I agree that there is not enough local control.

intheloop said: "I think the little amount of time being spent at the school on those make-up days is a waste"
That is exactly why the hours requirement is what should govern, NOT the days.
Let's give the local districts the authority to set local calenders to get the best value for learning opportunities.
I have confidence that our local teachers and administrators and parents can determine what is better for our children in these situations than someone sitting in Madison.

I really don't see the need for us to change the requirments, a lot of thought was put into coming up with those numbers. I would like to have seen a waiver granted but the situation did not fit the criteria. The responsibilty rests on the school districts to get in the day and hour requirments. Yes, this was a unusual winter but irregardless it still is the districts responsibility to plan for such situations. That being said, I think the little amount of time being spent at the school on those make-up days is a waste and don't have a problem with anyone not wanting to send thier children as I will not be either. Would be funny though if the teachers all had pop quizzes those days and had it count as a high percentage of the grade for the quarter with no make-up test, could you see all of us parents that didn't send thier kids freak out then.

I definately agree that we all should contact our legislators to get the law changed to allow for the hours requirement and do away with the days requirement.
If enough lawmakers agree, they can override any VETO Doyle lays on it. Even though Doyle is a problem, it's not just him.

Maybe WEAC should see if they can get a return on all the campaign money they invested in Doyle.

http://gazettextra.com/news/2008/feb/27/... DPI denied the request but Diamond Jim passed on an opportunity to avoid this situation altogether. I had my stories mixed up. Sorry if I offended anyone. I never went to school on Saturdays so I'm not as smart as some folks.

My friend's kid goes to Parker and they are having a hypnotist in an assembly for the two hours in May. Wow! I would absolutely let them stay home...in fact, I would MAKE them stay home.

Why not let the elementary kids stay to 3:00 on the May inservice day - that way they only have to go for a little less time on Saturday. I don't understand the huge discrepancy between elem. and mid/high. Does that mean all the mid/high have to stay until 2:00 too? why? I thought the issue was contact time not work time. A lot more teachers could work that day if they could be home by noon.

RoadKing,
When did "Diamond Jim Doyle" become head of DPI? Maybe you should inform Elizabeth Burmaster of that.
.
In reality, "The Department of Public Instruction denied the request in a letter being sent out this week, DPI spokesman Patrick Gasper said Tuesday."

HEY!! Free babysitting on a Saturday so I can go grocery shopping or go on a lunch date with my husband! Why are we all complaining? And who cares if they watch movies and play games. Do any of you actually KNOW what your kids are doing when they play outside or watch movies at their friends' houses? At least we know this will be quality movies! One more thing, have you seen how many obese children there are these days? Kids playing in the gym isn't really a bad thing.

Diamond Jim Doyle is the one who wouldn't allow a waiver on the two days. He is the leader of this mess regardless of how bad Evret does his job. I haven't seen any ideas that will work for everybody, including my own. Like some people, I believe this will be a big waste of time for the students, teachers and parents. The frustrating reality is spelled out in alot of these comments. That is because there is no good answer. Diamond Jim should've realized that and tried to understand the whole problem instead of just vetoing the waiver. Just think of how much fun we'll have with Diamond Jim working on a federal level once the Democrats take the whitehouse over. Maybe a movie isn't such a bad idea - the kids may actually remember some of that when they get home so it wouldn't be a complete waste of time.

to choose not to actually have class on the makeup days is a cop out by the school system , we send our children to school for an education not a play date, they expect families , to give up their time so they can have a play date at school , what about parent s who have every other weekend vistation with their kids, do you really think a play day at school is worth them missing time with their parents, maybe they should of planned the construction at the school to include any unexpected circumstances, then if they got to start early it would of been a plus

Just put the kids on the short bus. And I am sure that McDonalds will let all of you people make up your 2 hours that you will be missing from work as well.

are they going to run a special bus route to get these kids who usually ride the bus to school and home on these Sat.
or didnt they think of that!!!!????

dj they did they said the grade school has to make up more hours than high school but it doesnt make since unless high school has less hours for the year than grade school.

also what the heck is going to get accolished in 2 hours how stupid.

Does anyone else remember when the teachers all called in sick and the community was livid? Now it sounds like the community will be doing the same thing for their children and no one seems to care. Send your kids to school even if it is for 2hrs. Teach them a lesson.

I don't understand why I have to miss two hours of work for two days so that I can go to school to do some "activity!" I get we missed all those days that we should have been learning, but were not making up days of learning instead we will be playing games. This isn't a matter of our education it's a matter of money.

I think the vote should of been for the parents, now us parents lose money to take off work to get our kids to and from school just for a whole two hrs, while the school board makes money. So now my child make up days, that she had no control over. Whats two hrs going to teach a child, sure they made up the work that they missed so it will be just a play day. So whats the point here people.

and how many kids are gonna go to school on those saturdays? hahahaha not many

After reading some of these posts, I think they should send some of the people posting here to school on those days. Maybe they could have special spelling and grammar classes those days.

caddyshack, yes it says you have two days to make up, however if I am reading the article correctly middle school and high school students only have to meet for two hours each day, not 8 or 16 hours. Hello! I guess I posted this as a suggestion, not to be belittled!

The reason the kids got no respect for adults not only stems from their parent(s) but also the thought instilled in to their heads that if you touch me (spank) i'll turn you in for abuse! this is so stupid. when i was in grade school my parents were on a first name basis with the principal. i got the worst of it when i got home but remember several times the teacher striking out with a woden yard stick. talk about waking me up!! I turn out for the better because of it though. and i don't hold any grudges with the way things were handled back then. everone seems to think they have to be politicaly correct well that is a crock. i'm not saying abuse the kids these days just get their attention and after awhile they might just figure it out that there is a way to respect the elders and teachers. STAY SAFE!!!!
Chuckie

Stewey: What would you suggest a teacher to do when there is limited time and lack of attendance? The grade school children will get something out of this as they haven't been exposed to the screwed up views and irresponsiblity of many adults in here. The middle and high school students that do attend won't give a hoot. What is a teacher supposed to do with a bunch of teenagers who really don't care to be there? I think many of you live in a little glass bubble if you think there is an easy solution. If you are an adult that is over 30 years of age you need to be aware that times are very different. When I went to high school in the late 80's and early 90's we, for the most part, respected our elders. Most chilren listened to their teachers and I can never remember a time when a student called a teacher a name, told them to F-Off etc.... This ufortunately happens daily at the middle and high school levels and sometimes even in elementary school. The children now days are very different than we were, there is no doubt about that. I know, I know parents in here have the perfect children and they are part of the "gifted and talented program" but there are many that are not. Some of the stories that I hear from my wife just astound me. Kids in 6th grade are doing things that most of my peers didn't even do in high school.

I agree with golf1, make the days longer. You will satisfy the requirements and the kids will get something out of it. In the end it doesn't matter what the district does as there will always be unhappy people.

Peechy: Your children may be gifted and talented but your decision to let them skip will not teach them responsiblity. That is far more important than what they might learn in 2 hours of school!

That all being said...Stew what are your suggestions?

Nursee1 - the days can't be made up at the end of the school year because of the construction at the high school and the start of Summer School. Cancelling the May early release doesn't help anything because that day already counts as a full school day.

We were simply told," No sense complaining "! So, these comments that we make, who is really listening, or really caring? We're all fuming about something that probably won't be considered, or changed!! THAT is sad!! We as a community, need to re-evaluate who we put in charge of making these decisions for our children!! I srongly agree with Rocky's statement earlier! Shame on the higher-ups, to whom we've entrusted our childrens well-being! In the end,it's all about money, when it should be about education, and the best interests of our children!! I ask myself who is really benefiting here?! I probably have missed the reasoning as to why the days can't be made up on June 9th, or 10th, or why canceling early release in May is not an option. Please enlighten me, if anyone can! Change and sacrifice is always inevitable in life, and a drastic one such as this,(Saturday schooling), is difficult to explain to a child, no matter what age.It wasn't my choice, nor my child's, to cancel school those snowy days! Nor is it my, or my child's choice, as to the makeup days needed to complete the educational year. It is however, my choice as to who I elect to make these vidal desicions for my child in the future!! I, and hopefully others will be re-thinking!!!!

DJ
I didn't mean anything by posting the line or two stated in the paper, I was only using that as a reference and then giving my belief on why it was. Sorry if you thought anything more.

iteach, thank you for explaining why the elementary schools have more hours to make up! That makes sense.

Trish, I realize that the article says, "The reason elementary students need to be in school longer on those days is that they have more hours to make up." But that statement doesn't reveal the origin of the extra hours. The casual observer might reasonably assume that the same number of days missed would result in the same number of hours missed.

Sorry, this probably has been covered in other articles. In the future I'll try to do more research.

AND elementary students need to make up an additional 12+ hours of teacher-student contact time. On additional calendar days. Those hours can be made up daily. Just like Delavan-Darian. They have shortened their lunch periods daily for the rest of the year. Or go 15 minutes longer each day.

Helllloooo: we have to make up TWO MORE DAYS. Two calendar days. Not 16 hours in one day. TWO days.

Great idea, NWP; however, the whole problem with many Saturday options are things that would adversely affect the studenst: prom, scheduled sporting events, etc. Doubling the hours in one day to meet the two day requirement wouldn't be fair to the kids. Again, like Caddy said, this is the brainchild of Dr. Evert. It seems the concern to pacify the DPI is more important than meeting the needs of the students.

Why don't you run both days on the same day. If students only need to go 2 hours, then do the next two following. This would save on utilities, bus service, daycare for teachers and disrupting schedules and activities parents have on the weekend with their families.

VETO

Just remember, people, this entire Saturday plan is the sole brainchild of Dr. Evert. The JEA and teachers had NOTHING to do with it, thank you very much.

No, Nina, that doesn't surprise me at all. All my emails/calls to Mr. Evert have gone unanswered for 2 years now.
Golf1, Thank you for clarifying that for all of us. I understand your position on teaching new material only to have to teach it again for the kids that don't show up. Like I told Nina before, I hope you enjoy the smaller class size. My kids will be attendance on both days.

tribetrin, They did have their fair share of ribbing this evening. They are dealing with it just fine. They understand they live in Wisconsin and with such a wonderful and unusual year of snow, they need to make up the time. We had lots of fun on the snow days! I still think that all the schools should attend the same hours, but oh well.

golf1: Thank you for stating many teachers' positions (including my own) so clearly and succinctly. I have attempted to contact Dr. Evert with suggestions for these days, none of which looked anything like a two hour student contact day, and have never heard back from him...no surprise, I guess.

There are Craig tennis meets scheduled for 9 am on both of those saturdays. Yessss.

That's only fair.

Yes, they sure can. And while they have worked very hard for our best interest, I hope they handle the decision making in this matter in a democratic way by consulting with the JEA members before accepting or declining any offer by the JSD.

JEA can still VETO it.

Stewy - clearly you don't teach. Clearly you don't have any clue how teachers feel in this issue. Let me give you some information that might clear things up...some teachers do not want a bogus 2 hour work day simply to satisfy the DPI and save the district a cubic ton of money. If make-up days are so important, shouldn't they mean something? Sadly, I may only be given 2 hours, of which I may see MY students for 30 minutes, to make up a 45 minute class period. Also, I will likely only have a third to maybe a half of my kids in attendance that day. So, what do you propose? Movie? Or teach a valuable 45 minute lesson in 30 minutes that I will end up re-teaching to those who didn't come Saturday when they show up on Monday? Quite frankly, I would prefer to work a standard 8 hour day...too bad the district probably doesn't want to have to pay the maintenance staff and cooks overtime to grant that. Oh, and by the way, I believe it stated the teachers will teach from 8-10, but stay at school until 2:30. What is the point of that? Isn’t this about the valuable education the kids need to make up? Oh, and guess what? Should any teacher be unable to make it that day because of prior commitments (weddings, no daycare, etc.) they need to burn a full personal day - not just 2 hours. Does that help, Stew?

husbandofmath says "government to be considerate and efficient with your money".
Now that is defintely one phrase I thought I would never read in my lifetime...

bosslady96 WAKE UP!! THEY NEED TO MAKE UP DAYS!!! NOT HOURS WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???? BOONER YES YOU HAVE IT WRITE!!!

You parents are something else. Next you'll want the government to be considerate and efficient with your money. Just because your paying doesn't mean you should have any say in what goes on or that you should expect it to be reasonable.

Do you think the founding fathers would have complained? They would have just sucked it up and dealt with what King George was telling them to do.

How convenient to have a two hour school day on a Saturday. Just about the length of a movie.

My children are also at two different levels. But instead of complaining about all this, they are ok with it. They enjoy school and are looking forward to this as "something to tell their grandchildren about". Yes, these kids are our future. Is this how we want them to learn how to make change and encourage change? Monroe and Marshall will see my kids those Saturdays--no questions asked.

You parents are something else. You would complain if your precious little kids were served a steak dinner on a silver platter. Wake up and start setting an example for your kids.

It's just amazing the number of people who spout off in these posts without bothering to even read the whole story or the previous posts.
They keep asking the same questions over and over, even though the answer is two posts below.

In any environment there are decisions made every day, some you do not like, others you do. The decision was made, deal with it.

Some folks would complain if they were hung with a new rope!

Why do we need to have two 2 hour days? Why can't we do one 4 hour day? Don't you think alot more will get accomplished in 4 hours?

School Board member Tim Cullen is the only one making sense on this whole issue: The two-hour plan is senseless.

curlrock - it has been explained over and over again in various articles on gazettextra.com why the time couldn't be made up by adding minutes to existing days or making up 2 days in 1. Simply put, the Department of Public Instruction said no. They must make up two individual days. Period.

The elementary students begin their days later and end them earlier than the middle-high schools. Therefore, the middle-high schools are meeting the state contact minutes requirement, but not the days. Sounds to me like the elementaries are not meeting days or minutes, without the longer make-up days.

sure they are peechy.

Is Mr. Evert working this day? Are the offices going to be opened? If they aren't working my children will be sleeping. Before anybody starts worrying about there educational needs all three are in the talented and gifted program.

Changing weekend plans out of town so my children can go to two hours of school makes me a responsible parent? Your telling me there was no way to schedule this limited makeup time in one day. Give me a break.

sportschick... In response to your question: My children attend Milton School District. They had to give up a previously planned day off during Parent-Teacher Conferences. While Janesville was off on a Friday in February, Milton Students were in school. They also have to stay in school a day longer before summer break starts. Maybe you'd rather give up a day of your Spring Break instead? A couple hours on a Saturday morning aren't going to cripple anyone. In my opinion, any parent that doesn't require their child to attend on Saturday would be promoting irresponsibility.

seems like most parents are just coming up with excuses as to y their kids are not going to attend. no good reasons just excuses. if u had a job and u were expected to work on saturday u had better be there or risk losing your job.

etmom, I love your idea!
I have a problem with the middle/high being different than the elementary. I have children at both levels and I am sure that is going to seem really unfair to the younger one while my older one will probably love tormenting them about it.
I still don't understand why so many people have a problem with the teachers treating these days like a fun day. They can find a way, like etmom suggested, that could be fun and educational! As I said before, it could be a bonding time for the teachers and their students. I am sure with the large class sizes,limited resources, etc. that the teachers would enjoy a break too!
As far as pie throwing at the administration, I'd love to get in on that one! I think it is only fair that Mr. Evert is required to spend time at all the schools on those days. Maybe he can volunteer for the pie throwing?

I have been a strong proponent of making sure my kids attend these make-up days (as any reading in these comments can tell you), but I have to say I am gravely disappointed with the "plan" that Dr. Everet has put forward. 2 hour "days" at the High School? THAT is a joke. It is clear that the district has no interest in truly giving students a real chance to make up the opportunites lost. They are just trying to satisfy the letter of the law and doing the bare miminum to comply. With the administration acting this way, is it any wonder that we see the same from so many young poeple these days? This is a horrible example to the kids. SHAME on them for this weak, worthless solution.

Expecting families to change whole day or weekend plans for two hours of school on two seperate weekends is laughable. I'm assuming the district realizes this and is simply unable to come out and say it as they are trying to follow state mandates.

etmom, I like the way you think! I like the sound of it. The pie throwing would be a great way to get kids exited about the day. Of course the administration would need a sense of humor to allow such a plan to go through. From what I've seen, they are sorely lacking in that department.

Hate to say it but you will be lucky to have 30% actually attend school on a Saturday. No one will waste time sending their kids especially older kids. So it will be a big waste of time.

Dr. Evert had other options he could have gone with, yet ignored all suggestions given to him. The JEA will probably vote for this proposal so it can help the district out. From what I hear the fine would be a hefty one.

They should make it a mind & muscle day with fun activities with an educational twist. Relays and brain teezers. Teachers would be at different stations assigning the next challenge. The winning class gets to throw pies at the principal and the superintendent.

Why is it the teachers can make up a day by adding hours to other days but the kids have to go to school on Saturdays to make up their time? The DPI is really messed up if they require both a number of hours and number of days for student/teacher contact. It should be one or the other. If I am not mistaken, our kids and teachers have all met the hours requirement. Maybe the DPI needs to get off its high horse and realize we all live in Wisconsin and we do at times have winters that are a bit more challenging than others. Give us a break!

Why do no other school districts around the area have to face this? I don't understand why no one else has to make up days on Saturdays in the area except the Janesville School District...?

The reason elementary students need to be in school longer on those days is that they have more hours to make up, said Steve Johnson, director of human and administrative resources.
That is stated in the article.
I am guessing that because there are different limits set for each level of school, that the elementary students need more hours of "contact" time with the teachers. I know there was a gazette article that did have the number of hours needed at each level a while back and I believe the elementary number was higher.
The number of hours are set by the DPI and must be meet or the district could lose funding or be fined.

I wish this article would have explained why the elementary schools have more hours to make up. Does anyone else know?