Rumor Mill – April 15, 2016
Published April 15, 2016
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 InFocus. Below are some of the questions we have received since our last issue.
Will WCS consider a full week for Fall Break? If not, what are the reasons why? It is very odd that all surrounding county school systems have a full week and even the Franklin Special School District receives a full week. I have heard numerous parents who also want a full week. Is there any way our to voice opinions? Please consider making this change in the future.
The school calendar is decided annually by the School Board. The School Board adopted the 2016-17 school calendar at its November meeting. Per Board Policy, 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. Of course, if Fall Break is extended, it would have a commensurate impact on another portion of the calendar. You are always welcome to contact your School Board member on any topic. Board member contact information can be found at https://old.wcs.edu/school-board/board-members/.
Will there ever be an intention on campus expansion of Page High School, like Franklin High School, and just have all page middle students feed into & only Page High School?
The school district is in the process of reassessing the capacities of all school campuses. More information on those findings will be available in the early fall. Like most areas in the county, the Page zone is growing. As you have stated, the Page transportation zone is what we call a split feeder. In other words, students who attend Page Middle from various elementary schools leave Page Middle to go to two high schools (Page and Centennial). At this time, Page High does not have the capacity for all Page Middle students, to make it a true feeder.
We at Oak View have heard that the County Commissioner’s office will not release funds to add more portables to Oak View for the 2016-2017 school year. This in turn would increase class size to well above optimal and force the principal to become creative in making makeshift classrooms in places that were never meant to be classrooms. I can only assume it would then push art and music out of the two portables we already have, putting them on carts, to free up space for academic classrooms. No one wants to be in a position to have portables, but we are in desperate need of them. The county expects excellence from these kids in the form of high test scores, which creates revenue the county relies on, it’s time they spend some on these little money makers.
Class size is set by State regulations. Oak View and all our other elementary schools will comply with those state regulations. The larger issue is available space in the core areas of the building – cafeteria, library, etc. With the growth in the Oak View area over the past few years, Oak View is in need of rezoning, and the Board will again discuss rezoning this fall, for the 2017-2018 school year. Any rezoning recommendations for the County will include Oak View.