A version of this story appears in TheDailyNorwalk.com.
Superintendent Susan Marks wrapped up her beginning of the year school visits on Tuesday. I caught up with her at Cranbury Elementary School where she talked about enrollment, the need for air conditioning in schools and revisiting the school calendar.
Since the first day of school, Marks has visited all 19 of Norwalk’s schools. She has said repeatedly since starting as superintendent in July that she plans on being “visible” and stopping by schools often. Marks also required Central Office administrators to make school visits during the opening week, as well.
“I have a chat with the principals to see what issues have come up and visit some classrooms,” says Marks who met with Robin Ives, Cranbury’s principal. “Right now we are counting kids.” According to Marks, a few of the city’s elementary classes are larger than anticipated, including Cranbury’s second grade (25-26 students, as opposed to 22). Principals are in touch with the administration on a daily basis and are waiting until after Labor Day to make adjustments to classrooms, says Marks. “There may be a need for additional aides and some switching around.”
With temperatures in the 90s last week, Marks is concerned about the heat and wants air-conditioning in all the schools. “Schools are 12-month operations these days, with the camps and summer programs,” she says, also noting changes in weather patterns. “We’ll have to look at the capital plan.”
Marks also expressed concern about the amount of time children are not in school. “We really need to look at the school calendar and how we use our time.” She says she will look at calendars of neighboring districts and questions the purpose of staggered entry at the beginning of the year. “We need to take some time back.”
Accompanied on her walkabout by Board Member Susan Hamilton and her husband Richard Sprecher, a retired middle school social studies teacher, Marks dropped in on several classrooms. She explained the job of a superintendent to the students and told them they have to “be ready for college.”
“These visits are not going to stop. My job is to support what is going on in these schools,” she says.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
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Perhaps she can begin by only having one day off for Rosh Hashanna - most of the surrounding districts have only one day, why does Norwalk always take two, especially this year when it resulted in a two day week following a three day week. Why did we begin school on a Wednesday when all the surrounding districts began on Mon or Tue? Perhaps we can look at the Winter and Spring breaks and condense them into one mid-winter break - this might help in not having so many make up days at the end of the year. Just some random thoughts from a Norwalk parent. Please do not tell me if I do not like out schedule to move to another town, I like our schools, just looking to the neighbors for some ideas!
ReplyDeletePerhaps - we need to go back to the calendar committee group that was established by Dr. Corda and really take full consideration to what the discusion that took place about the concerns noted by MKD. All of the items you mentioned were discussed and things changed the minute Dr. Corda announced he was moving on.
ReplyDeleteI happen to enjoy vacation time with my children - they get to renew and refresh their perspectives - and have life experiences to write about during writer's workshop. I would be extremely unhappy to cut back on vacation time and have one winter holiday instead of spring and winter breaks. Sign me up for the calendar committee!
ReplyDeleteWhy is a holiday that is 24 hours long causing us to have 2 days off of school, when there is barely a momentum to the start of the school year?
ReplyDeletePut me on the calendar committee!!!... I would fight the ridiculous long Christmas break, followed by a winter break followed by a spring break comingles with snow days, storm days.......and get on a schedule that makes being in school a priority, not our plentiful vacation time.
Time on task is extremely important. Not only should holidays be reevaluated but so should the school day and the long summer recess.
ReplyDeleteThis has been mentioned many times before but the logistics involved mainly(employment contracts), have been barriers.
We have wonderful community resources, (our schools) and great people with great enthusisasim and we are under utilising these treasures.
How many minutes in a day, of actual, teaching time, is an average student exposed to?
Yes, without doubt we have to reevaluate the actual teaching time a student receives.
If we pick up the pace dramatically with incorporating technology into students academic experience we can achieve dramatic results and realise a lowering of costs.
There is absolutely no reason why students drop off of their teachers radar for months.
Teachers and students can interact, with current available technologies, anywhere, anytime. We are wasting our most valued and precious resource, time.
We no longer live in a 9 to 5 world.
We are witnessing and undergoing huge dramatic change of our world. As huge of a change and dramatic as electric light and electrification was to modern society.
Teaching is not just a career choice,
its a passion for and of life long learning and sharing.
All it takes is a plan and leadership.
Why are we waiting, for superman/woman?
I am also confused about why we have 2 days off for Rosh Hashana when all the surrounding districts only have one. And we really don't need the February break when the kids just get back from Christmas and the additional time in school would allow more time to prepare for the CMT tests in March.
ReplyDeleteTo 8:54 pm - technology is great until it breaks down. In my school it takes 6-8 months to replace the bulb in the smartboard when it burns out. Some school districts in CT have stopped using technology because of the expense of updating it and replacing worn out parts.
ReplyDeleteHow many students carry with them their microprocessors we call cell phones. We need not fear technology or fear that technology will eliminate the great need for passionate dedicated organised teachers. We must embrace technologies and the progress that comes with incorporating technologies in efficiently mutual benefiting applications.
ReplyDeleteThe lack of AC is ridiculous. The kids can't concentrate, and then it gets so hot they cancel school. It's only going to get worse, especially when school goes to June 29. If they can't do central air in the older buildings, why not those Mitsubishi ductless systems like you see all over Europe and Asia (and lots of hotels and motels). They're a bit more expensive up front but then they run on the same amount of power as a lightbulb.
ReplyDeleteAir conditioning? C'mon--- isn't it more important for that money to be spent on principals who would rather knit than lead, an HR director who just got a raise and more vacation time for being incompetent . . .
ReplyDeleteRest assured if the third floor of city hall didn't have A/C, they'd find the money to make those offices comfortable. Our kids, unfortunately, are another story.
Who is the kook that always uses double spaces between paragraphs?
ReplyDelete6:13 - I don't know who it is, but after the first few lines of any of his/her postings, I just stop reading. Those aren't even paragraphs. The person writes an idea and then fails to develop or support it, and so there is little credibility to what the person is writing.
ReplyDeleteIf every school receives air conditioning, there will be no reason to retain summer vacation as we know it. Schools will be available with comfortable climate control so kids can concentrate year-round. While we're on the subject, if we lose the agrarian calendar, we can gain one hour of daylight so students can go to school until five. Kids no longer need to milk the cows and tend the fields in the early morning, and travel distance is within ten minutes time. Food for thought?
ReplyDelete5:53 - a number of people have asked poster 8:54 to stop posting with spaces on this blog and on yourct. It's too bad because the rest of us have just stopped reading their blog statements...
ReplyDeleteNo sure what "long summer break" 8:54 is referring to but by my count we were barely out 2 months before the kids were being asked to return to school...summer vacation used to start in early June and go thru Labor Day - it was meant for the kids to decompress and get off the treadmill of their busy academic and extra curricular activities. It would seem that parents don't want to spend time with there kids and prefer to have them booked solid year round. I for one LIKE having my kids home and enjoy seeing the world through their eyes whenever possible. This change in society is unfortunate and could be what has been contributing to the decrease in families staying together.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that we all don't want to spend time with our children as you have now stated twice in this thread. However, if the standards are going to continue to be raised, tests getting harder, more work expected of them and more and more standardized testing being put into place year after year, the children need sufficient time to learn all of it and be prepared. I am not agreeing with the speeding up of their education, pushing them through their childhood and taking all the fun out of school, these things have been done already. As for not wanting to spend time with "there" children, I think that is a blanket accusation you have no business making. Please think about the other issues behind the reason others are advocating for a better standard of education for our children, not merely because we do not want them around.
ReplyDeleteSummer break is an anachronism, instituted at a time when children were needed to work in the fields. We have come a long way since then.
ReplyDeleteI loved spending time with my own children during the summer; so do many of the posters here. Don't confuse looking at the situation realistically with judging others.
Nope, I'm a different poster. I posted the 9/9 2:16 p.m. post. I haven't anything to do with the 9/13 6:06 p.m. post. So, there are two different people who commented on enjoying breaks with their children...
ReplyDelete