The Kent School Board decided on Wednesday night it won’t expand the number of late arrival days for students in the coming 2013-14 school year.
The board had considered adding more shortened days to the school calendar to give teachers additional time for professional development. The district, which currently has nine late start days throughout the school year, looked at increasing the number to as many as 30 days.
Board President Debbie Straus stated several reasons for the decision, according to a Kent School District media release:
• “Student achievement is and must be our primary mission,” Straus said. “Collaboration is an essential element of meeting that mission. The Kent School Board supports its continued refinement and expansion in our schools.
• We appreciate the work of the various committees who have been studying this issue for the past three years. We agree that supporting time that teachers, principals, and their instructional colleagues have to collaborate has improved student achievement and we want to continue in this positive direction.
• We also have heard from many of our parents who want us to be mindful of the impact of any scheduling changes on families.
• After discussion with our instructional leaders, we have concluded that while significant collaborative efforts are underway in our schools, we should continue to explore other options to work collaboratively without making any schedule changes to next year. Therefore, at this time, we are not expanding the number of late arrivals or collaboration days.
• We are looking forward to continuing our work with the committee and reviewing ongoing updates on how best practices can be implemented in our schools to most effectively meet the needs of our students and teachers.”
The Collaboration Time Committee had recommended 30 two-hour late start days, which would add up to a loss of 60 instructional hours over a school year.
One of the main concerns the district heard when discussing additional late start or early release days was in relation to childcare for elementary age children.
The board first began discussing in 2010 the idea of increasing the number of late start or early release days.
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