Jill Thompson, Austin

Letter to the Editor

I’m writing this letter in response to the opinions expressed by Arnold Lang regarding the 45/15 proposed school schedule for Sumner Elementary in Austin. As Mr. Lang stated, our kids’ education should focus on quality, not quantity. Ironically, the 45/15 schedule does just that. The new schedule would carry with it the same amount of days and hours of education and instruction. In addition, it also offers our students options for instruction during the 15 days “off” schedule. This schedule change may offer the best opportunity for success in the classroom with a schedule that allows for instruction modification for, in particular, those kids who are struggling, or the “lowest hanging apples off the tree” as Mr. Arnold put it. Currently, those kids are just hanging on.

I want to caution people against defaming the quality of instruction our children at Sumner are getting from their teachers and staff. I believe these are some of the best teachers and most supportive staff I have had the opportunity of knowing. That said, I do believe that change is needed to help our kids succeed. However, I don’t believe that the change needed is within the faculty/staff. The change needs to come from how our kids are learning. If we as parents don’t support the change to the 45/15 calendar year, we are saying that doing nothing to improve our children’s chance for success in school is better than not trying at all. As a result, Sumner Elementary may be facing the loss of some incredibly dedicated faculty/staff members which I believe will be very detrimental. The issue we have at Sumner is NOT in the quality of education, but rather in the system or planning in which education is presented to our children, in particular, those children who are not meeting passing grade standards.

In regards to the question as to why the proposed change can’t affect every school in the district, I think it’s important to point out that in order for a school to run on such a schedule there has to be some sort of cooling system installed into the buildings for comfort in the summer months. Sumner has the funding for that right now and other schools do not. It is as simple as that. If there is someone who is able to donate the funds to fulfill that need, then perhaps the proposed schedule could also be discussed for that location. In addition, as with any form of change, it is appropriate to be able to see the impact it has made on one area first, before influencing the entire group of subjects.

This schedule will not be easy for some families. Will there be scheduling conflicts? Yes. Will there be frustration with daycare? Yes. Will there be conflict with family vacations? Yes. Can these issues be resolved? Yes.