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Fay takes away two days from Thanksgiving
By Ellen Robinson
Students will have three instead of five days to celebrate near the Thanksgiving holiday thanks to Tropical Storm Fay.
After weighing the factors on 10 optional days, school officials selected Monday, Nov. 24 and Tuesday, Nov. 25 to make up for closing the schools on Aug. 21 and 22. Students will still have Wednesday Nov. 26 through Friday Nov. 28 off for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Other dates considered for makeup options included Sept. 1, Labor Day, Sept. 12 a student holiday, Oct. 8-10, Teacher Professional Enhancement Conference days, Nov. 11, Veterans Day, and Dec. 22-23. However after much consideration, Board of Education members determined for various reasons not to choose these as the makeup days.
Michael Wooden, a spokesperson for Camden County Schools, said he has not received an alarming amount of feedback from parents about the move.
"I haven't heard from parents at the volume that I expected," he said.
Wooden added that, should future storms cause school closings, the school board would consider many other dates, none of which are "absolutely sacred."
"We're just going to try and be as flexible as the law will allow us," he said.
According to a statement from the superintendent's office, there were many factors that were considered in the determination of the best makeup days for the entire system. Influences on student learning, school personnel and the community were all considering in making the final decision.
"The decision to convene school on the first two days of the Thanksgiving break was reached with full knowledge that this may present a hardship for some. A decision that met the needs of all 9,700 students and their families was impossible. These dates will be the least disruptive for the largest number of stakeholders," the statement said.
Labor Day proved to be too close to the current date to allow parents sufficient time to change travel plans or make other arrangements. Sept. 12 was ruled out due to short notice as well.
As for Oct. 8-10, these dates were thrown out due to contract agreements with the Teacher Professional Enhancement Conference and the reliance of some staff on Professional Learning Units. These dates would have required additional time away from the classroom to recover the credits, and breaking the contracts would have incurred additional costs.
Veterans Day was thrown out as an option after brief consideration. Nov. 11 was not removed from the table altogether as a makeup day option, but the consensus was to use this day as a last resort. Hurricane season is still active and there remains the potential for additional school closings. This date will be used if necessary as a future makeup day.
Finally Dec. 22-23 was cut as an option because these dates falling after the completion of the End of Course Tests days would result in high school students missing two days of critical instruction.
After weighing the factors on 10 optional days, school officials selected Monday, Nov. 24 and Tuesday, Nov. 25 to make up for closing the schools on Aug. 21 and 22. Students will still have Wednesday Nov. 26 through Friday Nov. 28 off for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Other dates considered for makeup options included Sept. 1, Labor Day, Sept. 12 a student holiday, Oct. 8-10, Teacher Professional Enhancement Conference days, Nov. 11, Veterans Day, and Dec. 22-23. However after much consideration, Board of Education members determined for various reasons not to choose these as the makeup days.
Michael Wooden, a spokesperson for Camden County Schools, said he has not received an alarming amount of feedback from parents about the move.
"I haven't heard from parents at the volume that I expected," he said.
Wooden added that, should future storms cause school closings, the school board would consider many other dates, none of which are "absolutely sacred."
"We're just going to try and be as flexible as the law will allow us," he said.
According to a statement from the superintendent's office, there were many factors that were considered in the determination of the best makeup days for the entire system. Influences on student learning, school personnel and the community were all considering in making the final decision.
"The decision to convene school on the first two days of the Thanksgiving break was reached with full knowledge that this may present a hardship for some. A decision that met the needs of all 9,700 students and their families was impossible. These dates will be the least disruptive for the largest number of stakeholders," the statement said.
Labor Day proved to be too close to the current date to allow parents sufficient time to change travel plans or make other arrangements. Sept. 12 was ruled out due to short notice as well.
As for Oct. 8-10, these dates were thrown out due to contract agreements with the Teacher Professional Enhancement Conference and the reliance of some staff on Professional Learning Units. These dates would have required additional time away from the classroom to recover the credits, and breaking the contracts would have incurred additional costs.
Veterans Day was thrown out as an option after brief consideration. Nov. 11 was not removed from the table altogether as a makeup day option, but the consensus was to use this day as a last resort. Hurricane season is still active and there remains the potential for additional school closings. This date will be used if necessary as a future makeup day.
Finally Dec. 22-23 was cut as an option because these dates falling after the completion of the End of Course Tests days would result in high school students missing two days of critical instruction.
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