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High school plans 'late start' Mondays

Students at Fallbrook Union High School might be able to sleep in later on Mondays for 29 weeks of the 2007-2008 school year if plans move ahead to initiate “late start” Mondays.

The possible change in scheduling has been in discussion by FUHS administration under the direction of principal Rod King for several months, said Ruth Hellams, District Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the school.

Although the class day will begin as usual, students will start classes later, allowing teachers to meet prior to class to collaborate and “discuss student academic performance on benchmark assessment tests, standardized tests, classroom exams, standards based instruction, pacing of curriculum, et cetera,” said Hellams.

Explaining that this is a critical step toward meeting state standards for testing, during the collaboration time, teachers will learn from each other better ways to reach students. For example, teachers of American History will compare answers to identical questions to determine “why” specific answers are not being answered correctly. By comparing notes, they will learn how to keep students engaged and thereby improve their scores.

Benchmarks for each field of study will soon be in place, says King. These steps are required to comply with accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), one of six regional accrediting associations in the United States. The commission provides assistance to schools located in California, Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and East Asia.

Finding time to discuss issues is always important to staff, Hellams said. King is working with his leadership team, his department chairs and WASC coordinator to establish protocols and structure around the late starts so that the time is used to best meet the needs of FUHS and its staff, Hellams said.

In response to parents’ concern they were not informed of the possible change, King says while researching the need for late start Mondays, “We kept the PTSA and school site council in the loop.”

Changes that affect a teaching day must meet union contract guidelines. Hellams said that administration has worked closely with the teachers to develop a proposed instructional calendar. Educators consistently battle the clock to find time to collaborate with peers, thus creating an opportunity to meet on a regular basis is a priority.

To accommodate late start Mondays and allow for collaboration time, the school’s bell schedule and instructional minutes will be adjusted to conform with “required instructional days and minutes under California Department of Education guidelines,” Hellams said.

While merchants may have concerns that students will be roaming around town prior to class starting, Hellams said, “I do not anticipate any great concern, as in the past we’ve had 15 late start Wednesdays and this didn’t appear to be a major concern.”

Parents of students who customarily expect a daily routine that remains largely unchanged throughout the school year may have concerns, particularly those who work outside the home.

Jim Maultsby, a parent who has one child enrolled at FUHS, another at Potter and another who graduated from the high school, asked, “Why can’t [the teachers] collaborate at the end of the day instead of the beginning?” Maultsby would have liked parent input on the decision.

“They don’t ask parents, ‘What would you like?’” he said. “I think they should have been more considerate of the community.”

Rod King responded, “In our research we went along with what other schools are doing; plus, we also already have other late start days.” The present FUHS schedule allows for Common Planning Days, traditionally on Wednesday. There are six late start days and three minimum days. If adopted, the 29 late start Mondays would allow for more frequent meetings.

For Tara Sutliff, a working mother whose two daughters attend FUHS, late start days aren’t a problem.

“It doesn’t bother me. My girls are ecstatic,” Sutliff said. “They just sleep in.”

 

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