Schools

District 196 Trades Classroom Time for Teacher Training, Individual Testing

On Monday night, the District 196 school board unanimously approved two measures that would give teachers more time to assess and train, but would mean less classroom time for students.

For District 196 School Board Chair Jackie Magnuson, it's a matter of quality over quantity.

On Monday night, Magnuson and her fellow school board members by three days for the district's middle and high school students and five days for elementary students.

Although students will spend less time in the classroom, Magnuson believes the adjustments will allow teachers to thoroughly analyze classroom data and test results and hone their teaching to better address student needs.

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"We feel like what we give up isn't horrendous," Magnuson said following Monday's meeting. "Can we work smarter, can we give teachers more time to analyze this data and see where kids are, so they can give more targeted learning to kids? That's what we really feel like this is going to address."

District 196 students currently have 174 school days during the academic year, compared to the state average of 171 days, according to district officials.

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The first of the approved changes would convert three of those regular school days to professional development days for teachers at all levels.

Under the second calendar change, elementary-level students would give up two additional days in favor of one-on-one assessment meetings with their teachers before the start of the school year. Those individual assessments are currently conducted during the school year, but completing them while class is in session takes several weeks and disrupts learning for other students, according to district officials.

The calendar changes, proposed earlier this year by District 196 Superintendent Jane Berenz, will be implemented for the 2012-13 school year.

At least one attendee at the board meeting on Monday disagreed with the district's plan.

"I’d also like to address how difficult this would be for parents that work to take their child in for an independent with the meeting with the teacher," said Leslie Henschel, a longtime employee of the school district who spoke during the board meeting. "Parents would have to request time off, and not all employers would be happy about that."

Although she sympathized with teachers, Henschel said fewer classroom days could hurt academic results for children.

"I know teachers have a difficult job ... but they're going to be losing student contact days," Henschel said.

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