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Fourth, fifth, and sixth graders at Rolling Ridge Elementary in Chino Hills and Dickson Elementary in Chino would probably issue their school district admins a great big ol' F for FAIL if they could. Those hundreds of students don't get to sing "no more pencils, no more books" for 34 more days, thanks to "a clerical error on a spreadsheet" at the Chino Unified School District that led to the miscalculation of mandatory time spent in the classroom, according to the LA Times.
The kids' last day was supposed to be last Thursday, but now they're in session until July 31st; if the CUSD doesn't force the students--and their parents--to comply, they will "lose more than $7 million in state funds," tied to the permissible amount of time a campus may conduct a minimum day. "Under state law, these days must be at least 180 minutes, and the daily average classroom time over 10 consecutive days must be 240 minutes."
So what happened at Dickson and Rolling Ridge?
An internal audit in early May discovered that 34 minimum days had been 175 minutes at Dickson and 170 at Rolling Ridge, said district spokeswoman Julie Gobin. That adds up to a shortage of 170 and 340 minutes, respectively, which could be made up in one or two school days. But under state law, these too-short days do not count at all, meaning that all 34 must be made up to avoid a state penalty of more than $7 million.Kids, and their families, are groaning. This impacts summer plans from travel to camp to child care arrangements. Some parents will send their kids to the summer session and hope that the "fun" activities the school has planned will pay off, while others indicated they'll spend their summer as intended--out of school.
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I read this article in the Economist yesterday; it seems relevant to this article.
http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13825184
I agree completely with it. We're coddling our students far too much. 3 month layover between class sessions? Paltry in class hours? I think teachers have it far too easy in that they just get to take three months off. Compared to other nations, we're seriously dropping the ball here.
Anyways, my two cents.
3 months off? What land are you living in?? Most teachers that I know and work with put in 14, 15, in some cases 20 hour days, when necessary...And those very same teachers, teach summer school, because we are not paid during two months of the time that we are off and we need to survive. For those who take the time,we are off at most 5-6 weeks. We go back to school generally 1 1/2 to two weeks before school begins in Mid August. Please do get your facts straight. Something you that might also consider, if we do not teach summer school; we are taking graduate studies classes at our expense to keep the very job that you think we have so easy.
The next time you want to consider criticizing a teacher, perhaps you need to volunteer in your local public school and meet the wonderful people that dig deep in their pockets for children to have supplies, snacks, go on field trips, socks and shoes for gym class. Also, recognize the many number of other things that we do, not because we will get a raise, or a high-five from the boss, and certainly not because we are paid to do it, nor by any means reimbursed. The simple reason is because we love our students and want them to be successful. No matter their economic strife, nor other short comings...or for that matter, if we get a Thank You, which come in short supply on some days. Guess what? We do not do it for "thank you's" either. "Thank you;" for however, recognizing your lack of attention and knowledge of what a teacher does, and how long a teacher works. Also, please note: We work on our planning and research for new and innovative ways to teach...during our time off, which includes all holidays. Those of us,who love teaching and our students, are rarely truly on vacation.