There are two important events with Lake Washington School District (LWSD) in February. One, of course, is the school levy that has garnered most of the attention. The other is the upcoming teacher contract negotiations.
As my children have progressed through their education in LWSD in two different grade schools and junior high, I have always been perplexed why students only go to school four and half days per week.
The main reasoning parents were initially given was to provide teachers “in-service days” to help them work each week to learn and prepare their curriculum to teach to the WASL standards. WASL is gone, thank goodness. We have a more practical testing approach.
Now it’s time to get our children in school five FULL days per week. Four and half days of school per week in the United States in the 21st century is a joke and completely unacceptable.
Like many parents, my wife and I went to school five FULL days per week growing up way back in the day. We had Christmas break, spring break, and summer break. There wasn’t fall break, mid-winter break, spring break, winter break, etc.
We also adjourned from the school year early in June or late May and not on the cusp of July. Redmond Junior High students are adjourned each day at 2:20 p.m. That dismissal time alone leaves plenty of time for teachers to prepare each day and participate in administrative meetings assuming they work until at least 5 p.m.
President Obama has called for more rigor in our school programs. Regardless of political positions, four and half days of school per week doesn’t seem to heed that call.
I’m sure the reps for the teacher’s union will bristle at this demand for five full days of teaching per week as if it’s Draconian. But if we pay for new schools and support new contracts with teachers, as a LWSD CUSTOMER, I expect full days of service and classroom attendance for my children. Four and half days per week is the exception for class schedules in this country. Not the norm. Hopefully the union reps and LWSD understand this.
Brian Hansford, Redmond
