Parents, administrators discuss extended school-year calendar

Florence School District 3 officials say an extended school year at two Lake City schools is needed for “remediation and enrichment,” a proposal that has sparked interest and concerns among parents in the district.

Well over 100 people attended a meeting Thursday evening in Lake City, when the district offered a presentation and answered questions.

The district developed the potential new calendar after Lake City Elementary and Ronald E. McNair Middle schools were among 25 additional schools the S.C. Department of Education named last month to the Palmetto Priority program.

The program is aimed at assisting schools that haven’t met student learning goals set by the South Carolina Education Accountability Act of 1998, according to the department.

District Superintendent Beth Wright said the district’s schools are showing value-added growth according to national norms, as measured by SAS Inc. of North Carolina, but the state has moved the testing standards three times since school report cards were first issued.

“We don’t feel like they are failing schools,” she said.

The proposed calendar would add 15 days for all students before Palmetto Assessment of State Standards, or PASS, testing. The test is given in grades three through eight.

The additional days are referred to as intercession school, during which the remediation and enrichment would be offered. Instruction on those days could include classes on karate, strings, voice and even cursive — topics that are “above and beyond” what’s required to be taught, Wright said.

The first day of classes at Lake City Elementary and Ronald E. McNair would be set for July 23, after three workdays for teachers and staff.

Students at the schools, however, can start Aug. 17 and teachers will bring them up to speed in their classes, Wright said. If students choose that option, they must attend all 15 intercession days to meet the 180-day attendance requirement.

Students who begin in July wouldn’t have to attend the intercession days.

The district is offering the option for this coming year, Wright said, to give parents flexibility with summer plans in light of the short time frame when the new calendar would have to be implemented.

Olanta Elementary School used an extended calendar a few years ago, but has backed off that recently, Wright said.

Phil Brehm said he has a son who would be entering Ronald E. McNair this coming year, but he plans to move his son to a private school.

“I guarantee you this ain’t a proposal — y’all have already got your minds made up,” he said to applause from the crowd.

He said he thinks the blame for problems in the schools goes to teachers and administrators.

“They need to get back to basics and teach (students) that stuff, and all the rest will line up,” he said.

One parent asked Wright why parents only found out about the calendar two days ago, when they received a letter from the district.

Wright said district employees had to analyze a great deal of data before devising the calendar.

She also responded to comments that teachers wouldn’t dissent because they feared for their jobs.

“Nobody’s job is in jeopardy; nothing has been secret,” she said.

The additional days will be funded through federal stimulus money that has been authorized, she said.

The district can’t tell parents what PASS scores are needed for a child to be “exemplary” because the state hasn’t set that requirement, Wright said, adding that district officials have argued it’s unfair that they don’t know what they must accomplish to be removed from the Palmetto Priority program.