 This page reflects the opinions of the author as well as those who wish to make comments on the opinions of the author. Recently I have begun to attend our local school board meetings. I haven't gone in the past for a variety of reasons, but have come to the conclusion that I must attend these meetings from this point forward. I chose to move to Burlington, NJ for a variety of reasons, one being that the school district knew enough to build a school BEFORE the current schools in the system became seriously overcrowded. Another because, at least on paper, the Burlington Township school district looked like a good place to bring my children. In June my children came home with a packet of work that was to be completed during the summer. At first I thought it was a suggested packet of work but upon more careful examination found that not only was the work REQUIRED, but it carried the weight of a TEST GRADE upon the return to school. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I do know that my children and I need a break from school. I informed the schools that my children would not be participating and was told that the buck didn't stop with the school. I would have to take this up with the school board. I respectfully submitted a letter to the school board on June 21, 2000 and was told that the curriculum committee would look into my suggestions. A reporter for the Burlington Mail attended this school board meeting and wrote a very interesting article. This meeting not only had parents objections to the summer reading assignment, but it had lots of teachers in attendance to support the contract negotiations that were happening this summer. I received a call informing me that the curriculum committee would report its findings at the July school board meeting and if I wanted to hear the findings, I should attend. I called the school board offices to obtain a copy of the minutes from the June meeting and after a few false starts obtained the full minutes. Upon reading the minutes I found that the July meeting was to start at 7pm. The meeting starting at 7pm is not a problem, unless the newspapers print the old starting time of 7:45pm, which they did. The notice for the meeting was posted on the school's front entrance, but being summer I don't know of too many people that would see it there until they arrived for the meeting. The curriculum committee gave its report, they found that the program should stand as is. During the open to the public (non agenda items) we again addressed the board on the summer reading program. By now more parents had arrived, thinking that the meeting was to start at 7:45. They had come to voice their displeasure about the assignment. This meeting did cause quite a few voices to be raised. The school board doesn't seem to understand why we were objecting to the summer assignment, because according to their perspective... "everyone in the district just loves the idea." Quite frankly, after conversations with numerous parents, NOT EVERYONE is enamoured. There are those that think it is a good idea, and we are all for their opinion. What we would like to see is this becoming a VOLUNTARY assignment with extra credit attached. The idea of it being MANDATORY with a TEST GRADE attached is what we are objecting to. The curriculum committee is again taking another look at the program due to the concerns that were raised about the books. This report should be available at the next school board meeting scheduled for August 30th at 7pm. I have sent a letter to the newspaper with regards to this summer assignment. I also sent a letter to the Commissioner of Education here in New Jersey after I heard on the radio that the State Board of Education likes the idea of summer homework. Please email me with any questions, comments or experiences you may have had or are currently having and I'd be glad to post them on my pages. Please check back to read more on the summer reading assigment and other issues. August 27, 2000 My letter to the editor has been published as a guest column in the Burlington County Times. I have received several phone calls from parents thanking me for expressing my opinion publicly. I have come across some information that will benefit anyone that is interested in their child's state testing. It seems that the TerraNova has come upon a situation that will affect our children.
August 30th, 2000 I attended yet another school board meeting and read a statement and questioned the school board. Nowhere in the curriculum guide that was in effect June 2000 is the summer reading assignment metioned for 4th graders.
There must have been 50 or more parents that showed up for the board meeting, most angry over the summer assignment and a few in favor of it. There were three parents that stood up and commended the board for the summer reading program. One went on to chastise the parents for not wanting to do this project as family time with their child. I don't know about them, but I sure don't need the school board to tell me how to spend my family time with my child. Most of us against the summer assignment have children that read. One woman explained how her child missed out on reading several books because of the time it took him to do this summer reading assignment. Instead of promoting reading this assignment TAKES AWAY from reading. Another woman who spoke teaches 6th grade. She teaches the book, Abel's Island, in her 6th grade class. She stated that a book on a child's frustration reading level SHOULD NEVER be assigned for independent study. Another woman spoke with regards to her grandchildren. She also did not appreciate the summer reading assignment. When she asked the school board lawyer for the law that allows the board to assign this, he stated that he had read the law and they (the board) were within their right to do so. When asked for a copy of this law the lawyer declined. He did make a comment that we did hear implying that he would not furnish a copy of the law. When this comment was heard the woman questioned him again on the law and was quite upset over his mutterings. MORE on this subject. This page reflects the opinions of the author as well as those who wish to make comments on the opinions of the author. © April Klein, 2000 |