ASD 2016-17 calendar

[tccak71]

This is a repost. It occurred to me nobody reads the Global forum. And yes, it's definitely a hunting related issue!!

Personally, I'd like to see the calendar switched back to an after Labor Day start and an end date in June.

Either way, please let ASD know what you think about their calendar proposal for the 2016-17 school year and beyond.

http://www.asdk12.org/news/archives/...rproposal.html

Tim

[megarock]

Here is a functioning link to the proposed calendar: http://www.asdk12.org/calendar/proposal/

The proposed calendar for 2016 has teachers return August 10 and students start school August 16, which is a week earlier than it has been. If you are a student or the parent of one or more, as the proposal now stands, that means the August 10 opener hunts are shortened substantially. If you are a teacher, that means no hunting time for the seasons that open August 10.

[Berto]

Here is a functioning link to the proposed calendar: http://www.asdk12.org/calendar/proposal/

The proposed calendar for 2016 has teachers return August 10 and students start school August 16, which is a week earlier than it has been. If you are a student or the parent of one or more, as the proposal now stands, that means the August 10 opener hunts are shortened substantially. If you are a teacher, that means no hunting time for the seasons that open August 10.

Thanks for the notification. I had previously decided not to comment, but thanks to your thread/posts I commented.

[hogfamily]

I also encourage filling out the survey.

Our family enjoys the fall and starting even earlier in August is not popular in my family. We wish they would go back to starting after Labor Day. A week later would be even better.

Having all of Thanksgiving week off is an option asked about. That comes with a shorted summer break.

They are asking opinions on year round school also.

There is no comment area to suggest going back to an after Labor Day start so we put it in other comment areas.

[anchskier]

I also encourage filling out the survey.

Our family enjoys the fall and starting even earlier in August is not popular in my family. We wish they would go back to starting after Labor Day. A week later would be even better.

Having all of Thanksgiving week off is an option asked about. That comes with a shorted summer break.

They are asking opinions on year round school also.

There is no comment area to suggest going back to an after Labor Day start so we put it in other comment areas.

How about an alternative? Instead of two weeks at Christmas, take one of those at Thanksgiving. That way, you have three one-week breaks spread out through the school year (including spring break as the 3rd). This would not shorten summer break at all. In fact, it would probably buy you a couple days since you would not be taking Thanksgiving and that Friday off in addition to the other three weeks. The later fall start only makes sense in Alaska with the fishing and hunting seasons the way they are. Much more family stuff to do in the fall in late August than there is in the spring in mid May.

[iusckeeper]

Hopefully some of the teacher hunters will chime in here too. I'm fully opposed to this proposal. My family and many friends are district teachers and the early start in August screws up many hunting options. I have been anxiously waiting to see what the new calendars would look like hoping the year would be more hunter friendly... and it is not

I haven't seen the survey monkey link posted yet, so here it is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ASDCalProp PLEASE take the time to fill this out in support of pushing back back the start date of our school year. Keep in mind there is no comment box at the end of survey so the comments need to be typed throughout the survey.

To make things worse, they are seriously considering allowing all of Thanksgiving week off, and in return, starting the school year 3 days earlier than it already is! A huge majority of schools in the lower 48 start their year just before Memorial Day, why are we so different with our schedule. In addition, I always hated how our spring break is one week earlier than most of the other schools in the US. I have family members and friends who teach in the lower 48 too, and because our calendar is so different than theirs, again, it ruins plans and makes aligning anything impossible.

I don't understand, why is our calendar shifted one week earlier than most other schools?

[iusckeeper]

I'm surprised Brian hasn't commented on this post yet... he teaches right?

[Brian M]

I'm surprised Brian hasn't commented on this post yet... he teaches right?

Tim beat me to it with the initial post. Yep, I teach and have tried fighting this calendar move since the first go-around. Haven't gotten any traction yet, but perhaps if we get enough people raising their voices the District will at least listen.

While lost outdoors opportunity is chief among my concerns, there are other things that seem to argue against the current schedule as well.

Sports schedules have been shifted significantly, and with that change has come significant absence issues and increased cost to the District. Because the first half (or more) of the soccer and track seasons are now held indoors at The Dome, games have to be scheduled early enough in the day 4-5 days/week so that students have to be pulled out of their last 1-2 classes per day on a very regular basis. Needless to say, this does not have a positive academic effect. As for the cost, I don't know what the District pays out to rent the Dome each year, but I have to imagine the expense is significant. If we pushed the seasons back 2-3 weeks, it would result in a significant financial savings and would reduce the need to pull students out of class.

Again, those and other issues are certainly secondary in my mind to the lost outdoors opportunities for our kids and our families, but I'm going to comment on every angle possible.

[LuJon]

I'm curious what the effect would be on HS football. My kids are elm/middle age right now and a shift to a later start would be awesome because much of their football season would be done before school started.

Oh and to keep with the forum theme I also would like to take the kids out hunting without having to pull them out of school for à week every year.

[anchskier]

Tim beat me to it with the initial post. Yep, I teach and have tried fighting this calendar move since the first go-around. Haven't gotten any traction yet, but perhaps if we get enough people raising their voices the District will at least listen.

While lost outdoors opportunity is chief among my concerns, there are other things that seem to argue against the current schedule as well.

Sports schedules have been shifted significantly, and with that change has come significant absence issues and increased cost to the District. Because the first half (or more) of the soccer and track seasons are now held indoors at The Dome, games have to be scheduled early enough in the day 4-5 days/week so that students have to be pulled out of their last 1-2 classes per day on a very regular basis. Needless to say, this does not have a positive academic effect. As for the cost, I don't know what the District pays out to rent the Dome each year, but I have to imagine the expense is significant. If we pushed the seasons back 2-3 weeks, it would result in a significant financial savings and would reduce the need to pull students out of class.

Again, those and other issues are certainly secondary in my mind to the lost outdoors opportunities for our kids and our families, but I'm going to comment on every angle possible.

Another non-recreation thing I see that impacts kids from all backgrounds is seasonal employment. A lot of high school age kids work seasonal summer jobs. Many of those job opportunities are there as a direct result of "tourist season" or "construction season". Both of those don't really get going until after Memorial day and run right up to and through Labor Day. If you shift summer break a couple weeks earlier, you lose a couple weeks of potential employment time in the spring and then make them have to leave their jobs to go back to school a couple weeks before the employers would want to let them go.

So, really, the school schedule shift is just bad for Alaska all the way around. It significantly hurts those families who want to do what we all love to do in Alaska, hunt, fish, and camp during the prime season. It also hurts those who may have no connection to outdoor recreation at all but just want to make a few bucks before school starts up in the fall so they can pay for college or just a nice car to drive to show off to their friends.

[iusckeeper]

Another non-recreation thing I see that impacts kids from all backgrounds is seasonal employment. A lot of high school age kids work seasonal summer jobs. Many of those job opportunities are there as a direct result of "tourist season" or "construction season". Both of those don't really get going until after Memorial day and run right up to and through Labor Day. If you shift summer break a couple weeks earlier, you lose a couple weeks of potential employment time in the spring and then make them have to leave their jobs to go back to school a couple weeks before the employers would want to let them go.

So, really, the school schedule shift is just bad for Alaska all the way around. It significantly hurts those families who want to do what we all love to do in Alaska, hunt, fish, and camp during the prime season. It also hurts those who may have no connection to outdoor recreation at all but just want to make a few bucks before school starts up in the fall so they can pay for college or just a nice car to drive to show off to their friends.

Good point! I wish I knew the reasoning behind the current schedule. I haven't heard a valid reason yet (or any reason for that matter).

[anchskier]

Good point! I wish I knew the reasoning behind the current schedule. I haven't heard a valid reason yet (or any reason for that matter).

The only somewhat valid reason I have heard is that it allows them to complete the first semester before Christmas break so they can start the 2nd semester fresh right after the break. That way, students don't have homework and projects to work on over the "break" and teachers are not stuck trying to do a bunch of grading and those types of things over the break. I don't agree with this being a very valid excuse to mess up so many other things, but just what I have heard.

[iusckeeper]

I wonder if a petition to change the school year back to start after Labor Day would be worthwhile or even result in a change. Who makes the final decision, the superintendant?

[MacGyver]

I would put my money on the teachers union.

[Brian M]

I wonder if a petition to change the school year back to start after Labor Day would be worthwhile or even result in a change. Who makes the final decision, the superintendant?

The school board makes the final decision.