Seven-period school day plan comes under fire

This story has been edited to correct the spelling of parent Becky Stull's and Micah Janzow's names.

The mood was tense at the Cape Girardeau School Board's regular meeting Monday, as nearly 40 people spoke their opinions on moving the district from an eight-period to a seven-period school day.

Of top concern to many students who addressed the board was the loss of opportunities to take electives.

Ryan May, a 2015 Central High School graduate, said he chose Cape Girardeau over Jackson after leaving Nell Holcomb School because of what he saw as a greater opportunity to take advanced-placement and dual-credit courses.

"I was able to walk in with 17 credit hours and saved a lot" in terms of paying for college, May said.

May also spoke of the fine-arts electives he was able to take.

"I became really involved in the arts. I was in choir. I was involved in a lot of the productions at Central; I am actually studying to be a theater teacher. So that is something that I found through the electives that I was able to take with the eight-hour schedule," he said.

Student Riley Knight offered the 1:1 computer laptop initiative as an example of what she said is a rushed decision.

"The decision to place tablets into our hands was rushed," Knight said. "We got them in the middle of the year. Teachers received basically no training. The tablets were not integrated properly, and therefore I can testify that the amount of actual learning time and material covered diminished significantly. This is the danger of hurrying to make sure the schedule is ready by January. ..."

Parent Becky Stull questioned whether the district had considered other options.

"Have other alternatives been given any research, such as a block schedule?" she asked. She said her research showed districts with such scheduling had experienced a decrease in their dropout rates and an increase in the number of students who go on to continue their education.

Several teachers from the Cape Girardeau School District also addressed the board. Their concerns about the proposed scheduling ranged from fewer available hours for electives to Missouri State High School Activities Association requirements for student athletes to teacher prep time.

Science teacher and Central graduate Micah Janzow said his son, a student in the district, has been excited to learn in his language and information-technology classes.

"So I'm speaking as a parent right now. And to take away those opportunities to balance an operational budget is despicable and atrocious," he said. "And whoever came up with it ought to be ashamed of themselves."

More than one person brought up the fact the district's graduation rate has increased since the district moved from the seven-period day to the eight-period day in 2008.

History teacher Andy Tillman suggested the district should learn from the past and not be so quick to head back to the seven-period day.

Because of the number of people who requested to speak, a three-minute time limit per person was set.

Robin Kralemann, kindergarten teacher at Clippard Elementary School, pointed out the prep and collaboration time in the elementary schools was quite a bit less than in the higher grades.

Kraleman said teachers at Clippard get 300 minutes of planning time per week, compared to the 420 minutes teachers get at the secondary level.

She said that averages out to 9.8 school days the teachers at the secondary level get for plan time and collaboration.

"The teachers at Clippard Elementary are asking for equality by increasing our plan and collaboration time," Kraleman said. "Based upon the majority of teachers at Clippard, of whom I am representing, we are asking the board to respond in favor of the change in hours at the junior high and high school in order to provide additional time to collaborate, which is needed to plan and create the best possible experience for our students."

Only two people went over the time and had to be cut off: seventh-grade science teacher Kellie Phillips and Blanchard Elementary School principal Barbara Kohlfeld.

Students A.J. Cook and Kendra Gosche each turned in student petitions with a combined 406 signatures in favor of keeping eight class periods.

During the discussion period of the meeting, board member Tony Smee tried to impress upon the crowd the board did not initiate the proposal -- which he said was first brought up in 2013 -- and will not take a vote on the issue.

"... The board does not dictate the operational, functional processes of the school district," he said.

Smee said they should not wait three years when looking for a solution to problems when they arise.

"We're trying to, I guess, steer the Titanic one degree, way in advance, so we don't hit the iceberg," he said.

"This board will not make this decision," board member Jeff Glenn said. "However, this board has been under siege for more than a week now from people who were very disrespectful in the way they chose to communicate their concerns."

"We have no control over this decision," he added. "Yet our integrity was questioned, our intelligence was questioned, our motives were questioned. There were more half-truths and lies spread about this issue than anything I've ever seen, and it is an incredible disappointment to me."

Teachers and parents attended a special work session Nov. 16 at which superintendent Jim Welker presented the proposal to the school board.

At that work session, Welker said the district's comprehensive school improvement plan outlines a need for increasing salaries for teachers, but without a revenue increase from local property taxes or state funding, officials need to explore other options.

Eliminating a second prep period at the junior high and high school and reducing the number of classes per day could reduce the number of teachers needed, Welker said.

The proposal could save the district between $600,000 and $800,000 in personnel costs, Welker said. In that case, the district could eventually increase teacher salaries.

kwebster@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.