OMG 9th grade flashback! I did always like "Ballroom Blitz", though...

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Originally posted by little...way:
Ron, click on the link below and enter the hell that has been mine since yesterday. Go ahead, I dare you.

Are you man enough?

Ear worm!

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Originally posted by little...way:
Clearly they did not have a good music program at their school.

No pleats on those pants.

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Originally posted by Mamattorney:

It wasn't intended to be a cheap shot.

I think I am going to have a tough row to hoe in this town to maintain my beliefs regarding the relative importance of extra-curricular activities. But that's OK. I'm up for the challenge.

No insult taken, so don't worry. Just left that hanging out there and I deserved it.

You have gained my unending respect though. You are the first person I have met that actually says the old phrase correctly:

Tough row to hoe. So many people say Tough road aho. Like cowboy talk.

I've howed some tough rows in my life....

I'm all for no-cut freshman sports and believe it or not, I'm not going to go on and on about it but I think it's a fantastic idea. I'd also like Hadley to offer more but space has been a problem due to park district use of facilities as well. However, they are working on that. I am on a Hadley Horizons committee regarding respectful relationships (student to teacher and vice versa). I have another meeting next week and if/when permitted I will share my insights.

As for the band/orchestra/choir (to be henceforce called b/o/c) versus exploratory versus foreign language, is that what they have proposed? Pick two? I can't imagine that they would let kids opt out of exploratories altogether....anyone know this for certain?

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Originally posted by Amy:
I can't imagine that they would let kids opt out of exploratories altogether....anyone know this for certain?

Oui. (couldn't help it)

b/o/c becomes the exploratory choice.

I think what everyone is forgetting is that we are now creating curriculum where there was none. What is the cost in space, labor, equipment, and administration in running a classroom music program, including band, orchestra and choir? Now, we set up grading and oversight, don't we?

This costs more money. Lots of it. It sounds innocuous to say "let's end the random pullouts for this extracurricular activity", but at the end of the day, it is adding cost and unneeded bureaucracy to an efficiently functioning parent-supported program.

Well, I wouldn't agree with letting b/o/c replace exploratories. I would agree with letting it replace foreign language because kids can still get that in high school. Perhaps they plan to incorporate Health into PE now? And in high school most kids won't have the opportunity to take art classes or even "home ec" types of classes. How can we find out what the recommendations really are? According to Bob, the BOE hasn't approved anything and I would think that this means it's still in some kind of draft stage.

As far as cost, I really don't know what it costs to run the program now and I don't know if it really would be more expensive to run it within the day. Why do you think it would cost more? The teachers will still be the teachers. They will have to issue grades but that doesn't "cost" more. Yes, space could become a problem but I don't know what they've discussed to try and address this. I guess I just have a lot of questions...

quote:

Originally posted by Amy:
.. According to Bob, the BOE hasn't approved anything and I would think that this means it's still in some kind of draft stage.
...

I am as in the dark as you are Amy, except, the New Horizons newsletter from the D41 website says that the LA block recommendations will be going into affect for the next school year while the recommendations for everything else will be for the year after that. Still some time, it seems, but some wheels are already in motion.

How you describe it, Rob, is how I read it as well. Amy, you might want to read the public participation section of the Board minutes from April 28 meeting (See pages 11 and 12 of 17.)

In the same packet from the May 5 meeting is some additional interesting reading. Pages 3 and 4 explain the rationale for the additional needed portable classrooms. The current requested 6 are this year's request, next year, it looks like more will be requested. I really have a hard time with one of the statements that: "Hadley has had space issues for years." Funny, I sat at a Board meeting in the summer a few years ago and heard the Hadley principal ensure parents that there were no space issues currently or expected in the coming years. Of course, she's no longer here.

Pretty vague still.

As for the LA recommendation, they already do an LA block and have at least for four years. It seems as though they are trying to create a physical space that makes it easier to accommodate their curriculum. Personally, I don't really get why it's so difficult to manage in the current setup but then again, I've not sat in on classes when they break into these groups.

Well, I'm not sure where to start. What questions have you got for me?

In regards to the portables - there was a long discussion during the Board Meeting last Monday. There were a lot of points brought up and discussed. I think a decent case can be made for adding space at Hadley (unless you either remove the 6th graders or increase class sizes). However, whether this proposal is the right way to go and the right way to go about it is debatable.

I have some issues with the source of the funding for these portables. I also have questions about the immediate need, the siting, the merits of leasing versus buying, etc. Schoolweek correctly reported my request for an estimate of what permanent space would cost. The consensus of the Board was not to obtain such an estimate. My objective was to compare the approx. $700,000 in total dollars for portables to what permanent classrooms would cost. But I can understand that we don't want to be discussing seven different visions of space solutions.

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Originally posted by Amy:
Pretty vague still.

As for the LA recommendation, they already do an LA block and have at least for four years. It seems as though they are trying to create a physical space that makes it easier to accommodate their curriculum. Personally, I don't really get why it's so difficult to manage in the current setup but then again, I've not sat in on classes when they break into these groups.

I believe, Amy, that they current "block" of two periods of LA can be interrupted. Some kids have two different LA teachers. Some kids go to LA, then lunch, then LA again. The intent for next year, along with the rollout of the new curriculum, is to create a solid, uninterrupted two period block, taught by the same teacher in the same room. As one could imagine, any time you add constraints to scheduling it gets more difficult.

One hangup for me on the current request is that the full space implications of the literacy block implementation at Hadley were not presented (presumably not known at the time) along with the curriculum presentation last Fall.

I see. Yes, my sixth grader has the LA periods broken up but my older child had the double period all three years so I assumed my sixth grader's situation was just "one of those things" and to be honest, for this kid, it's probably been a good thing. Two periods in the same room would make some kids stir crazy - including mine. I personally am not sold that it's SO important that they need to bring in portables to make it happen...but that's just me.

One interesting thing to come out of this whole "Hadley Horizons" thing is that I actually got to be on one of the committees. It's interesting because I'm sure that I wouldn't have been asked but because I'm actually home this year and serving on another volunteer group, I was asked. I very much appreciate the opportunity to be involved but I keep thinking, "What about all the working parents who don't have this opportunity because the meetings are done during the day?" I know that others can get involved in the "visioning" group - and I am thankful for that. But I suspect there will be a good number of people who won't be able to participate in that one because it goes so far into June. I know I won't be able to and that's a little frustrating because I really like to have a handle on the "big picture" of things. It would be interesting to see how all these pieces come together. I do worry that there is not enough diverse input from parents.....I'm not certain that this has been the best way to gather constructive input from interested parents.