debh's blog

Bracing for More Budget Cuts

Submitted by debh on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 14:04

Governor Brownback provided the State of the State address last night for the State of Kansas. Although he touts that education will receive more money overall, the base state aid would actually drop another $232 under the current plan.

For more details see: http://hutchnews.com/latestregionalnews/Plan-drops--232-per-student-in-b...

Kansas Learns Online

Submitted by debh on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 13:58

More and more schools are finding an increasing number of students who reside within their district but who are selecting virtual education opportunities rather than attending the brick and mortar school in their town. Until recently, districts were faced with one of two choices. Either than could just throw their hands up in despair and exclaim there is nothing they can do about it, or they could throw their hat in the ring and set up their own virtual school. However, with the current economy, establishes new programs and taking on the expenses associated with them is not viable.

Summary of Findings from KS Schools on a 4-Day School Week

Submitted by debh on Thu, 01/13/2011 - 13:33

The attached document provides summarized responses from Kansas Schools operating on a 4-Day School Week. It includes information about how they responded to challenges, how parents addressed day care issues as well as academic achievement information.

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Clink Corby on the Four Day School Week

Submitted by debh on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 11:54

Haviland, USD 474 implemented a modified 4-Day School week in the 2009-2010 school year. Clint Corby, Superintendent of Haviland School District, shares his insights with Deb Haneke, from ESSDACK about the successes and challenges of moving to this schedule.

Planning Resources from Haviland USD 474

Submitted by debh on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 14:10

Haviland USD 254 implemented a modified 4-Day Week schedule in the 09-10 school year. This followed planning and exploration from November 2008 through March 2009. Clint Corby, Superintendent shared these planning resources he used with his districts. They include:

--Questionnaires they used to gather data when visiting other schools.
--School calendars
--Proposed language for negotiations
--Sample notice for Babysitting Classes for students

Four-Day Week

Summary of Kansas Superintendent Responses to Survey conducted by jim Porter

Submitted by debh on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 15:11

Attached are the survey results that Jim Porter from Fredonia conducted across the State of Kansas. You'll note that he eliminated the district names from the responses he compiled.

Four-Day Week

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Districts in Kansas who are on the Four Day School Week

Submitted by debh on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 14:41

Attached is a pdf depicting the districts currently on a Four Day School Week. The data was harvested from the 2009-2010 Principal's Building Report. It also includes information about the length of their school day, starting and dismissal time, and the number of minutes scheduled for lunch.

Please post a comment to share the names of any other districts that are also using the Four Day School Schedule.

Four-Day Week

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Indiana Education Policy Center Education Policy Briefs from 2003

Submitted by debh on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 14:31

Although several years old, the document attached below includes information regarding potential benefits as well as drawbacks to a four-day school week. It was published by the Education Policy Center at Indiana University.

Four-Day Week

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Research Brief by The Principals' Partnership

Submitted by debh on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 14:25

The following three questions are at the heart of the document attached below:

Can the four-day school week help districts save money?
How do districts overcome barriers to moving to the four-day school week?
What is the effect of the four-day week on students, staff and community?

In addition, to addressing the questions above, this paper which was complied by The Principals' Partnership, includes a list of web resources for additional information.

Four-Day Week

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A Review on the Evidence of the Four Day School Week

Submitted by debh on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 14:16

Attached below is a research brief that was compiled by staff at The Center for Education Policy, Applied Research and Evaluation at the University of Southern Maine in February 2009.

It includes an overview of the impact of a four day school week in four areas:

Financial Savings
Student Achievement
Other Student and Teacher Outcomes
Stakeholder Satisfaction

Four-Day Week

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Random Classified

WSU Grad Student seeking a Science Teaching Position

Submitted by kkeesling on Wed, 04/14/2010 - 07:59

I am eagerly searching for a teaching position in a Middle School or High School setting. While my degree and certification is for 6 – 12 Earth and Space Science, I am prepared to complete the PLT testing for Chemistry or Physics if needed to add these endorsements. My preference would be to teach at a Middle School level but will also consider a High School position. In addition to teaching science, I would welcome the idea to assume some coaching responsibilities.

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