c
- Georgia
Parents Unite To Fight For Sensible School
Calendars
Web Site, Online Petition Among Initial Activities
(November 7, 2003) When parents in Cobb County started seeing the school year creep
earlier and earlier into the month of August, they weren't sure they liked it. When they heard
their school district was considering a move to a year-round calendar, they weren't sure
what to think. When they started doing research on year-round school calendars, they
were sure they had to do something to fight it.
That's how Georgians Need Summers started earlier this year, shortly after officials with
the Cobb County School District announced they wanted to study the possibility of switching
to a year-round calendar. The founders of the group said after their extensive research it
became clear that this wasn't just a Cobb County problem, but an issue creeping up all
over the state.
The idea didn't sound right to Cobb County parent Scotti Madison, a former Major League
Baseball player. He joined other concerned parents in studying the issue for weeks. They
learned about the unimpressive record of non-traditional school calendar experiments
across the nation. And they found that Cobb County was far from alone in its shift toward
earlier school start dates and flirtation with the year-round schedule.
Armed with reams of reports and hundreds of newspaper articles explaining the pitfalls
of early-August start dates and year-round calendars, they united with concerned parents,
teachers and business leaders to form Georgians Need Summers, a nonprofit, grassroots
coalition whose goal is to give parents the strong voice they deserve in their children's
education.
"If there was any proof that early August or year-round calendars worked to improve the
quality of our children's education, I would be all for it," said Madison, parent and
volunteer Executive Director of Georgians Need Summers. "But after reading newspaper
articles with statements from school superintendents who tried the experiment and
abandoned it, it's clear that these calendars would only bring heartache and hardship
to Georgians while doing nothing to improve learning in the classroom."
The parent-driven organization is off to an impressive start. They have launched a Web
site filled with academic research and studies on early August school calendars and year-
round education. And they are urging parents, teachers and other concerned Georgians to
log on and fill out their online petition telling public school officials that they want their
schools to operate on a sensible, traditional school calendar. The petition can be found
at www.GeorgiansNeedSummers.com.
The group already has over 1000 signatures from like-minded parents around the state.
The language of the online petition is simple and straightforward: "We, the undersigned
do not support the current early August school start date nor do we support the
implementation of a year round calendar in the district. We support a school start
date no earlier than August 21 -allowing ample instructional days to allow the first
semester to end prior to the Winter Break."
Madison noted the growing unpopularity of year-round education, pointing to statistics
that show more than 40 percent of schools that tried the non-traditional calendar gave
up on it between 1995 and 2000.
"It's an idea that has long since passed as an education fad, so why should Georgia
consider it? Why would we subject our students to an experiment that has failed so
many times before?"
Little, if any, credible academic research exists to indicate that early August school start
dates or year-round calendars have any beneficial impact on classroom instruction. And
there is ample evidence to support the idea that year round school calendars cost more
money to operate, do not increase academic performance, contribute to teacher burn
out and create nightmares for many families.
More money has to be spent on cooling and utility costs in districts with non-traditional
calendars. Teachers have a tougher time earning advanced degrees because summer
college learning opportunities are severely limited. Teachers lose large blocks of time
needed to prepare curriculum and to assess test data. High school students miss out
on summer job opportunities or are forced to work more during the school year to earn
the same many once earned during the summer.
Families lose out on quality time together during summer vacations and outings. And
parents pay a higher price in childcare due to the numerous mini-breaks that accompany
these calendars.
Now is the time for parents to get involved. Find out how by logging onto the Georgians
Need Summers web site at www.GeorgiansNeedSummers.com. Fill out the online
petition to make your voice heard.
- For more information, contact Georgians Need Summers toll-free at 1-866-697-8545,
- or e-mail at info@GeorgiansNeedSummers.com.