I took a personal day on Friday. It is something I'm not good at, as I am constantly checking email and touching base with the office. I have a hard time taking time away even though I know I have a fully capable staff who keeps the school running just fine when I'm not there. However, I needed some quality time with my 2 1/2 year old daughter and I have been late at work several evenings preparing for our site visit in a few weeks. So, I took a day for myself.
However, one email stuck out to me on Friday morning. It was from the Director of the Iowa Department of Education, Dr. Brad Buck. I glanced over it quickly, seeing that early start waivers wouldn't be automatically granted any more for districts that wanted to set their start date before September 1st. This letter set off a lively debate, especially in the "comment" section on news station stories and Facebook posts.
I wasn't surprised by the move. This was going to happen eventually and seemed to be only a matter of time, as it had been attempted a few years ago. The difference then was that there was a strong outcry by educators and our supporters that argued that tourism shouldn't trump the ability of schools to set their calendars as they see fit. It stopped there...until now. There is plenty of outcry, but I am not sure who is yelling louder, who will be listened to, or if it is going to achieve much.
I want to believe in the process. I want to believe that as we begin to set calendars for the upcoming year, any reasoning we provide the Department of Education will be accepted and waivers will be granted anyhow. I want to believe that this letter was sent by the Director to satisfy the Governor and that the concerns of school leaders will be accepted and honored through granting a waiver. The only thing I believe firmly is that local school leadership is able to know what is best for our students in our local districts and these leaders are smart enough to plan accordingly by listening during public comment and surveys when establishing a calendar.
The argument for tourism is pretty shaky. In every district in which I've worked (four to be exact) there are parents who will pull their kids whenever they feel it convenient for their family to take a vacation, regardless of the school calendar. Because, hey, "tickets to Florida are cheaper in October than April, so we're taking a vacation next week. Oh, and can you send homework along? We don't want them to miss anything." I've got a great way for them not to miss anything...
I get the family argument, but it doesn't quite hold up. This all plays in to the bigger problem in our society of devaluing educators and education. We erode control and support bit by bit and eventually, we are left with a lot of finger pointing, blame shifting, and the people for whom we were all trying to do what is best- the kids- are the ones who suffer in the end.
