Strong Reaction to Proposed ‘Delayed Start’

The ‘delayed start’ program might work well at the high school, but Marion School Committee members were not as receptive toward bringing delayed start to Sippican School.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Elise Frangos on February 5 proposed delayed start at Sippican as a way to effectively and economically deliver professional development to its teachers, without having to cram it all into the two existing PD days or paying extra for outside time because of contractual requirements.

According to Frangos, the proposal formed by the TLC subgroup on professional development would save the districts “thousands upon thousands of dollars” by building PD time into the school day. She said the current method of extending the day for teachers to attend PD could cost around $3,000 extra to meet contractual agreements with teachers.

The TLC subgroup consists of Center School Principal Rose Bowman, ORRJHS Principal Kevin Brogioli, ORRHS Principal Mike Devoll, RMS Principal Derek Medeiros, Sippican School Principal Lyn Rivet, and Frangos.

Frangos added that delayed start, which would require teachers to attend school at the same time but have students arrive two hours later in the morning, would provide for more valuable PD and teacher interaction time to supplement the gaps in between currently scheduled PD dates that are months apart.

“We feel it’s money well spent, but when we drop off a cliff…” said Frangos, “What happens is we have this unfolding of great strategy and wisdom…” But, what educators need, added Frangos, is more time to digest the material and more cohesiveness in between PD days.

As a way to have less of an impact on families on the eight proposed delayed start dates, Frangos suggested low-cost morning activities for students arriving at the regular start time or a “morning daycare” could be introduced.

School Committee member Christine Marcolini identified the impact delayed start would have on families as her main concern.

Older students are more independent, said Marcolini. “My concern is that you are going to have a lot of elementary students who are going to need to come to school [at the regular time],” said Marcolini.

Marcolini asked how parents who have to work would manage on delayed start days, asking if they would need to rely on the Recreation Department or the YMCA program.

“That’s an expense that we’ll be putting on our families. I have a concern about that,” Marcolini said.

School Committee Chairman Joseph Scott pointed out that delayed start would provide for 16 more hours of PD during the school year, but that would mean 16 hours of missed instructional time for students – something else Marcolini did not support, although she expressed support for the high school program. High school students can take care of themselves, but younger students have higher needs, she stated.

Last year, the district moved away from early dismissal half-days to provide for more weeks of uninterrupted learning.

Scott acknowledged that Frangos’ proposal was only a draft, but said eight delayed start days was just too much. The committee then wondered what a fair balance would look like.

Marcolini suggested looking at staff meeting as a way to provide further PD, utilizing the ORR School District’s Google Docs program as an efficient way to disseminate information while using “pockets of time creatively.”

Rivet told the committee that staff meetings occur once a month for one hour, as per teacher contracts, and the time is devoted to social/emotional PD.

Marcolini suggested polling parents to see if they would support the proposed delayed start program.

“A 10:30 start, in my world, would be an absolute nightmare,” said Marcolini, as a parent, calling it “a tough sell for the community.”

Also during the meeting, Superintendent Doug White briefed the committee on the status of the fiscal year 2016 school budget, providing a level-funded budget and a second draft budget that would increase slightly to make the assistant principal a full-time position and reinstate the enrichment position from a .5 position to a 1.0.

The second draft budget shows a $166,000, or three-percent, increase from FY15. The level-funded budget draft proposes a $132,000, or 2.4-percent, increase overall.

“I think we’re covered very well no matter what happens,” said Scott regarding the response from the Marion Finance Committee. “I think it’s probably one of the easiest budgets we’ve ever had.”

The public hearing and presentation of the FY16 school budget to the public will be at the next scheduled Marion School Committee meeting on March 4 at 6:30 pm at the Marion Town House.

*During the Rochester School Committee meeting on February 5, Frangos introduced a new draft to her PD proposal, suggesting reinstating four half-days that were eliminated last year from the school calendar. The Rochester School Committee did not react with strong opposition to the proposal as did Marion toward delayed start.

By Jean Perry

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