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Rumor Mill-4987

Published February 9, 2012

The purpose of this section is to answer any questions parents, teachers or community members might have regarding the school district and to set the record straight in regards to any rumors that might be circulating.  If you have a question or have heard a rumor that you would like for us to address, simply SEND US your questions and we will respond to them in upcoming issues of IN FOCUS.  Below are some of the questions we received since our last newsletter.

I have heard that WC schools will no longer alert parents that a lice outbreak is occurring in a school.  Is this true?  I don't care who has lice, I just want to be informed if it's something I should be looking for.

 

Schools do not report to parents any individual case(s) of head lice known to school staff.  Principals make the decision when to remind parents/guardians of the steps they need to take to check their own child(ren) for the presence of head lice.  Certainly, these reminders usually take place when several cases of head lice are known to exist in a school.  Head lice will be present in most schools off and on throughout the school year.

 

Information on head lice and how parents can check their own children for their presence is on the Health Services page on the www.wcs.edu website.  Generally speaking, all parents/guardians would want to routinely check their own children for the presence of head lice at least monthly or after their children have been in very close contact, usually head to head, with other children such as sleepovers.  Lice only travel from one person to another person from crawling on hair strands or cloth fibers.

I recently read in the Tennessean that WCS was not going to allow student teachers to teach in classes that have standardized tests such as the EOC and TCAP. However, my child said he had two student teachers in English and United States History which both require taking a standardized test at the end of the year. What is the policy on student teachers? Why are inexperienced student teachers allowed full control of an important class?

The district adopted a Standard Operating Procedure regarding student teachers earlier this year. Some student teaching agreements with universities could have been completed before the SOP was adopted and that is why there could be a student teacher in the class where there is an State End of Course test. We are working with universities to develop different opportunities for student teachers so they get the valuable experience needed without assuming total control of the classroom for six to eight weeks at a time.

Under the Rumor Mill the question of issuing later start times for middle and high-schools in Williamson County the answer was given “that most parents do not request a later start time”.  I was curious on how you would really know that.  Have you ever taken a poll?  Everyone I know complains about how early that is.  Children are not even coherent at that hour.  I also was surprised when I read the answer about why we have them so early – to accommodate for extra-curricular activities and sports.  I am all for a well-rounded students, but if we are sacrificing the overall quality of our children’s ability to learn and increasing dropout rates is that really a good reason?  Isn’t school supposed to be primarily about giving children the best education possible with an environment that gives them the best chance to succeed?  Isn’t it a little extreme for children to have to get up at 5 or 5:30 to catch a 6 am bus? Just does not seem like a healthy environment at all.  Kids today are overworked and stressed out and part of it is they are not getting enough sleep because of the early start times, excessive homework and all those extra circular activities.  I would really like to see the county taking a look at this policy.

In the past, the School Board has discussed changing school start times. During a work session several years ago, the Board brought in a local expert who shared research on the topic.  The Board then discussed this question in detail.  After much discussion, the Board decided that no change should be made at that time.

You are always welcome to contact your School Board member on any topic. Board member contact information can be found at http://www.wcs.edu/school_board/homepage.htm.

I know that the school department has placed 8 "snow days" into the school year.  If those days are not used, do the children go to school more days than are required?  Other states we have lived in, have days built in for "snow" but if they don't use them, they get out of school earlier.

Students and teachers go to school an extra 30 minutes each day to earn the eight inclement weather days and five days for professional development that are in the calendar as approved by the State.  There is no change in the dismissal time (end of the school year) if the days are not used.  If the district exceeds the number of days used due to inclement weather, those days must be made up at the end of the school year or as decided by the School Board.

I was reading the recent "Rumor Mill" and was very interested to see the commentary regarding the school calendar, specifically the extended Thanksgiving break. I completely agree with the WCS parent's comments that the full week vacation at Thanksgiving doesn't make much sense. I am confused by the Rumor Mill answer provided.  The response indicates that the School Board votes on the calendar and ultimately decides the schedule.  The response, also however, indicates that "families are requesting a longer Thanksgiving break."  Is there an official forum for families making scheduling requests?  How do I become a "family requesting a shorter Thanksgiving Break and a longer Fall Break?"  What consideration is the School Board giving to the families that don't want the full week off at Thanksgiving?  Transient families (of which we are one) or not, the board needs to act rationally when setting the calendar.  A full week at Thanksgiving followed by two weeks soon thereafter at Christmas is irrational.  If the consensus is to not take a full week off for Fall Break, then take the three extra days from Thanksgiving and start the year three days later.  This way we could avoid the bizarre half day on Friday, August 10th.

The school calendar is decided annually by the School Board.  A calendar committee made up of teachers and administrators makes a recommendation to the Board based on parameters given to the committee by the School Board.  In the past, a sampling of parameters might include keeping semesters as even as possible while having first semester exams prior to Winter Break; making sure that the last day of school falls before Memorial Day; or including a Fall Break of one or two days. Once recommendations are made to the Board, Board members gather input from their constituents before making a final decision.

You are always welcome to contact your School Board member on any topic. Board member contact information can be found at http://www.wcs.edu/school_board/homepage.htm.