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New calendar raises concerns at elementary schools

Back-to-back holidays next spring may mean students have to make up for lost time

Parents at Myrtle Philip and Spring Creek elementary schools are working furiously to survey how families feel about having two weeks vacation next Easter.

The move follows the adoption this week by the school board of a calendar for 2005 that runs the spring break and Easter holidays together. Normally the two holidays are separated by a number of school days. But this year they are separated by just three school days.

"The concern that I have is that… there may be a number of families that will be tempted to take some kind of vacation over those days," said school superintendent Dr. Rick Erickson.

"If that was true and the group was significant then that would disrupt continuity of instruction for those who would be remaining."

In order to take those three days off extra minutes must be added to every other school day of the year.

"Spring Creek parents are absolutely opposed to adding an additional five minutes to the school day to take these three days off," said Parent Advisory Council chair Barb Leigh.

"(The school board) thought that there would be lots of parents who would take the three days off and just have the two weeks off. "But I really don’t think they took into consideration what happens in Whistler. For us it is the busiest time of the year and few parents are able to take time off. I don’t think they have a real grasp on what this means for the community."

Leigh is also concerned that adding minutes to each school day will not give kids the same value educationally as spending the day in school.

She is not alone.

"The first concern that parents seem to have is the loss of teaching time and school days," said Myrtle Philip PAC chair Cathy Jewett.

"We have heard from teachers how difficult it is to fit the curriculum into the time available now."

Next year there will be 181 instructional days in the district. North Vancouver has also adopted the same calendar but other school districts, such as Vancouver, have not.

Erickson agrees that adding minutes on may not be as effective educationally but, he said: "My concern in this case is continuity and the disruption of instruction should we have kids away on those days.

"And the recommendation is for this coming year only."

It’s likely parents will be asked to fill in a survey on the issue in the coming days. The results will be passed on to school principals who will then meet with other stakeholders, such as staff. A final recommendation must be sent on to the school board by June 14.

It is up to the board to make the final decision on the calendar at a special meeting in August.

"We don’t have much time so it is very important that as many parents as possible let us know what they think as soon as possible," said Jewett.

It’s unlikely the board will adopt a new calendar if there are any cost implications, such as additional bussing costs. And all three schools in the community will have to agree to the same calendar.

If the calendar remains unchanged Jewett sees the issue very much as a community concern.

"We are going to have to go to the community to help us with this," she said.

"Not only are we going to need childcare for the younger kids but the kids that aren’t interested in going to childcare, we are going to have to get some activities for them so that they aren’t just hanging around.

"We have to think of the numbers. We are talking about almost 600 elementary-aged children, not to mention the high school kids."

This is not the first time the calendar has been a thorny issue for Whistler, nor is it likely it will be the last. That’s why Leigh is hoping that future discussions will be carried out earlier.

"What we would like to see is some discussions in February about what they are thinking so that this doesn’t happen," she said.

Leigh would like to see a survey on the whole calendar issue this fall.

"Whistler might be a community that would embrace year round schooling just because of the dynamics of the community and we need time off when the rest of the world is working," she said.

"That concept was put on hold by the board last year but that is something I would like to pursue and see how many parents are for that. It is a changing world out there."

Whistler Secondary parents endorsed the board’s calendar at their last PAC meeting. For many of the students it is a good time to get work experience and earn some money, and most youth at high school don’t need childcare.

Meanwhile the majority of District PAC representatives endorsed the trickle down plan to access the $250,000 recently donated to the board for new technology by the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation. The money can only be accessed by PAC’s providing matching funds.

The trickle down plan, would see the money go to the schools which need it most – the high schools.

The best computers from the high schools would then be refurbished and given to elementary schools.

All three Whistler schools voted for this option.

The number of students at the facility determines the most a school can claim in matching funds.

"We are impressed by the decision because it is harder to take the collective view than your home school view and the more challenging one," said Erickson of the school board.

"We are pleased with the level of support because certainly it is at the secondary level where the greatest need is."

Jewett, who is also Myrtle Philip’s DPAC representative, said most voted in favour of the trickle down because, "it is a good thing to do from a community standpoint."

"However, there are concerns about schools that are unable to chip in and just what the school board has planned as far as looking for other funding."

Jewett said there are also concerns about what will happen if one school can’t raise their portion of the money.

"There are a lot of questions still to be answered but hopefully we can dig in to it this fall and get going," she said.

"To a certain extent we have to just put our faith into the school board and hope for the best. It is a grand experiment.

"Maybe we won’t be getting the best value within our school but hopefully we will be getting good value for our community."