Variety of factors complicate Ann Arbor school calendar making
There’s no doubt the most-discussed portion of Monday’s release of details of a tentative agreement between the Ann Arbor school district and the teachers' union was the calendar for the next two school years.
In case you haven’t been following all the comments on the original story, let me bring you up to speed.
The proposed calendar, which is set through the bargaining process between the district and the union, moved the mid-winter break from its traditional alignment with the University of Michigan’s break.
A variety of reasons were cited for the move.
The first factor: U-M’s spring break this year was moved to the first week in March. (Eastern Michigan University's break is the same as U-M).
If Ann Arbor matched its winter break to the university’s spring break, that would mean students would be in class just four weeks between the district’s winter break and its spring break, which is set for the first week in April.
District and union folks didn’t like having that short length of time between the two breaks.
So you might think the solution is simple - just have the district move its spring break back a week or two, creating more distance between the two breaks.
But that’s not possible, thanks to another state law.
That law, passed in 2007, mandates that all the school districts in a county adopt a common calendar that has the same weeks for winter holiday and spring break.
Washtenaw County adopted a common calendar in 2008. But Ann Arbor had an existing teachers' contract that had a calendar already established, meaning it didn't have to match up this year.
The contract, including the calendar, isn't yet set in stone. Ann Arbor’s teachers and then the school board will have to approve the entire contract.
David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at davidjesse@annarbor.com.
Comments
Sun & Snow Sports
Sat, Sep 12, 2009 : 5:16 p.m.
Please take into consideration that we live in "winter wonderland". There are hundreds of families in this town that use this time as an opportunity to enjoy winter sports with their children. Skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, etc. Christmas Break is usually too early for snow and Spring Break too late. Michigan is one of the states that has these unique opportunities available to our families and we should take full advantage of it.
Augustine
Mon, Aug 31, 2009 : 6:40 a.m.
We must assume that the same people who don't like the fact that the AAPS winter break does not coincide with that of U of M or EMU are probably U of M or EMU employees who wish to vacation with their children and would also be troubled if there were no winter vacation. It should be noted that this mid-winter vacation was created out of days that the teachers and students already had off at other times of the year. Those days were spread around the calendar, a day here and a day there. Several years ago the teachers union and the district bargained to combine all of those days into one week in the mid winter. Since this was done, the break has generally been popular both with teachers and with families as well. Naturally, nothing that is done is liked by all!
Steve Pepple
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 6:21 p.m.
Please keep the discussion to the issue at hand and avoid personal attacks on other commenters.
sh1
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 5:55 p.m.
Natasha, you have completely misunderstood me. I never said our schools are crummy, as I don't believe that to be true. Public schools do have it tough today and it takes committed parents and teachers to make it work. I never meant for the conversation to deteriorate to the point of your last post.
Natasha
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 5:39 p.m.
First of all sh1, I said I don't think they get a full week of school or have a day off just about every week, didn't say it was gospel. Second of all stated after that that I see it wasn't the case this yr.. Third I have right to my opinion and feel that we don't need a full week for mid winter break. There may be alot of UofM parents who would like to have their kids in school so they can have some quiet down time at home to themselves. As for me personally I'm a stay at home mom so I don't need a sitter,and if I want to take my kids out of school during the school yr. for a vacation, at any time of the yr., I will. But I do get work from their teachers to keep their minds on track(as much as possible :-}) while we're gone. I also was in my youngest childs class 1 day every week for a full day last yr.,went to every party and on every field trip, and took many projects home by request of the teacher to help out and was told by her that alot of teachers wished the school yr. ended earlier because as warmer spring weather gets here the kids are burned out and ready to be done so it's harder to keep them focused and on track. But hey sh1 I'm glad to see that my comments have such an effect on you. Sounds to me like your 1 of the unhappy people and if you think our schools are so crummy you should go check out some of the inner city schools and you might be thankful. If you still think their so crummy then why don't you do something to improve them instead of blowing alot of hot air.
CLX
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 2:14 p.m.
Schools are not babysitters, and parents should stop treating them as such. Sure, it would be easier for all of us if kids went from school to 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. so we could all get to and from work easily, but such hours are not appropriate for the education of young kids. We are a generation of adults who have pushed for flextime, the ability to work from home, reduced schedules etc.., and yet we seem so anxious to increasingly institutionalize our children for our convenience. I think the kids need the break, and I think we should allow the schools to schedule breaks that make sense for the academic calendar. I agree it's an unfortunate inconvenience this year, but I also agree with the person who mentioned that any schedule they create is going to be inconvenient for someone. I prefer that the schools make the calendar with the kids in mind first, and that those needs trump the needs of the parents if the two cannot be reconciled from time to time.
treetowncartel
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 2:06 p.m.
First, lets quit considering mainstream religous holidays in the break cycle. If school falls on your holiday then just don't go. So here is the proposal: Take the whole week of Thanksgiving off. Christmas really only needs one week. Wejust freed up an extra week, Then say take a break in mid to late March. You just got rid of about 8 days off which will get you out earlier in June.
Rici
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 11:04 a.m.
Perhaps Natasha speaks from personal experience. The official calendar is not updated retroactively to show snow days / weather closures. For the past couple of years, the time between breaks has consisted of primarily 4 day weeks (due to weather closures and scheduled time off). I also roll my eyes at the statement that "District and union folks didnt like having that short length of time between the two breaks." My kids have been in AAPS for 6 years, and it seems that in 3 of those 6 years there was only 4 or 5 weeks between the breaks. I understand that this is a negotiated item in the contract, but I think that someone should do some math and see if it would save the district money to cut the mid-winter break. It would certainly save a lot of hassle.
SRood
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 10:29 a.m.
Why does the Ann Arbor Public Schools have to follow U of M (or EMU for that matter) spring break schedule? I don't remember U of M paying for my children's education (taxes, etc.). Why do we have to bow down to the high and mighty university?
KJMClark
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 9:55 a.m.
Oops, I missed one. AAPS parent wrote, "The idea that "WISD made me do it" doesn't hold water. According to WISD's web site, the common calendar was developed and approved by district superintendents--including Ann Arbor's." Checking their website, "Members of WISDs school board are elected biennially on the first Monday in June by a body of electors composed of one member from each constituent school district board of education." So though we pay into the millage by household, and vote by adult population, the 1/3 of the county that lives in Ann Arbor gets 1/10 of the representation in the WISD elections. That would be like seating the County Board of Commissioners by appointing one seat for each city, village, or township. So much for one person, one vote.
sh1
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 9:54 a.m.
Did not mean to be rude, but feel it's important that people back up claims that I know to be false (hers was that every weekend between the two breaks was a three-day weekend). The calendar you provided shows there is only one.
KJMClark
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 9:33 a.m.
sh1, you're being rude. "Natasha, still looking for evidence of all those three day weekends..." Clearly, she exaggerated, but if you look at last year's calendar: http://www.a2schools.org/aaps.calendars/2008-09_district_calendar From school re-opening in January to Spring Break in April, there are four Mondays off, in addition to the mid-winter break holiday and then Spring Break. Most of those are at the elementary level, which happens to be a pain for planning Monday cubscout meetings! Chapmaja, you might find it useful to do some reading about breaking illness cycles. I don't know that that's the reason for mid-winter break, but school closures are considered one good way to reduce contagious disease outbreaks. There's a great deal on school closures at the CDC website right now WRT the swine flu pandemic. Here's one page: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/schoolchecklist.html Paul E, not commenting on whether you're right or not (about mental health being a reason for the break), I think it's quite ironic that you're railing against everyone else for not providing any facts, but we're supposed to take your statement as gospel without any references to back you up!
sh1
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 8:20 a.m.
Okay, let me see if I have this straight: move the winter break to be consistent with the university's break so families can go on vacation, get rid of the winter break entirely (teachers already have enough cushy vacations), shorten the break and have school get out earlier, what does it matter when kids don't learn anything in our crummy schools anyway....No matter what is in the contract, there will be unhappy people. I think there are bigger issues in education today.
sh1
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 8:14 a.m.
Natasha, still looking for evidence of all those three day weekends...
sh1
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 8:14 a.m.
Okay, let me see if I have this straight: move the winter break to be consistent with the university's break so families can go on vacation, get rid of the winter break entirely (teachers already have enough cushy vacations), shorten the break and have school get out earlier, what does it matter when kids don't learn anything in our crummy schools anyway....No matter what is in the contract, there will be unhappy people. I think there are bigger issues in education today.
susan
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 7:33 a.m.
Perhaps if families would serve healthy foods to their children and gave them vitamins such as D and C, and made sure they were getting enough sleep (not up watching TV or texting their friends at 2 am on a school night), we would not have so much physical and mental illnesses to contend with in the first place. And what about Flu shots? I vote for a long weekend in Feb. and a week long spring break in Apr.
MsWebster
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 6:45 a.m.
The teachers' union polls teachers to find out which breaks and days off have support from the membership. Supposedly the mid-winter break is desired instead of a long weekend with an earlier end of year date. Most teachers I talk to say they want the time off to travel or to get caught up on schoolwork. Personally, I would rather just have some floating days off and have my long weekends whenever I needed or wanted one instead of the way the calendar is set now.
DebbieDora2
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 5:55 a.m.
I think the tenative secret agreements should be all made public. We have great teachers and then just teachers. Violence has risen in the schools, chiildren left behind, principals burn out. Rules are Rules. I believe that a complete audit is in order.Why are theys contracts published and the people allowed in the contract negiating process. What do the people, parent, parents, grandparents, WANT.What do they want to see in their children education.Why are all these out of district teachers here in Ann Arbor. Why do Ann Arbor employees for the city have to live in district?
Paul E
Wed, Aug 26, 2009 : 2:21 a.m.
That's the problem with people commenting off the cuff. Few ever have the facts. And since the Ann Arbor News rarely got the facts right themselves and Annarbor.com publishes LESS facts, real and otherwise, we're even worse off than before. Years ago, the University of Michigan had a winter break and moved the date earlier largely because of the higher rate of depression among students in the winter months and a corresponding higher rate of suicide. While other factors such as energy conservation and physical illness may also play a role, I think the mental health reasons trump tsome of he meaningless knee-jerk reactions in this thread.
chapmaja
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 10:39 p.m.
You also spend a lot of money having too cool the schools in the early summer when school is still in session too. There is an energy trade off to keeping students in school or letting them out later in the summer months.
chapmaja
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 10:37 p.m.
From a post below: "Mid winter break is absolutely necessary. This is the time of year when children get very ill and viruses run rampant around schools. Many children miss school in late January and school in February because of illness like the common flu and strep throat. The break stops the illness cycle. Children come back to school refreshed in March with less illness lurking. Late February is also a good time for school to be out because it is an inexpensive time to travel. Children whose families are able to afford travel often go away during this time to wonderful places such as Mexico, Florida, California, etc. Children come back to school with stories of the enriching experience away and are inspired by this. It is much more preferential to miss a week of school in the dog days of winter, and have more time at school in the warmer months. More time for outdoor field trips, nature walks just to name a few activities. I am pleased that the calendar is set the way it is. It is good for the children." You CAN NOT be serious. First you say the break is needed because of illness. Really, how many illness outbreaks happen to fall the week of Mid-winter Break? The fact is students will have a similar risk of getting ill with or without the Mid-Winter Break on the schedule. The majority of students get ill because they are in close proximity to other students. The only thing Mid-winter Break does is extend the period of close proximity later in the school year, and for many children increases the time they are in close proximity because they are in child care that week. How many people actually have the money to travel over all of the breaks? If you do you are lucky. The vast majority of people would be just as well suited travelling on Spring Break if they can travel at all. The vast majority of students will either spend the time at home if they are old enough, go to day care for the week or get dragged to mom or dads work for the week so the parent doesn't have to pay for day care. As for the stories? Yeah great stories of day care or dad's work or mom's work. Only a small portion of the students actually get to go anywhere on this break anyway. The majority do very little that would be considered exciting or enriching during the break. They would be better suited sitting in a classroom learning. As for the last part of your post. Having students in school for longer periods in the warmer months is a good thing? There are still two months available for nature walks, field trips (if your school even can afford them anymore). The last month of school students DO NOT want to be there. They want out as soon as possible, not to be stuck in classes an extra week into the summer. If you want what is best for the students the best thing is to stagger a few single days off throughout the school year instead of giving them one meaningless week off. If you have 5 extra single days off it gives teachers a chance to get caught up on what they need to do, including rest. It keeps students a little fresher than they otherwise would be as well. Also, when did this Mid-Winter Break stuff start. I graduted in 1995 and we never had a Mid-Winter Break. We had a 3 day weekend in Mid-February and that was it. We managed to survive without getting sick. We still had time for nature walks, field trips and still got out reasonably early.
bhall
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 8:15 p.m.
Winter break in at least some northern communities dates back to the energy crisis in the 70s. You save a lot of money by not having to heat the schools if they're closed.
interested
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 6:54 p.m.
Mid winter break is absolutely necessary. This is the time of year when children get very ill and viruses run rampant around schools. Many children miss school in late January and school in February because of illness like the common flu and strep throat. The break stops the illness cycle. Children come back to school refreshed in March with less illness lurking. Late February is also a good time for school to be out because it is an inexpensive time to travel. Children whose families are able to afford travel often go away during this time to wonderful places such as Mexico, Florida, California, etc. Children come back to school with stories of the enriching experience away and are inspired by this. It is much more preferential to miss a week of school in the dog days of winter, and have more time at school in the warmer months. More time for outdoor field trips, nature walks just to name a few activities. I am pleased that the calendar is set the way it is. It is good for the children.
Natasha
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 6:37 p.m.
Thank goodness they don't have those days this yr., but in yrs. past kids have had long weekends just about every week between the 2 breaks. Husband and I grew up in the aaps and we never had the mid-winter break and we did fine. I agree with SRood with alot of parents in the work force it makes things very difficult and expensive,.
local
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 6:37 p.m.
Get on board with other school districts. Long weekend in February and call it good. the problem is, is that parents are going to take kids out of school regardless for uofm and emu break, as a teacher i know. A few years ago AAPS did the same thing and I had 8 kids out, instructionally sound as the higher ups claim?? I basically had to slow instruction or plan to re-teach to those who were gone. This mid winter break needs to go away and have a WISD calendar that we all follow.
sh1
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 6:24 p.m.
Natasha, could you please give evidence for the calendar of three days weekends you are describing?
Natasha
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 4:52 p.m.
I agree with with everyone's comment, GET RID OF MID-WINTER BREAK!!!!!!!!!!! It's completely ridiculous. Between the mid-winter break until the spring-break I don't think they get a full week of school anyway. If you check all the weeks between the 2 they have a Fri. off 1 week and a Mon. off another week,every week. All this does is get the kids out of sync for their school schedule, and make things difficult for the parents.
fabfan
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 4:16 p.m.
seems as though students get a lot of time off education is more important now then before fabfan
SRood
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 3:50 p.m.
I agree with Chris Blackstone and DagnyJ and let's do away with a week in Feb. Both Dexter and Chelsea school districts take off Feb. 12 and 15 (President's weekend). As a working parent it is hard to pay for childcare for two weeks so close together and I don't accrue enough vacation days until the summer.
AAPS parent
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 3:40 p.m.
The idea that "WISD made me do it" doesn't hold water. According to WISD's web site, the common calendar was developed and approved by district superintendents--including Ann Arbor's.
DagnyJ
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 3:16 p.m.
I agree with Chris. Skip the February break altogether. Just have a long weekend.
Chris Blackstone
Tue, Aug 25, 2009 : 2:35 p.m.
Is a winter break even needed? Don't think so. Do away with it, keep spring break, and let students get out earlier.