Alternative calendar is worth giving a try
Over the last few months, arguments have been flying about what’s best for Warren County as far as the school calendar is concerned.
Some arguments have centered around students and their ability to learn. Some have focused on parents and child care issues. Still other arguments have revolved around summer vacation and how it would be threatened if an alternative school calendar was implemented.
Truth be told, most of those arguments are based around selfish interests. If implementing the alternative school calendar will affect your annual August vacation, chances are you’ve manipulated the available information to argue against such a calendar. If you favor more frequent breaks during the school year, you’ve probably found statistics to support either the 45-15 or 45-10 calendars.
There are obvious pros and cons to each side of the issue and just as many studies which indicate one is better than the other.
Here at the Standard, we’ve examined virtually every one of those arguments. And, unless breakthrough information is presented at next week’s public forum, we favor implementing the 45-10 calendar next school year.
First and foremost, it’s vital for all county schools to adopt the same school calendar. The two-year pilot program at Bobby Ray Elementary was certainly a worthwhile exercise, but it’s one which doesn’t need to be continued. We need all of our schools, and all of our children, attending school at the same time.
That said, we believe the 45-10 calendar is the best way to go. It provides periodic, two-week breaks while still allowing for an ample eight-week summer vacation. It’s a chance to try something different while not straying too far from the traditional path.
The most important aspect to remember is a convenient summer vacation for Warren County families is not the school system’s most pressing priority. Teaching our children to learn in the most efficient and productive way possible is the goal of our educators.
Is the 45-10 the best way to accomplish that goal? Well, that has yet to be seen.
What we do know is Warren County, and Tennessee in general, is not shocking the nation with spectacular student test scores. We also know most students and parents involved with Bobby Ray’s two-year pilot program are, for the most part, well pleased with the results.
It’s with that in mind we say 45-10 is certainly worth a try. Is it going to miraculously change how much our children learn overnight? Certainly not. But with more frequent breaks throughout the year, and not such a long summer vacation that tends to get boring near the end, our children have a great opportunity to absorb more information.
It’s an opportunity that’s worth seizing and an experiment which could only end up helping – not hurting – education here.