dressing college and a building school. Most of the kids have secured on-going employment before they finish which I think is brilliant.
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AllieC
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,086
Jul 4, 2014 6:57:02 GMT
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Post by AllieC on Aug 10, 2015 4:49:08 GMT
I'm in Australia and we have what you call 'year round schools. Each semester has two terms, so four terms per year, with a two week break between all terms, except in summer (Christmas time) when they have approximately 5 weeks off. While we would all love a long lazy summer, my kids are well and truly ready for the break at the end of the term. I can't imagine how exhausted they would be without the breaks. I guess its what your used too. I can't imagine trying to find childcare for most of a three month summer break. Whereas, two weeks is not difficult at all. We were typing at the same time Rahnee
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AmeliaBloomer
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,842
Location: USA
Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Aug 10, 2015 12:17:10 GMT
[Humor alert] Last night, my husband and I discussed - for the zillionth time in twenty years - putting central AC in our 1907 house-with-radiators. (Twenty years ago, the estimate was $20,000. The technology has improved, so it's "cheaper" now.")
Channelling various replies on this thread, I told him adding air was an "easy fix," that it was intellectually lazy of us to continue naysaying the idea, and that we just needed to think outside of the box - including perhaps demolishing the house and rebuilding to make the whole joint more efficient.
I said all this with a straight face. He looked at me like I was from Mars (where, actually, there is never need for AC).
"Never mind," I muttered, as I turned on yet another fan. "I read it on my forum..."
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SweetieBsMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,736
Jun 25, 2014 19:55:12 GMT
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Post by SweetieBsMom on Aug 10, 2015 12:58:30 GMT
I, as a parent, would love year round school. DS, 12, has Autism. Year round school would benefit him. He goes to school in the summer as it is, it's a shorter day but it keeps him on schedule and engaged. He will now have 3 weeks off before going back to school in the Fall.
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Post by 1girlygirl on Aug 10, 2015 16:14:50 GMT
In Colorado, we had year round schools while I was in elementary school. I believe it was to address the over-crowding problems. We had three tracks - one that mostly followed the traditional school calendar and two that were non-traditional. Two tracks were in school at all times, alternating 4 months in school, 2 months on break. It was fine.
The school district we are in now is facing huge residential growth and the schools are over enrollment numbers. As it costs so much to build new schools, one of the options they are discussing is going back to year round school. That wouldn't bother me at all. As for the need for camps/day care - if the need arises someone will be there to capitolize.
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Post by 950nancy on Aug 10, 2015 16:24:15 GMT
In Colorado, we had year round schools while I was in elementary school. I believe it was to address the over-crowding problems. We had three tracks - one that mostly followed the traditional school calendar and two that were non-traditional. Two tracks were in school at all times, alternating 4 months in school, 2 months on break. It was fine. The school district we are in now is facing huge residential growth and the schools are over enrollment numbers. As it costs so much to build new schools, one of the options they are discussing is going back to year round school. That wouldn't bother me at all. As for the need for camps/day care - if the need arises someone will be there to capitolize. What city are you in? Just wondering. I'm from the Springs.
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Post by 1girlygirl on Aug 10, 2015 16:32:28 GMT
In Colorado, we had year round schools while I was in elementary school. I believe it was to address the over-crowding problems. We had three tracks - one that mostly followed the traditional school calendar and two that were non-traditional. Two tracks were in school at all times, alternating 4 months in school, 2 months on break. It was fine. The school district we are in now is facing huge residential growth and the schools are over enrollment numbers. As it costs so much to build new schools, one of the options they are discussing is going back to year round school. That wouldn't bother me at all. As for the need for camps/day care - if the need arises someone will be there to capitolize. What city are you in? Just wondering. I'm from the Springs. NWest of Denver - north jeffco school district.
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
Jul 3, 2014 18:13:13 GMT
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Post by mallie on Aug 10, 2015 17:26:52 GMT
In Colorado, we had year round schools while I was in elementary school. I believe it was to address the over-crowding problems. We had three tracks - one that mostly followed the traditional school calendar and two that were non-traditional. Two tracks were in school at all times, alternating 4 months in school, 2 months on break. It was fine. The school district we are in now is facing huge residential growth and the schools are over enrollment numbers. As it costs so much to build new schools, one of the options they are discussing is going back to year round school. That wouldn't bother me at all. As for the need for camps/day care - if the need arises someone will be there to capitolize. I keep hearing that, but I've yet to see all of those capitalistic child carers arise to fulfill the needs. As an example, two towns around here both decided to cut one day a week to half days for teaching planning. The school boards insisted - over parental protests -- that "someone" would capitalize on that schedule opening and have after school care available. For a price, of course. Guess what? Didn't happen in either town. So we had more kids being left home alone because there was simply no one available and willing to watch them. As another example, a medium-size city decide to try year round schooling and the school board insisted that the current summer/break day care facilities would "simply" change to meet the needs of the new schedule. Did not happen. Most of those summer/break facilities ended up closing and no other facilities arose to meet those needs -- largely due to staffing issues. Again, kids left home alone. The city switched back to the traditional schedule.
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Post by 1girlygirl on Aug 10, 2015 17:36:55 GMT
In Colorado, we had year round schools while I was in elementary school. I believe it was to address the over-crowding problems. We had three tracks - one that mostly followed the traditional school calendar and two that were non-traditional. Two tracks were in school at all times, alternating 4 months in school, 2 months on break. It was fine. The school district we are in now is facing huge residential growth and the schools are over enrollment numbers. As it costs so much to build new schools, one of the options they are discussing is going back to year round school. That wouldn't bother me at all. As for the need for camps/day care - if the need arises someone will be there to capitolize. I keep hearing that, but I've yet to see all of those capitalistic child carers arise to fulfill the needs. As an example, two towns around here both decided to cut one day a week to half days for teaching planning. The school boards insisted - over parental protests -- that "someone" would capitalize on that schedule opening and have after school care available. For a price, of course. Guess what? Didn't happen in either town. So we had more kids being left home alone because there was simply no one available and willing to watch them. As another example, a medium-size city decide to try year round schooling and the school board insisted that the current summer/break day care facilities would "simply" change to meet the needs of the new schedule. Did not happen. Most of those summer/break facilities ended up closing and no other facilities arose to meet those needs -- largely due to staffing issues. Again, kids left home alone. The city switched back to the traditional schedule. Well, I'm in a large metropolitan area, so what is needed is already here - a lot of options for full day year-long child care, camps, activities all day long (many of these started when home-schooling and option schooling became very popular). I could see where smaller areas may have a more difficult time, especially when people think leaving their kids home alone is a less expensive option. As for staffing, unless they are only hiring college students/seasonal help, I don't understand why they can't fill full time positions.
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Post by RiverIsis on Aug 10, 2015 21:34:52 GMT
In Colorado, we had year round schools while I was in elementary school. I believe it was to address the over-crowding problems. We had three tracks - one that mostly followed the traditional school calendar and two that were non-traditional. Two tracks were in school at all times, alternating 4 months in school, 2 months on break. It was fine. The school district we are in now is facing huge residential growth and the schools are over enrollment numbers. As it costs so much to build new schools, one of the options they are discussing is going back to year round school. That wouldn't bother me at all. As for the need for camps/day care - if the need arises someone will be there to capitolize. I keep hearing that, but I've yet to see all of those capitalistic child carers arise to fulfill the needs. As an example, two towns around here both decided to cut one day a week to half days for teaching planning. The school boards insisted - over parental protests -- that "someone" would capitalize on that schedule opening and have after school care available. For a price, of course. Guess what? Didn't happen in either town. So we had more kids being left home alone because there was simply no one available and willing to watch them. As another example, a medium-size city decide to try year round schooling and the school board insisted that the current summer/break day care facilities would "simply" change to meet the needs of the new schedule. Did not happen. Most of those summer/break facilities ended up closing and no other facilities arose to meet those needs -- largely due to staffing issues. Again, kids left home alone. The city switched back to the traditional schedule. If I were in childcare I wouldn't change my schedule/admissions for 1/2 days. Weeks at a time speak money! I'm more surprised that the childcare facility already in existence didn't accommodate the students in the 2nd scenario. If they had staff for one scenario they did for the other. Sounds more like an excuse or undersubscription by parents forcing the closure and then the closure being blamed.
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Nicole in TX
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,951
Jun 26, 2014 2:00:21 GMT
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Post by Nicole in TX on Aug 10, 2015 22:44:58 GMT
[Humor alert] Last night, my husband and I discussed - for the zillionth time in twenty years - putting central AC in our 1907 house-with-radiators. (Twenty years ago, the estimate was $20,000. The technology has improved, so it's "cheaper" now.") Channelling various replies on this thread, I told him adding air was an "easy fix," that it was intellectually lazy of us to continue naysaying the idea, and that we just needed to think outside of the box - including perhaps demolishing the house and rebuilding to make the whole joint more efficient. I said all this with a straight face. He looked at me like I was from Mars (where, actually, there is never need for AC). "Never mind," I muttered, as I turned on yet another fan. "I read it on my forum..." I think I will start using the expression, "My forum." It will save a lot of explaining. Have you looked at these AC Units
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