After two years of pandemic-caused turmoil, the Yakima School District has decided that change isn’t always for the better.
The school board approved a modified school calendar last week that looks … well, pretty much like what school calendars have looked like for decades.
So much for trying to keep kids learning year-round and not losing ground by laying off their studies for a couple of months in the summer.
It might’ve been a good idea on paper, but the problem was that nobody was buying into it. Not students, not parents, not teachers.
Nobody wanted to add more stress for kids who’ve endured off-and-on bouts of remote learning since 2020, and nobody wanted to give up their summer vacations.
Perhaps cognizant of the shrieking rebellions over vaccination and mask requirements that have roiled school districts across the country, the school board’s Tuesday vote was unanimous. Make a few slight tweaks in the calendar, but leave most of it alone. Everybody goes home happy.
And maybe that’s the right answer. At least for now.
Modified calendars have been a hot topic across the state recently. Many experts believe year-round classes are a good way to help students who’ve fallen behind during the pandemic catch up.
And some have lost significant ground. A Stanford University study released last year found that most second- and third-graders are about 30% behind in reading since the start of the pandemic. It’s been hardest on low-income students because, among other things, they’re less likely to have reliable internet access.
Numbers like that are what prompted Yakima’s school board to set up a committee to study the idea of modifying the local calendar in the first place.
The committee — which included various district employees and representatives of the teachers union — presented its report last month. But the committee recommended few changes to the calendar, and board members didn’t think that went far enough.
After seeking more opinions, however — from people around the community, students, families and district staffers — the board apparently saw the futility of pushing for any sweeping changes at the moment.
The board left the door open and could revisit the issue down the road. But we’re skeptical that anybody will change their mind anytime soon.
Eisenhower High School teacher Frances Guerrero, who was on the calendar committee, summed it up pretty well:
“The staff of this district is not going to support any calendar that the community has not already bought into,” she told the board last week. “So if you are wanting to go in a particular direction because you believe that that is going to benefit our students, then you absolutely, 100% have to get the community on board and informed.”
Meantime, it seems the board has made the best decision it could.
The choice might not do much to improve student achievement, but it seems to accurately reflect the wishes of the board’s constituents.
"Opinion" - Google News
February 20, 2022 at 04:00PM
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Opinion: School calendars aren't changing in Yakima - Yakima Herald-Republic
"Opinion" - Google News
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