Who controls school scheduling? Many would think that with us being in the technology era, school District leaders across the state would be able to collaborate more effectively around school scheduling. Take this real life scenario for example. Mrs. Baker works in Clayton County and her husband works in Alabama. They live in Douglas County and their children go to Fulton County schools which is a half way point between home and work for Mrs. Baker. While the youngest child goes to the school she teaches at the other children are in Douglas County schools. Not only does scheduling conflicts create headaches for parents, but Educators who have children in different systems are placed in tight situations too.
Scheduling may seem small to school districts but it’s a huge thing for faculty, staff and parents. Especially those who have children in various schools and school Districts.
Just recently, school Districts across our state were out for fall break. The flexibility of school Districts to choose their days out is great, but doesn’t correlate with those who have children in various schools and school Districts. Of course, in an ideal world, all Georgia counties would let out of school at or around the same time so that families and business could prepare accordingly.
What can we do to help with disconnection of system wide planning in Georgia:
- Involved National PTA/PTSA or PTO representatives to serve on school calendar planning teams
- Have quarterly regional conference calls with school district scheduler/staff to review calendar dates
- Set standard times for breaks i.e. Winter Break, Spring Break, Summer Break and Fall Break are normally centered around national holidays
- Survey businesses to see the effects of employees having to take off due to school scheduling
Jason has worked in education for over 15 years as a teacher, blogger and community advocate. He speaks and writes primarily about the need to improve education for Black boys, particularly increasing the number of Black male educators in schools. In addition to blogging here at EdLanta, Jason is also a featured writer at Education Post.