All CPS Schools May Be Shifted To One Calendar

February 16, 2012 4:59 PM

(Credit: Adam Jan/AFP/Getty Images)

Reporting Dana Kozlov

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CHICAGO (CBS) – A monumental change is in the works for Chicago Public Schools. All 400,000 students may be headed to classes year-round, on a brand-new calendar for everyone.

One line in an e-mail from Pritzker Elementary School’s principal leapt out at parents: “If all schools go on one track …”

Principal Joenile Albert-Reese confirms CPS officials are considering putting all students on one school calendar – replacing the “two-track system” calendar that exists now.

“I don’t think parents are ready for it. This is going to be a major shakeup for parents’ schedules,” Julie Woestehoff of Parents United for Responsible Education tells CBS 2’s Dana Kozlov.

Currently, some students start school in early August while others start in September. Pritzker’s principal says the focus is moving all students to more of a year-round schedule with strategically-placed breaks.

CPS officials say a calendar change is being discussed, but nothing is final.

“The issue is how many new things do you want to try at once?” Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis says.

Still, Lewis and other education advocates believe moving all kids to the same calendar makes sense. Parents won’t have kids on different school schedules.

But there are concerns, like keeping students cool in schools without air conditioning if they start the year earlier in the summer. CPS officials say it’s all being discussed.

“If you’re going to make a decision, the earlier you tell people the easier it is to make a transition,” Lewis says.

So when will CPS make a decision about next school year’s calendar? Shortly, says a spokesperson.

If the year-round approach is adopted, it could mean the end of the almost three month summer break that most students have now.

But watchdogs hope the final decision is made only after parents and teachers have a chance to weigh in, too.

All CPS Schools May Be Shifted To One Calendar

xomaman

finally! the first thing these dufuses of a school board will get right!!
Bruce

I would like to see the CPS schedule match the suburban and private school schedules. This way, the CPS kids will have opportunities for part-time and summer jobs.

Mayor Daley, in fact, tried this in two consecutive years sometime back, and the attendance rate (upon which funding is based on) was horrible.

The new problem is kids whose parents pull them out of school for a month during Christmas break to go to Mexico.
Marbear

I hope that all schools get air conditioning if students are to learn in the hot days of summer, if in fact school goes year round. This is going to be very difficult for working parents to find activities for children at different intervals rather than summer camp for example.
Stacy

Year round schools do not make sense for children who (1) attend schools without central air conditioning and (2) engage in enriching summer activities like traveling, playing outside, sports, arts, dance, etc. Again, top-down policy from CPS without input from parents or school staff. Why does CPS want to lock our children up in dangerously hot classrooms for 7.5 hours a day? There is going to be an exodus of middle class families from CPS after previous administrations worked to make schools appealing to them. We’re about to give up on public education in the city.

Jennie

Why would a middle class family or any family forthat matter, send their child to a cps school. We make sacrifices to pay for private schools for our two children but it is worth it. If we could not afford that, itwould be charter schools. Public schools are too bad and they do not focus on education enough and some of the principals are bad also.

db

I send my kids to CPS and we’re a middle class family. I think your blanket statement about all CPS schools is quite rude. Thanks for putting others down for making different decisions from yours. I’m always happy to read what a horrific parent I am. Hope you have a great day.
CPS Teacher

I teach in a CPS school, and I have an amazing principal. We all work our butts off to give the students the best education we possibly can. Please don’t paint all of us with the same brush.

The big difference between public and private or charter is that we have to take everyone. Just arrived and don’t speak a word of English? Come on in and we’ll teach you English for free. Severely mentally handicapped and need a full-time aide? We’ll have an aide follow your child around helping him/her, and create a curriculum to help your child learn at his/her own pace, at no cost to you. Have a speech impediment or physical disability and need therapy? Here’s a free therapist. Have socio-emotional problems? Here’s a free counselor. Charter and private schools are not required to do this. So kids who don’t need these services are free to leave and go to charter schools or to pay for private schools, but kids whose parents are too poor to pay for these services, or whose parents don’t speak enough English or have the time to apply to these schools, stay. Therefore, the public schools have a much higher percentage of ESL, bilingual and special education students, and a lower percentage of high-achieving students (as studies show that high-achieving often coincides with higher income levels).

When a charter or private school doesn’t have to try to teach students from such a wide variety of backgrounds, curriculum can be more streamlined, and you don’t need to have so many teachers to serve the needs of a small number of students.

On paper, this makes public schools look “lower achieving” than charter or private schools, when in reality, public schools are teaching a much more diverse population and are spread very thin trying to meet everyone’s needs.

There are hundreds of elementary schools in CPS – some are bad, some are great, a lot are in between. The news reports only tell about the bad ones, because stories about all those fairly good ones doesn’t get ratings.

CPSParent

I agree with Bruce. Please put CPS on the same schedule as the suburban schools. Some kids have plans for summer camp counselor jobs and if CPS ends school later than it does already or starts it earlier than the third week of August, they will miss out on those previously planned opportunities. Summer camps run from the 3rd week of June through the 2nd week of August. Working parents need these camps and older kids need the summer job opportunities.
CPSslowdown

CPS parent is right on! Plus the opportunities for child care during those long fall and spring breaks for year round schools are very difficult to find. Providers, including the park district will need ample time to scale-up. I’m adamently opposed to this happening next school year. My very lucky daughter is going to be an exchange student in Ausust in Spain. How can CPS reasonably think that they can pull something like this on faimilies who have already made summer travel, camp and work plans. Not to mention the heat of being an a third floor unairconditioned classroom in August!

CPS Teacher

I teach in a 3rd floor, non-airconditioned classroom, and I can tell you that even in Sept. and June, it can be miserable for me and the kids. I’ve been in my room in July/August to work, and it is unbearable.

As a CPS teacher, this is the first I’m hearing of any talk of putting us all on a year-round schedule. I can only guess that they are pushing for this next year, in addition to the longer day, because the union contract expires this year. If they want to do it, I’d imagine they have to have it in the union contract. So it’s now, or 5 years from now. And when has CPS ever planned 5 years in advance?