Allentown School District Superintendent Cutting 1 Hr. and 45 Minutes from High School Class Day

[JPZenger]

The latest proposal from the Allentown School District Superintendent is to reduce the school day for 10th, 11th and 12th graders by 1 hour and 45 minutes each day.

Here is an excerpt from the "Pathways to Success: Highlights" posted on the ASD website today:

"Ninth grade students will have seven periods per day, attending from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. All other students will have six periods per day, attending from either 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. OR from 9:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. "

There is a school board meeting on the curriculum cuts and changes on Thursday evening at 7:30 pm at S Mountain Middle School. The website says they will not post the proposed new Program of Studies (which lists the cuts) until AFTER school board approves it Thursday night.

Here is the link:

http://www.allentownsd.org/237120328172241330/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=56971&237120328172241330Nav=|&NodeID=570

[Divernan]

1. Six periods a day, less lunch & Phys Ed. equals 4 periods a day!

Close the lunch room and drop the Phys Ed program. The kids can brown bag it to one of their remaining classes. And send those kids to work for Big Oil to keep in shape. Corbett laughs at radioactive waste water and benzene fumes! Foreign languages? Not necessary for minimum wage jobs. Drop Home Ec and Shop and substitute Janitoring I. Science classes? They lead to godless atheism.

Seriously, I know the school districts will be forced into draconian cuts by Corbett's budget, and I empathize with them. Pennsylvania's large elderly population, many of whom can't afford their own health care/medications, is unlikely to approve property tax increases. But we see how this will push any parents who can afford it into sending their kids to private/charter schools and leaving the poorer kids with a sub-sub-standard excuse for an education.

I think the school districts would better serve the education of Pennsylvania's kids in this dire economic time by switching to year round education and dropping the athletic programs. Better a decent education in 3 years than a partial education in four years.

[JPZenger]

2. No one knew about this until yesterday

Not even the teachers knew anything about this proposal to shorten the school day until it was posted on the website yesterday. Today, the topic was scrubbed from the school district website, but without letting people know whether the plan is still in place or not. Instead, it doesn't say anything about high school hours.

[howaboutme]

3. We should be adding 2 months to the school year,

not reducing the school day. The only way to becoming more competitive is by becoming more educated and that requires students to work harder.

[JPZenger]

4. Revision

In response to an uproar, the Superintendent said he didn't mean to say what was written on the district website. Instead, they are now saying everyone will be in school during regular times, but that core classes will start 1 hour and 45 minutes later. The initial time is supposed to be used for dual enrollment, distance learning, activities, advising, etc. More details are actively awaited by many.