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Read:
"Year-round schools won't raise test levels"
by Claudette Northcutt, Mufreesboro.
This Letter to the Editor is written as a rebuttal to "Year-round successes"
which appeared 11/03/02 in The Tennessean.
Year-round education, by whatever alias promoters choose to call it, is
taking a dangerous foothold in Tennessee. Before deviating from
something that is such a deeply rooted part of our lives, whether we
have children in the schools or not, there are some questions that
should be addressed:
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What is the failure rate of the balanced/achievement calendar nationwide?
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What extra costs are incurred with the balanced calendar?
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What states have returned their schools to standard calendars because of added costs and no benefits associated with balanced calendars?
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Who has conducted research showing that there is no achievement gain on the balanced calendar?
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What is the National Association for Year-Round Education (NAYRE)?
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Who is the current president of NAYRE, and where does he live?
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How many local officials, including school administrators and school board members, have been paid by tax dollars to attend NAYRE conventions or to visit the NAYRE president's "model" year-round school?
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How does NAYRE define the balanced calendar? What local school personnel are listed in the NAYRE directories as liaisons?
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When did you first learn that your children's school would be converted to the balanced calendar?
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Were you offered the opportunity to participate in a study group? Were you shown research on the pros and cons of the balanced calendar? Did you examine the reasons it has failed in other communities?
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What effect does the balanced calendar have upon activities such as summer sports, scouting, arts and music camps, teacher summer employment opportunities, and teacher opportunities for professional development?
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Why is the balanced calendar much closer to the agrarian calendar than the standard calendar?
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Click
Here to read an article on how LA schools are affected by Year-Round
School as a measure to deal with overcrowding. Do we want
this?
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Article:
School calendar to be studied - Tennesean.com, 09/26/02
Anyone wishing to look at problems associated with the balanced/achievement calendars and year-round school can find extensive information on the following websites:
email:
Carroll Viera
(Cookeville)
cviera@tntech.edu
Bambi Gregory
(Rogersville)
bambi_gregory@yahoo.com
Claudette Northcutt
(Murfreesboro)
kentnorth@comcast.net
Sandy Greene Vowell
(Greeneville)
7ofus@preferred.com
This
page last update 02/09/03
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