Wawasee Community School Corporation is implementing SMART Start Wednesdays for the 2011-2012 school year. SMART stands for Staff Members Acquiring Relevant Training.
Each Wednesday, school will begin thirty minutes later for students in order for teachers to collaborate and participate in staff development. Buses will run thirty minutes later each Wednesday. Some staff members will be available in buildings in case students are dropped off by parents at school at the same time as the other four days of the week.
12 comments:
Where should children be instructed to go if dropped off by a parent at the regular time?
Each school will notify parents about drop off arrangements on Wednesdays.
Thank you!
I am sure everyone's employer will adjust the business day for us all to get our kids to the bus 30 minutes late.
wish I could go to work 30 minutes late eery Wednesday....
We get your point. Know that the teachers will be in training for an hour every Wednesday morning. The state took away other opportunities for staff training, so we're giving this a try. Parents can drop their children off at school at the normal time, if they like. Buses will run the 30-minute delay on Wednesdays. We'll continue to evaluate how the Wednesday schedule is working.
Or you could have let the kids get out an hour early on Wednesdays instead of a half hour delay in the mornings. Either way would have worked, depending on who you are.
Could you have someone update the contact directory on your website. I don't think it has been updated in years and I often have trouble finding and email address for my children's teachers. (I often don't know teacher's first names)
Thank You
I'm finding the weekly calls and email reminders kind of annoying. Honestly, emailing is great, but why do they need to do both? I got a call while at work yesterday at 8am. I thought it was important so I answered, only to find it was a recording about picture day. I ended up getting an email about it, too.
While I am very much an advocate for better development, training, and communication among teachers and staff, I also think there must be a better way to schedule this time, perhaps at the end of the work day, maybe a lunch period, or other less conflicting time.
Having worked in customer service for over 20 years, I've devoted many hours to training, both compensated, and not, to better myself in the field. To expect hundreds of customers (students and parents), to adjust their schedules and upset their work days to accommodate staff (employee) training, does not seem prudent.
Being a school district, and having a captive customer base, does not suggest that because we need this, therefore we do it at a time most convenient and accommodating for us.
Do sacrifices have to be made to allow for this time? If yes, then who should be the ones to adjust, sacrifice? The ones being compensated? The teachers and staff, or the ones who receive the benefits of this development training, . . . which also include the teachers, but will hopefully benefit the students as well.
I don't want to come across as not being thankful, or appreciative for the investment, dedication, and overall willingness to improve, that our teachers and school district have for educating our children. Finding time to accomplish all that needs done in our world today is a difficult task. There must be allowances, and hard choices made.
Are teachers already overworked and under paid? Yes, . . . and so am I, and the rest of our working parents. Will this gradually become a normal, accepted, expected part of our day, or will parents continue to get more discontent and aggravated? Time will tell.
It's amazing how something which seems so small like a 30 minute schedule change could cause such a disruption, yet I can honestly say, the majority I've heard speak out concerning, Smart Start Wednesday, have been negative. This, of course, due to the schedule conflict of the normal work day for us as parents.
Perhaps more education for the parents in understanding the benefits of what, and how, this Development training will affect us and our children in a positive manner may help, make the Smart Start Wednesday Policy more palatable. This may alleviate some of the tension, the ill will, and bad attitudes that are displayed, if nothing can be done concerning adjusting the time period in which this training is conducted.
Marketing, and getting this information out now, then having parents actually read, review, and understand the benefits to us, might be more difficult. I knew very little about Smart Start Wednesday before it came into affect.
Communication, one thing Wawasee is trying to improve in the development training for staff, is something we, as parents require also.
Anyway, I too, am not a once a week, start 30 minutes later for students, Smart Start Wednesday Fan. -Scott Wirebaugh-
Thanks, Scott, for your thoughts. The questions you raised about SMART Start are ones we wrestled with during the past year. The teachers, administrators and school board researched and asked about other ways to find time for staff development. The program is working well for its purpose this year. I know that some have been inconvenienced. We have free childcare at school on Wednesday mornings. The schools are already discussing ways to have teacher staff development next year, without the late start one day per week.
Hope this helps,
Tom Edington
PS We understand your comment about students as customers. Schools have both students and taxpayers as customers, which includes about everybody!
Thank you for your reply and the insight regarding: schools discussing alternative ways for next year's development training.
I appreciate the hard work and concern of everyone involved within the Wawasee School System/District regarding, better education for our children.
I'm glad you understood my remark concerning tax paying parent customers, and students of such.
Have a great week.
-Scott Wirebaugh-
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