Saturday, April 14, 2007

Village breaks down school calendar

Extra instruction is used to help students with extra tutoring

Audry Olmsted El Defensor Chieftain Managing Editor

On Aug. 14, Magdalena students will begin to troop back into the classroom, fresh off of summer vacation and wondering what homework assignments they will gather on the first day back to class. There will be the sounds of lockers slamming and bells ringing.

What won't be heard are the sounds of little feet running and small voices reuniting with their favorite teacher as elementary students get an extra week of summer vacation.

At the Magdalena school board meeting this week, Elementary Principal Kitty Martin explained why those students and the pre-kindergarten students start later than the mid or high school students.

The school's calendar, she said, has 145 days of instruction, which equals out to 1,087-1/2 hours.

"The high school is required to have 1,080 instructional hours. That's a significant number of hours," Martin said.

Elementary students are required to have a minimum of 990 hours, as per the state Public Education Department. This, Martin said, is a difference of 13 days, from what their school calendar has versus what is required by the state.

David Montoya, board president, said has heard concerns from parents who have children returning to school at different times of the month, and having to coordinate who will take care of the children who are not returning at the same time as the others.

"I can see how it could be an issue for some parents if you have kids starting on two or three different days," Martin said.

By having the elementary students start later than the other grades, the required instruction hours balance out, Martin said.

The principal said the school uses the additional time in elementary school to give more time in the classroom to students, as well as more tutoring. There is also additional time to work on professional development with teachers.

In related business, board members approved the 2007-2008 school calendar. They re-evaluated the calendar options after a request at the last board meeting from Manuel Guerro, who is the vice president at Alamo and also works at the Alamo Navajo Community School. Guerro asked that the two communities' calendars be aligned so that holidays and other days off would match in both schools.

"The concern was the major holidays," Chambers said.

The calendar the board members approved does not exactly align with Alamo's, but the major holidays are the same.

Herman Ganadonegro, board member, said he did not want to see the Magdalena Schools go to a five-day school week. Other board members agreed.

Montoya said every time the schools survey people about the issue, they always maintain the four-day week.

aolmsted@dchieftain.com

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