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Show School district may extend program One negative statement was that u ,a Jiaht lose his friends if he wherever possible. rhi,dren Other concerns were that ch Wren would not have the vane ty of recreation programs available during winter months that they do ,n the summer when cities sponsor many classes and activ.Ues; and Hal there would be an increased cost of child care for parents. Some teachers expressed the concern they could no longer pursue college during the summer for additional training. Mr Page said no teacher will be forced to teach on the extended year plan ,f he or she doesn't want to. Of his 28 teachers, only two asked to transfer to another school where the traditional nine-month year is in operation - and, he said, he has heard from 16 teachers in. other schools who would like to transfer in because of the challenge offered. Five families said they intend to move their children to another school if the extended year is implemented, im-plemented, - but parents of 150 children outside of his school boundaries have contacted him saying they would like to participate par-ticipate in the program. Although it is hard to project exactly what effect the program would have on student perfn in the classroom, the princi, the change is expected tosti emphasis on student need than class need and to m professional skills. a Student retention is also to increase and material time to decrease. 's Although balancing the would be difficult, Mr. paKe ( already deals with that Jf' consulting parents and about student needs t assigning them to a classroom' "That's going to be a del process and balance is them C the game," Mr. Page tolda L members. Mt' He noted at Westridge ScW ! Provo - where year-round ! was begun this year - parent, ' asked to give their prefer tracks, listing fist, second and i!' ' choice. Eighty-five percent o r parents received the track? : requested with 15 percent recei their second option. No one . ' forced to accept their third ret V If the program is accepted!!; board, it will begin August in : said. . J Parent and community k regarding the proposal will t heard at the Feb. 26 public ! formation meeting of the I board, scheduled for Ger Elementary School in Orem ji proposal will be voted on at I I regular business meeting 0 k 'r group on March 12. ' i Students attending the Alpine School District's Orchard Elementary School in Orem may pioneer a new extended year program this fall, if members of the board of education give their approval ap-proval at their March 12 business meeting. Principal Brian Page of Orchard Elementary outlined the proposed program for board members at their February meeting. Saying he has been studying the feasibility of the program since November, Mr. Page said he feels he has the support of the majority of parents and teachers who would be involved, and has received a $36,000 research grant to implement it. The plan differs from year-round ' school in that the entire school is I closed during the month of July, he said. Students would attend school I for 11 months, taking part in one of I five proposed rotating tracks. Under the program, Mr. Page said the school could accommodate 25 percent more students than at I present, could cut the number of I teachers needed at the school next I year from 35 to 28, and could lower I the class size to meet the district I average without having to build new schools or classrooms. In answer to a question from I board members about cost of utilities, Mr. Page said, "There is a slight increase in utility costs but it is offset by salary savings." He explained by lowering the number of teachers, savings would be made in benefits and salaries - I even though the participating teachers would be paid more for I teaching a longer school year. J Mr. Page said building a new I school or adding portable (classrooms at the present facilities -- two alternatives to handle the j increased number of students ex- Ipected at the school - would be more expensive. He said portable units will be needed next fall if the 1 program is not put into effect. Under the proposed extended I school plan, students would attend j school for approximately 60 days and be off for 15 days, unlike traditional year-round school plans where students are in school for 45 days and off for 15 days. Mr Page said an advisory council working with him has developed five tracks from which parents could choose. Two of the tracks would give the students seven weeks off in the summer with the other tracks giving longer winter breaks during the Christmas holidays. . One track would start late in the year to accomodate move-ins and transfer students, Mr. Page said, noting many new students traditionally move into the school s boundaries during the first month of school This means teachers have to spend days orienting the students to school programs. Under the plan, Orchard could enroll 1,068 students instead of its current 940. Class size would be 27.8 instead of the present 30.3. Mr. Page said a questionnaire had been sent to parents regarding the proposal. About 50 percent of the parents returned the questionnaire, with 44 percent of these making comments at the bottom. Twice as many replied favorably as those who expressed concerns. In most cases, he said, the concerns con-cerns were caused by misunderstanding misun-derstanding the proposal and were alleviated when it was explained to them. Some of the positive comments were that the flexible school calendar would give parents more control of their lifestyle and vacations, with scattered vacation periods giving them scheduling options and time to assist children with their school work. Some parents requested their children be put on different tracks for this reason. Parents also felt the longer school year would allow children to make up days lost to illness by possibly attending another track during vacation time in the case of several days being missed. |