Parents object to school schedule

A group of middle school parents plans to speak in opposition to the new middle school schedule next Tuesday at the Moorpark Unified School District board meeting.

A one-day-a-week late start was implemented at the beginning of this school year to accommodate beforeschool teacher collaborative sessions. On Thursdays at Chaparral and Fridays at Mesa Verde, school begins an hour later than usual- at 10 a.m. instead of at 9 a.m.

The change in scheduling is a hardship for working families, especially those who have children attending different schools, according to concerned parents who've put together a document containing comments, letters, articles and a copy of a signed petition opposing the late start schedule.

About 250 people signed the petition, which also indicated most parents would prefer an early release to accommodate the teacher sessions.

"No parent is against the concept of collaboration, but as a working parent it's extremely difficult to have kids start at 10 a.m.," said Judith Murphy, who has two sons attending Mesa Verde Middle School.

One parent said she's in jeopardy of losing her job because she's late dropping off her children every Friday. Another said she has to take Fridays off to accommodate the new schedule.

Parents feel ignored

Parents have already discussed their concerns with district Superintendent Ellen Smith and the principals of the two middle schools, but they feel ignored.

According to Janene Ustach, at a third meeting with school officials, parents came armed with 16 pages of petitions, but the superintendent "simply pushed the petitions aside and said she still was not hearing from enough parents to believe it was a concern she needed to vigorously address."

The parents were also told that Moorpark teachers have a contract for the new schedule that cannot be changed now.

Parents said they want school trustees to be aware of their concerns.

The superintendent and both middle school leaders are working to alleviate some of the problems that parents brought up, said Anna Merriman, district assistant superintendent of curriculum.

School sites offer activities to keep the students engaged before school starts, she said, enabling parents to maintain a regular work routine despite the schedule change.

School staff also makes sure that students stay on campus once they arrive.

"We're not asking parents to do anything different," said Merriman.

Some parents don't believe the programs are adequate or attractive to students.

"It's just glorified babysitting," Murphy said.

Instead of attending mandatory study hall before school, students prefer to congregate at Miller Park, in a nearby church parking lot or at shopping centers where they aren't supervised, said Linda Collins, mother of two. Kids also hang out in groups at homes where no adults are present.

"This is a recipe for disaster," Collins said.

Letting teenagers out of school earlier in the afternoon is more likely to cause problems, said Merriman, indicating more petty crime occurs when high school and middle school students are out and about in the afternoon.

According to Merriman, the collaborative schedule has been a topic of discussion with Parent Teacher Associations and school sites since last year.

In a letter to parents, Smith said the change was implemented because teachers wanted a regularly scheduled time to share student achievement data and develop instructional methods to raise the bar and eliminate the academic achievement gaps that still exist.

The district is evaluating the effectiveness of collaboration and will include parent feedback in the process.

"We are continuing to explore possible variations for the start and end times that may address the concerns that some of the parents have brought forward," Smith said.

Benefits of collaboration

The main purpose of collaboration is to identify students who need support and provide a uniform response to address the deficiencies.

"Ultimately all children can learn and all children are going to learn depending on what we do. We're in charge of their learning," said Mesa Verde Principal Kelli Hays.

Research overwhelmingly supports collaboration for teachers, Merriman said.

"We want our teachers together to talk about learning every single week."

Teachers use collaborative time to work with their colleagues in a structured environment, said Chaparral Principal Creig Nicks. Instructors who teach the same subjects can create lessons and assessments together, he said. They also learn to analyze student assessment data and modify their instruction based on individual needs.

If students don't perform at a proficient level on a portion of an assessment, the teachers can plan ways to reteach that topic in a future lesson, Nicks said.

Students who meet or exceed proficiency will likewise benefit, as teachers will collaboratively plan enriched lessons to challenge these pupils.

"Ultimately, collaboration enables our teachers to be more responsive to the academic needs of their individual students," Nicks said.

Effective schools are always part of a collaborative community, said Hays during a recent school board presentation.

"Anything and everything that goes on in the classroom is something to talk about."