Note: This story was corrected to give the correct spelling of Gloria Llamas' name and the correct school names of Amy Pufahl's children.
Margarita Barrientes’ once asked her husband, a teacher at Scarlett Middle School, at what point in the school year he began introducing new material to students. When he told her it was not until October, she was shocked.
“He spends all of September reviewing and catching up on information from last year and reviewing for the MEAP,” she said. “A whole month of the school year is spent reviewing.”
Barrientes, who has four children in Ann Arbor Public Schools, says it's time to try a different approach. She was among parents who spoke to the Ann Arbor Board of Education about the Mitchell/Scarlett-U-M Partnership Wednesday night. Most of the discussion during the meeting focused on the balanced calendar component of the proposed program, which would have the school year at the two schools run from early August until late June.
That aspect of the program was being brought before the full board for the first time, but district officials have already said that calendar will not be implemented next year.
The program is a partnership between Mitchell Elementary and Scarlett Middle schools and the University of Michigan School of Education. Teacher candidates from U-M would work with teachers at the Ann Arbor schools to learn about the craft of teaching and help increase student achievement.
The balanced calendar aspect of the plan, which would include one- to two-week breaks or intersessions placed throughout the school year, has been hotly debated.
Seven parents spoke during the public commentary portion of the meeting — four expressing relief the balanced calendar had gone back to the drawing board and three who were disappointed.
Amy Pufahl, a parent of three children at Pittsfield Elementary and Scarlett, said the balanced calendar was inconsiderate to families with children at feeder schools and Scarlett because they would not all have the same academic calendar.
“This calendar would mean having our family divided,” she said. “It would be a disadvantage to students because it would cut into family time.”
Gloria Llamas said she was glad the majority of people only had a quarrel with the balanced calendar portion of the program. Yamas, who has two children at Scarlett, said the current school year calendar no longer needs to be agrarian based, as it was when it was originally made.
Mitchell Elementary School Principal Kathy Scarnecchia talks to members of the Ann Arbor Board of Education about the proposed Mitchell/Scarlett-U-M Partnership Wednesday night.
Kyle Feldscher | AnnArbor.com
Beth Ballbach, a former AAPS teacher with two sons at Allen Elementary, said she and her family value their summers together and don't think the balanced calendar could be forced on families based on where they live.
She said it would make more sense to make Mitchell and Scarlett into a K-8 campus-like Ann Arbor Open School or a magnet school, so families could choose to go there.
Gerald Vazquez, principal at Scarlett, said the planning committee for the program has been traveling around the state to different schools that are on a balanced calendar to talk to officials there.
He said part of the partnership is looking at new ways to use staff, resources and time.
“A key component of this plan is leveraging time differently,” he said. “Overall, that’s the goal. We want to look at time in a different way, implement programs across the calendar year to enhance all students’ achievement.”
Many of the trustees on the school board expressed their disappointment in the decision to hold off on the balanced calendar for another year.
Trustee Christine Stead said implementing such a calendar would be a small step toward changing the attitudes around education that prevent the United States from competing at the highest level on the world stage.
“When you do something different and new, it’s not always received with, ‘Oh, how wonderful,’” she said. “We have a global achievement gap that’s very serious. I would caution against us being too hesitant to move forward.”
Catherine Reischl, an associate professor in the U-M School of Education, said the program is a part of a serious renovation of teacher education programs at the university. She said the partnership puts a focus on practicing education for teacher candidates and equity teaching for the district and its students.
Part of the program will involve bringing students from Mitchell and Scarlett to the U-M campus for workshops during the intersession periods. She said these visits could help encourage students to pursue college after graduation from high school.
“We’re eager to develop ways to get these kids on the U-M campus, to experience success and then (have them) say, ‘Of course I’m filling out that application to go to U-M or elsewhere,’” she said.
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com.
Get the Ann Arbor RSS Feed
AnnArbor.com