Peachtown Elementary School students have been very busy this fall. The upper level students have attended the Conservation Field Days sponsored by Cayuga County Soil and Water, experienced the Floating Classroom on Cayuga Lake, traveled to Syracuse to see the Michelangelo and Marie Antoinette exhibits, listened to a presentation at Wells College on First Amendment Rights for students and learned about the New York State Court of Claims with Judge Renee Minarek of Rochester.
The lower level students enjoyed a trip to The Apple Station in Union Springs to learn about growing apples as part of their botany study and then to eat some apples along with freshly made doughnuts. On Oct. 30, a group of Aurora Rotarians came to Peachtown to present the third and fourth graders with wonderful inscribed dictionaries as part of their effort to promote literacy.
All these events have been squeezed into the new four-day school schedule.
At Peachtown, every weekend is a three-day weekend. In August, the Peachtown board voted to move to the new calendar. Now, nearly 10 weeks into the new four-day school schedule, the students, faculty and parents have had a chance to experience the new calendar.
Small schools like Peachtown have the flexibility to make changes and experiment with different approaches to learning and different approaches to management. Spurred on by rising energy costs for commuting parents and heating costs for the school, the staff and board of Peachtown chose a four-day week as a response to a growing problem. By extending the school day and adding a few days to the calendar, contact hours for students were actually increased.
Practical concerns such as child care needs, the length of the school day and its effect on after school activities were the focus of much consideration, as were pedagogical concerns regarding the length of the classes and the effects of the three-day weekend on student performance. Many schools in the southwestern states where large rural districts are common have utilized the four-day week.
However, data on how the four-day schedule affects students is generally anecdotal or limited to some indicators of improved test scores and attendance.
Moving to a four-day schedule is always controversial and every stakeholder in the proposition has opinions on its probable outcomes, its virtues or its drawbacks. Peachtown was no exception to this controversy. Ultimately, however, the majority of the parents were willing to give it a try. And, trying it out is sometimes the best way to learn.
Early responses to the new schedule from the students are generally very favorable. Thus far, the rate of student absences per day of school is half that of last year; the staff finds that while the 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. school day is long, the week flies by; and, commuting parents have responded positively to the reduction in driving.
The 75-minute classes work well, and the late afternoons are filled with “special classes” such as swimming, physical education, music, art and French. With an extra snack time in the afternoon, even the youngest children comfortably navigate the longer day.
The children use their Fridays for many activities, but the older students are also expected to complete homework and independent projects over the long weekends. Some Fridays, the school is open for free child care when it is needed, but generally the school is shut down three days per week. The school hopes to realize a significant savings in energy costs.
It is early to assess the outcome of the schedule, but with the help of adults, students in one upper level math class are developing a survey for students and parents that will measure their satisfaction with the new plan. These students are learning how to develop questions, design a rating scale and pilot the survey. Once the survey is administered to the community, the students will learn to compile the results and analyze them. This will be just part of a larger mid-year assessment of the new schedule.
Peachtown is committed to teaching children to be responsible consumers and independent learners, and thus far, the four-day week is helping to meet both of these goals.
Barbara Post is the school administrator at Peachtown and can be reached at 364-8721
All these events have been squeezed into the new four-day school schedule.
At Peachtown, every weekend is a three-day weekend. In August, the Peachtown board voted to move to the new calendar. Now, nearly 10 weeks into the new four-day school schedule, the students, faculty and parents have had a chance to experience the new calendar.
Small schools like Peachtown have the flexibility to make changes and experiment with different approaches to learning and different approaches to management. Spurred on by rising energy costs for commuting parents and heating costs for the school, the staff and board of Peachtown chose a four-day week as a response to a growing problem. By extending the school day and adding a few days to the calendar, contact hours for students were actually increased.
Practical concerns such as child care needs, the length of the school day and its effect on after school activities were the focus of much consideration, as were pedagogical concerns regarding the length of the classes and the effects of the three-day weekend on student performance. Many schools in the southwestern states where large rural districts are common have utilized the four-day week.
However, data on how the four-day schedule affects students is generally anecdotal or limited to some indicators of improved test scores and attendance.
Moving to a four-day schedule is always controversial and every stakeholder in the proposition has opinions on its probable outcomes, its virtues or its drawbacks. Peachtown was no exception to this controversy. Ultimately, however, the majority of the parents were willing to give it a try. And, trying it out is sometimes the best way to learn.
Early responses to the new schedule from the students are generally very favorable. Thus far, the rate of student absences per day of school is half that of last year; the staff finds that while the 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. school day is long, the week flies by; and, commuting parents have responded positively to the reduction in driving.
The 75-minute classes work well, and the late afternoons are filled with “special classes” such as swimming, physical education, music, art and French. With an extra snack time in the afternoon, even the youngest children comfortably navigate the longer day.
The children use their Fridays for many activities, but the older students are also expected to complete homework and independent projects over the long weekends. Some Fridays, the school is open for free child care when it is needed, but generally the school is shut down three days per week. The school hopes to realize a significant savings in energy costs.
It is early to assess the outcome of the schedule, but with the help of adults, students in one upper level math class are developing a survey for students and parents that will measure their satisfaction with the new plan. These students are learning how to develop questions, design a rating scale and pilot the survey. Once the survey is administered to the community, the students will learn to compile the results and analyze them. This will be just part of a larger mid-year assessment of the new schedule.
Peachtown is committed to teaching children to be responsible consumers and independent learners, and thus far, the four-day week is helping to meet both of these goals.
Barbara Post is the school administrator at Peachtown and can be reached at 364-8721
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.