Many in U-46 protest school calendar decision

The Elgin Area School District U-46 board got an earful Monday night from parents, teachers and students angered at being left out of the decision to end three schools' year-round calendars.

Dozens turned out in protest of Channing, Garfield and Sheridan Elementary moving to a traditional calendar next school year.

Since 1999, the three east-side Elgin schools have operated on an alternative calendar featuring more frequent, shorter breaks and an academic year starting in late July and ending in June.

Last Tuesday, district officials announced the move, which is expected to save the cash-strapped district around $200,000, roughly 0.5 percent of the district's annual budget.

No meetings or information sessions were held for parents or staff members before the announcement.

"We were just blindsided," said Cynthia Wendt, a sixth-grade teacher at Sheridan. "... The way this action was taken, they gave us absolutely no professional courtesy."

Parents were informed via the district's reverse calling system. The staff, at a Tuesday meeting.

Channing parent Kristian Webb, who was part of a committee in the late 1990s that worked to bring the continuous learning calendar to the school, told the board that months were spent examining data and taking surveys, making sure various sectors of the district were on board with the plan.

"Why do I now get this shoved down my throat that we're just going to take it away? Where's your data? Why do you not care what we think of your decision?"

According to the National Association of Year Round Education, roughly 2,200 public elementary schools across the country operate on a year-round calendar. Recent studies on the benefit to year-round schooling have been contradictory.

A 2001 study from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction found no significant differences in test scores between students who operated on a traditional calendar versus a continuous learning calendar. Yet, a 2004 study conducted by Duke University found students, especially those who come from low-income homes or are struggling in school, slightly better retain lessons through a continuous learning calendar.

Channing, Garfield and Sheridan all feature high percentages of low-income and minority students.

"Teaching these populations is especially challenging," Wendt said. "With the continuous calendar, we have much more energy. I feel we're much more productive."

Students, too, have the opportunity to attend "intersessions" to ramp up achievement during the designated breaks.

A Daily Herald analysis of the three schools' standardized test scores over the past eight years found that Garfield Elementary saw the most dramatic improvement on scores, with a 26-point gain in the percentage of students meeting and exceeding standards on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test.

Channing Elementary saw a 19-point gain, and Sheridan saw a 15-point gain. The district's 40 elementary schools as a whole saw scores improve by 20 points during that time period.

Superintendent Jose Torres, who has been a proponent of continuous learning calendars both at U-46 and during his tenure at Chicago Public Schools, has not spoken publicly about the decision.

"Take this message to your state legislators," board President Ken Kaczynski told parents and teachers. "This is a revenue issue that is not caused by us. And a significant part of the solution lies in Springfield."

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