Do Five Days Really Matter?

The Senate recently passed a law that would increase the number of required instructional days from 180 to 185.  This change in the school calendar would reduce the number of teacher workdays and applies to the 2011-2012 school year.   The purpose behind this law is so that students can better compete with those from other countries, such as China, who spend 200 or more days a year in school.

This change impacts all facets of a school system, from staff development availability to additional transportation costs.  By increasing the school calendar to 185 days, five teacher workdays would be eliminated.  Teacher workdays are critical and allow teachers to collaborate with others, grade papers, prepare lessons, and attend staff development sessions.  Beginning the 2012-2013 school year, all schools in North Carolina will be following the Common Core Standards and staff development is necessary during the school year to ensure that educators understand the new standards and are prepared for the change.  If teacher workdays are eliminated, how are teachers going to be able to effectively plan and teach the students of North Carolina?  Students who already lag behind other states in reading, writing, math, and science.  Teachers are already asked to do so much with so little and eliminating five teacher workdays would be kicking them while they are already down.

Increasing the number of instructional days also makes an enormous impact on the budgets of each school system.  In Guilford County alone, it would cost an additional $924,000 to transport students for an additional week of school.  And in Randolph County, it would cost an additional $125,000 to transport students.  These figures do not take into account the daily cost to provide lunch and breakfast to the students.  Due to the conditions of the current state budget, each school system has already had to eliminate teacher and teacher assistant positions and cut back on programs and resources that are available to students.  If the systems cannot afford to pay their teachers and staff how are they going to afford additional costs that the extra five school days will incur? 

All 115 of the school districts across the state have already set their calendars for the upcoming school year and have planned staff development on teacher workdays.  Because of this, school systems are allowed to apply for a waiver for the five additional instructional days.  The waiver process requires school systems to submit a plan to use the five workdays for staff development on the new essential standards and Common Core standards.

Obviously, the powers that be did not take into consideration how increasing the school year would affect each school system.  One would think that research would be done prior to passing this law and teachers and school superintendents would be asked their opinions.  But one has to remember that those who make the laws that impact education have probably not stepped back into a classroom since the day they graduated.