This is a terrible dilemma to place families in who work for WCPSS on a multi YR track 4, but who have a child who attends a single T4 school.

There will be in excess of 30 days of misalignment between these two calendars. Not to mention there are significant benefits to health and safety with regular breaks during the pandemic (building breaks for cleaning, student and staff rest and health breaks).

I feel the NCGA digging their heels in and not permitting waivers for them to follow our multi T4 calendar for ONE year is short sighted and selfish. Can’t say I’m surprised but our family will be scrambling now to figure out how to make this workable.

WHY is there a separate Law for Single Track Schools? Why did they not include the Single track Schools in the Multi Track Schools Law ? DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. All this is going to do is cause more disruption for the families of these single track schools. We have had enough disruption, do not need to add more to it.

We have 2 kids in a multi-track YR elementary school, but my eldest is heading to middle school for 2020-2021. The only YR middle school option for our address is single track (track4). So with the potential changes to the calendar, does this put my children on completely different calendars? If so, doesn’t this negate the whole point of having both traditional and year round choices available for everyone? Will I have an opportunity to apply for a hardship transfer to a multi-track YR middle school in order to have my children on the same calendar? And if so, how likely is it that the transfer is approved? I spent considerable time earlier in the year applying for transfers, track changes, hardship transfers etc in order to keep my kids on the same schedule. As a working parent, the thought of upending all of this and having no common vacation/family time is hugely frustrating. I understand that no one could foresee the current crisis and its impacts. I am simply requesting that accommodations are made for families in our situation.

This is a huge issue for families who specifically picked a middle school to keep their children aligned on the same schedule as younger elementary siblings who attend YR schools. If I had known that my kids would end up on different schedules, I would never have moved my rising 3rd grader out of her beloved class.

I don't see how single track YR schools should differ any in the 9 week on 3 week off requirement that standard YR schools face. During this time where cleaning is more important than ever, I don't understand why WCPSS would not want to have breaks as often as is feasible to allow for proper cleaning of school facilities.

So disappointed in WCPSS in not thinking this through, especially from a safety standpoint!

We chose YR to keep our children on the same schedule. My only YR middle school option is a single track. My BASE is a multi track YR school. Instead of adjusting single track YR to traditional, why can’t we get a one year waiver for the single track law? This puts lots of families in a position they didn’t sign up for. I know there has been a lot of changes, and a lot of things that can’t be controlled. Please try and help those families that chose and NEED a YR calendar. This change will put us in a difficult child care situation.

Also, what concerns me is no one is talking about what a classroom is going to look like when school starts. I think these decisions needed to be made Before any calendars were proposed. How are you going to make sure that a class of 20 to 30 students stays 6ft apart from one another? What is that going to look like in the High schools, Middle schools and Elementary Schools? Are we to expect after all this time we have invested to flatten the curve, that the classrooms will go back to normal like they were prior to COVID 19. That will just put us all back at Day ONE of this whole situation. What are your plans to clean the schools, classrooms, desks, computers, walls, and the list goes on prior to school starting and then at the end of each school day? What is the plan for the Bus system? Are you going to bring on more buses so that students will be able to maintain 6 ft apart? Who is going to monitor that? Who is going to help these teachers monitor 6ft apart and making sure every student is washing their hands at all times needed? These questions need answers before ANY proposed calendars have been voted on.

Wow. Seems like it would be simpler to change the state law than disrupt things in this way, for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON. Idiotic legislation. Why is okay for a multi track kid to be on track four but not us single trackers. My oldest is just a rising fourth grader but I'm so burnt out from battling to keep our track 4 calendar. This is the third time since she's been in school that we've had to fight this calendar BS. No wonder more and more families are chosing homeschool, private, or charter options. It's time for wcpss lobbyist to stand up for us and get the law changed.

I am very happy with this plan. We all know the upcoming school year will be very challenging during the pandemic. Converting calendars to have most kids on the same schedule in our county makes good sense. It will be particularly helpful to the many families with children in different schools spread out over multiple calendars. I hope the board will vote to approve this calendar.

Really disappointed in this nonsensical law for only Track 4 schools. Surely the better solution and less disruptive solution would be to have Track 4 schools follow the multi-track school Track 4 for this coming year. Many of us at Track 4 schools have jumped through hoops to have them, and for good reason. Not to mention that an August start date for normal in-school classes seems more and more dangerous as the days goes by. We need better solutions, WCPSS.

While I understand the future is unknown and school systems are burdened with trying to develop the best solutions for the majority, please do not stray from what we have known and expected of our calendars for single-track year-round schools. There already is enough disruption to our kids' lives with online remote learning, lack of socialization, being home, etc. - keep one thing normal for them - their 9 weeks on and 3 weeks off. Changing our schedules to a traditional calendar causes additional disruptions and hardships for families who expect to be on their regular schedules. We know this is a difficult decision for you but please do not make our lives any more complicated and challenging than they already are. Thank you.

This proposal is NOT ok. We picked YR school for the year round calendar and it works best with our work schedule and family. So can anyone tell me if the school is mulit track and has tracks 1-4 why is that different than schools that have only track 4.Why do just the single track schools have problems? This make no sense to me. This proposal causes problems for families and is just not a reasonable option. WCPSS needs to figure out how to have single track 4 schools remain on a year round schedule. We did NOT signed up for not a traditional calendar.

I have two students, both considered high-risk, attending N Garner Middle school. This school is already crowded. Will there be an option to remote learn until a Covid-19 vaccine is available. Also to change the whole calendar would be a huge disruption for many families. Why not Remote learn until August 17 then switch over to remote and in-person learning.

I choose to enroll my son for the 2020 2021 at Timber Drive Elementary School for the soul purpose of it being a year round school. This is what will work best for my family to now have it changed is awful. I am new to the school system as my first son is starting kindergarten this year. And already the school board has a awful taste in my mouth. If this happens I will do everything I can to move my son to a different school. And this is sad as I had a lot of people recommend this school to me for the fantastic staff and teachers.

Having single track year round treated differently than multi track year round makes no sense. We chose year round as it works best for our family, but especially for our kids. Please consider the disruption to both staff and families that have chose this schedule, especially since multi track year round track 4 is still happening. With this proposed schedule change, that leaves us without a year round option. If anything, ALL the school's should be moving to multi track year round to decrease class sizes.

We love our year round schedule. We actually moved to Raleigh because we had a choice in schools. Please don't take that choice away from single track schools when you are allowing it for multi track schools.

My guess is many families would chose to hop on a different track if it meant they could still be YR. Obviously that would be another headache for wcpss to implement and maybe not the easiest option, but if adding a one class per grade level track to my single track school would at least keep my kids on the YR schedule that has proven itself to be what's best for them academically, and for our family economically, we would volunteer. Thank you for adding the specifics of the law that is the impetus behind this proposal. It still seems there would be easier ways to work around this than just switching all the single track calendars. In four years at wcpss this is the third time our school's YR calendar has been threatened, so I can't help but worry that if we change this school year, wcpss will want to make it permanent. what other options are being considered? Is there a different track than #4 that we could switch to? Even the modified calendar would work. Hopefully another solution will present itself. Hopefully wcpss leaders can fight for us.

I know that you can not please everyone. That being said, moving a child from a YR calendar to traditional may have some performance effects on the teachers as well as the students. Teachers and children who have operated on this schedule for years are being asked to endure another major change. Can there be a compromise and put single track schools on the modified calendar?

We applied for YR Track 4 because that is what works best for our family. Even though the school system in Wake County has a lot of options and can be very confusing, it also provides an amazing opportunity for families to place their children where they best fit. We are so grateful. I know WCPSS is just trying to make things work the best to their abilities due to this pandemic. But to change the school year completely can put families and staff in hardships, even more than what we have all gone through the last few months. There has to be another way to satisfy the new law while simultaneously not causing more havoc for the students, teachers, and entire families. Please DON'T CHANGE the schedule for Track 4 Only schools.

If I understand this all correctly: Multi Track schools can have their breaks adjusted because they are not held to the 45 up/15 down that a Single Track school is being held to under law.

Our children's school was multi-track up until this past year when it became a single track. The single track change wasn't well thought out and frankly we should be flipped back to a multi track for next year but instead we are looking at traditional.

I don't want my children in traditional. If I did, I would have just changed their enrollment when I moved here 2 years ago.

Putting that aside, this ignores what Year Round students are accustomed to and could adversely impact their education, which I'm also not a fan of.

I'm not even going to touch on the fact that someone thought it was a good idea to make a law targeting one specific type of schooling which then forces it into this mess in the first place. Can the school day be expanded? Are their options available other than forcing a type of schooling on educators, teachers, and parents that we obviously didn't want in the first place?

How can parents 'attend' the virtual work session on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 2?

This is absolute nonsense. When the calendar year was being hashed out/voted on and we were told the extra time being added to the school day was to compensate for the lost time, that should have applied to all tracks. Period. What you don't get to do it make this calendar then come in after the fact and say "oh what we meant was everyone else that was YR" and then throw people's schedules off kilter because of a lack of planning and transparency on your part. You've had plenty of time to work out the timing on the calendars to be in line with this law (that was conveniently passed at the apex of the initial lockdown). Now it just comes off that you are trying your hardest to do away with YR single track. i refuse to give an inch so you can take a mile.

I really can't believe we are having to fight this fight YET AGAIN!! Do you not think our kids (and parents) have been through enough with dealing with the fear of COVID19 and this whole online learning debacle. Now you want to take away how they will go back to school!!??? We have built of lives/schedules, especially for work around track 4. I give the statistics on here every time this comes around..why as a Mom do I have to be the one to educate the "Educators" Why can't you all ever put the Children first!? and not politics? It keeps the learning process ongoing. It reduces the need for remediation classes It reduces the need to have a Summer school. Less Teacher turnover Less Teacher and Student burnout Less of a financial burden on parents (long summer camps) Higher test scores gives lower income students a place to be safe and get nutrition and not left alone at home due to parents HAVING to work. teachers and the students have less stress and pressure to meet the state and local curriculum requirements Please consider ALL sides before making a decision and please put our kids first!!

This does feel like an exhausting fight - we love our school and would never leave now that we are there but we chose for our kids to go there because it was year round. Not just because we like the schedule but we feel strongly that this is the best type of learning environment for our children. Not only that but this year round schedule would also help us avoid some of the peak seasonal spike we are likely to see with the COVID-19 virus. Please don't change our schedule. Our lives are changing enough and this is hard enough on our kids as it is.

Why are single track schools being discriminated against?

In my situation I have a brand new Traditional calendar school (Abbott’s creek) sitting across the street from my current year round school (Durant Road Elementary). I would be furious about this proposal if my older child wasn’t headed to high school so instead I’m curious. Given a decision to keep my child in a year round school because of our appreciation for the breaks and the learning experience school that is provided by a year round calendar, what do you suggest for other school options for my child? I do not agree with switching single track year round schools to a traditional calendar because of that reason. Furthermore if it’s traditional calendar, can I put in an application to place my child in the much newer accommodations across the street? The one across the street has working plumbing and electrical amenities that work 99% of the time and no mold or mildew issues. If my decision to control The timing of my child’s learning environment is taken away then I would Like an option to have him go to the traditional school calendar across the street. Therefore, I would recommend consideration of adding kids to the school to create the year round environment again or even out the kids so that they are split better between the two traditional calendar schools regardless of the neighborhoods they live in near the area. Neighborhood based schools are more community building and helpful for kids and families. When the kids can play with their peers that they go to school with because they live near them and parents can help because their kids live and go to the same school, your community gets stronger. This issue is clearly larger than this particular proposal.

I'm sure this fight is only beginning. We chose a YR Track 4 school because we felt it was the best learning environment for our child. Traditional calendar does not work for every child academically as well as family schedules.

Our family definitely was not happy to receive this information. We are one of the many families that chose Timber specifically because of the year round education. Multiple studies out of places like Duke, Elon, Stanford and many others show that year round education has academic benefits as well as psychological benefits. And in a state that doesn’t offer much creativity or “forward thinking” in their educational structures, a year round calendar is something we need to hold on to. What else (besides posting on this forum) can we do? I assume we can’t show up at a school board meeting, since I assume it’s not going to be in person. Do we sign a petition? How can we make the loudest noise so the school board knows we are passionate about our children maintaining their year round, track 4, calendar? I would love for our school board to stick up for us and fight WITH us to keep track 4!

Why is Track 4 being punished? We are constantly fighting for our calendar. Why??? Why not start our calendar on August 3 for children as it should have been originally and teacher going back at the end of July? Many of the parents and teacher chose year round for the year round option. You say going traditional will only be for the 20-21 school year, but I think that’s a cop out and we will be told next year that since we did a year of traditional, we will stay that way. There are 3 schools in my area that are in a single track 4 calendar. You don’t want us to have that option? So give each school a different track and call us a multi school with multi tracks. Teachers need the year round schedule as much as students need it. Why are we not given the opportunity to vote on it? It’s just decided for us. We are told we can attend the board meetings, but when we log on to attend, we are told the session is full. Please let parents and educators have a say in Track 4 year round schedule. We want our year round schedule. It’s not ok to send a letter to parents on a Friday before the calendar is going to be voted on on Tuesday.

I completely disagree with this proposal. If the problem is the single-track calendar, can we just make the single-track calendar a multi-track calendar for one year instead of traditional year? I think having fewer kids in the school at one time will make social distancing within the schools easier as well. Then next year we can go back to single track.

Track 4 choice has been given to parents in our communities and time and time again, we're faced with this battle......and it really isn't necessary. Statistically, children are better off in year round school emotionally and physically. I am a single mother of 4 with 2 severely autistic little ones. I already have one child in a different school on a different calendar and find that difficult because breaks are not exactly the same. The track 4 calendar isn't just something of convenience, I believe it provides a better education for children overall. A lot of parents rely on this calendar for work schedules and the long break near Christmas is perfect for our family because all of our extended family members live out of state, so the longer breaks give us ample time to travel and see family. I chose the Timber Drive Elementary family because it works for my children and they are thriving there. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, it's a better idea to keep our kids on this schedule because of the shorter time period in school and longer break in between. The bottom line is, most parents chose year round for a reason and it is very underhanded and unfair to try to make a change like this knowing parents can't appear and voice their opinions.....especially with such short notice. How can concerned parents voice their concerns about this important issue? June 2nd is right around the corner. How can we effectively communicate our concerns from our homes when we're only in Stage 2 of reopening our state? It is only fair to give us parents our turn to speak on this as well because it's our children and families that will have to deal with the aftermath of yet, more changes. It is my opinion that our families are going through enough and we have to somehow come up with a compromise that works. I do not want to see our year round school opportunities taken away......and if we do it for 1 year, there is no going back. You know that as well as I do......

Please whoever it is that you are who is reading this and has the power to effect change... hear all of us loud and clear! All these “Single Track 4 Who’s in Whoville” are trying to yell loudly enough to make our voices heard before we are plopped in the “hot steaming kettle of Beezle-Nut Oil” that will be losing our YR track 4 calendar! I don’t understand all the politics and I’m not up to date on statistics... all I know is that our family chose timber drive because we loved the year round option and it has worked so well for our family. My son thrives on having the breaks every 9 weeks and being able to go back to studies 3 weeks later, retaining more of what he is learning. I am 100% on board with extending the school days by 15 minutes and would even be willing to be on board with slightly shortened holidays or adding a few Saturday school days even, or starting on August 3rd as originally planned if it meant we could keep our YR calendar that we so strongly want! Thank you for listening to us Whos!! After all, a single track 4 is an IMPORTANT track, no matter how small!!

I believe that the single track schools should be left alone and allowed to follow the same calendar as the multi track year around schools as they always have. If I had wanted my kids on a traditonal calendar I would have enrolled them in such. I understand and appreciate the precaution of starting the school year later than initially planned, but I do not believe it is necessary to switch the calendar entirely. Also, how would it affect those of us that are grandfathered in or on a hardship transfer to a single track school? Would we be allowed to stay since it is not our base school or forced to switch for a year?

Yes please change single track schools to Traditional calendar schools. The whole purpose of a YR school is to hold more students if their are not enough families choosing YR to have enough students for multiple tracks then it need to be traditional.

We chose track 4 for a reason! If I wanted to send my kid to his base which is traditional I would have done so. He stays focused on this calendar and it’s what is best for him. Also in regards to our children and teachers health the breaks it gives the school an opportunity to clean and sanitize appropriately! This is a very selfish thing to do! Send them back to school at the beginning of August and let them have some since of normalcy back! This going to far and it’s ridiculous.

I do not understand how anyone can believe this is an acceptable idea. Have parents and children not had enough upheaval this year? There is a reason we choose to send our children to a year round school and even debating on changing even for a year just continues the disruption. Would a better solution not be to just make the schools a multi track to allow for the option to spread out the number of children at the school at any given time? Our school is capped which makes no sense when there is an opportunity to expand capacity by adding additional tracks.

Are we allowed as parents to be in this meeting on Tuesday?? I am the Vance PTA President, and would like my voice heard!!!???

This proposal to switch single-track schools to a traditional calendar seems in direct contradiction towards efforts in keeping kids mentally and physically safer. The amount of strain and trauma our children have already experienced should not be under-estimated. Stability and predictability are very important coping mechanisms for children, keeping children on similar tracks they're used is a crucial step towards bringing back some security in their lives. Not only that, but in a time when fewer bodies on school buses, child care facilities, after school care programs, etc are critical towards keeping our economy and state open we're entertaining ideas of crowding these resources even more? That doesn't make any sense. It's even more important to keep children calendars as close to their existing ones so that local resources (such as the YMCA and other track-out camps) can better accommodate children who are not all on the same school schedule. How will the busing situation be affected with 1000s of additional children joining a traditional school calendar?

In addition, this sudden and abrupt change creates so much chaos and additional stress on teachers and staff. We want caring, familiar, loving environments for our children. Places of safety and security starts with stability, connection from teachers and staff. The extra toll our teachers and administrators are asked to carry is already straining them, now these teachers are asked to make major work schedule changes? In viewing the proposed changes to multi-track year round schools it's apparent the school board has done its very best to work out a schedule that accommodates additional law requirements while still maintaining a semblance of the multi-track year round schedule to provide stability and security for students, teachers and staff. It's difficult to understand why this same thoughtfulness isn't applied to single track schools. I urge the school board to reconsider this proposal and offer single track schools the same thoughtfulness it has given to multi-track and traditional school calendars.

I completely understand the frustration of families who only have kids in the year-round calendar. Literally everyone with more than one child (unless they are twins) will eventually be faced with multiple calendars, because there are no year-round options for high school. During this time of global pandemic, and the very real likelihood of A/B remote learning days in the 20-21 school year, this calendar proposal is optimal for families with children spread across year-round and traditional calendar schools. I hope the vote will pass for this calendar change.

Is there a reason why "plan b" wasn't given more consideration when determining the schedule?

I am all for the traditional calendar, however if so many families are interested in the YR option why can’t some of these track 4 schools add another track to be considered a multi-track school?

This is a very challenging time for everyone involved in making decisions related to school calendars, social distancing requirements in schools, etc. I feel for those making decisions in these unchartered waters and understand that you can’t please everyone. That being said, I do not understand at all how single track schools were singled out in this law that was put in place (although like many others I have my suspicions). If multi-track schools have the right to stay on their calendar single track schools should have the same right. Our schools are not different and our kids are no more or less important. I understand that WCPSS is working within what the law is requiring, but there should be a 1 year waiver to this law or a different plan put in place that would work. Rules are constantly needing adapting in this changing time due to COVID-19 and this should be no different. Changing this 2 months before school starts is not okay. My son is in 3rd grade. In the 4 short years that he has been in school this is now the 3rd time I have had to fight for him to stay in this school and stay YR as we chose when he started. First, he was redistricted and I had to appeal for him to stay. Thankfully, this was granted and he was able to stay. Next, we had to fight for his school to remain a single track school. Thankfully, after much time and effort by so many parents, this was granted as well. Now here we are again, fighting for the 3rd time in 4 years. It is exhausting. I am the Manager of Childhood Services at a local non-profit agency and have worked with children for 13 years that have developmental delays, learning delays, and challenges with behavior and/or mental health. When the families of many children that I am working with are choosing schools for their children I always recommend YR. I have continuously seen the benefits that YR provides. Many children need that continuous learning format to be able to retain the information they have learned. Personally, my son does not have developmental or learning delays, but I chose YR over the traditional calendar because I know him well. We, as parents know our kids and chose the type of school that we knew would be the best fit for them. I knew that my son would need periodic breaks in order to thrive. I was right. Every 9 weeks I see burnout around the 8th week. We push through another week and then he has a break. It is just long enough to help him rejuvenate and come back strong and ready to learn. It is just short enough for him to remember what he has learned. It is perfect. This will not be the case if he moves to traditional. I have heard this same thing from countless families. When families chose a school for their child this school year they had a choice and chose what was BEST for their child. This choice may get taken away for families at a single track YR school- and worse than that, taken away with only 2 months to make changes and at a time when children have gone through SO MUCH change. Why should we be the only ones without a choice? I am seeing daily through my profession the consequences that children being in quarantine, off of their normal routine and schedule, and away from social supports are already having on these young kids. WCPSS please don’t add to this problem. We need to be focusing on keeping things as normal as possible for these kids and approving this proposal is the exact opposite of that. A waiver should occur to this law or a different plan needs to be in place. I am a full supporter of the original proposal of adding 15 minutes on to each day.

This new plan is also going to cause a mass exodus to many schools as parents will be scrambling to find a school on a multi track like they signed up for. When this happens there may not be enough kids to retain the teachers that were promised their place for next school year. So now we would potentially be uprooting teachers as well. This is not a good look. Our PTA board also has positions in place for next year and it is likely if this passes many families may leave which would also leave many open at a time when we all know the school is going to need extra support to navigate COVID-19.

Lastly, I would like information, as others have requested, on when parents will get to speak out in-person or virtually on this topic given the unreasonable time frame that this information was sent out to families being affected.

I am a parent of a rising kindergartener and upcoming 4th grader. They attend what used to be a multi track year round, but converted to single track last year. It already created a transition for my 4th grader as he was track 1 before the conversion. He has ADHD and with him and my rising kindergartener, they THRIVE on structure. COVID-19 has already created a crazy life style for us and this is no fault to the school system. However, creating more transitions would be the fault of the school board. We all agree there will be adjustments next school year, but why change something that's unnecessary? If a multi track school with track 4 wouldn't change, why would a single track school have to? Part of the selling point of attending the school we are at is because it is year round. We enjoy the breaks and my son does well in this setting. Why make an unnecessary change for 1 year just to transition back to year round? And with that, I also fear that to avoid another change, the school board will opt to keep this decision permanent. That's a HUGE transition in the long term. 3 months off in the Summer for 2 full time working parents is very difficult and costly on summer camps. I do not support this decision and truly HOPE it's voted down.

So from I've read above, single track 4 schools do not fall under the same part of the law as multi track schools. Does not make sense, but whatever. Why then do single tracks have to follow the track 4 start date this year? Why can't they start earlier and/or add the 15 min extra to the school day so that they can meet the single track law as well as required instructional hours for the year? Or as many people have said above, just issue waivers for the year? Either of these options seem less disruptive than changing to a traditional calendar for 1 year.

I have a preschooler on a traditional calendar, and I still prefer my two rising 3rd graders to be year-round. If I had wanted them on a traditional calendar, I would have chosen that to begin with.

There is no valid reason why a single track school cannot follow that track on the multi-track calendar. Our school only switched to single track just this year, which was a track change for our family. I respect that these are unprecedented times, but there must be another way.

I believe that the problem could be solved by the state legislators editing the wording in the law so that single track year round schools can follow the same rules that multi-track year round follow under this law. There is nothing about the single track schedule that conflicts with the intent of the law. It's the wording that is the problem. That should be an easy fix compared to the disruption the schedule change will have on families and employees. This change will affect me as an employee and a parent. My children will be on Multi-Track 4 next year. If my school changes to traditional, my children and I will not be on the same schedule and they will be out 42 days when I am at work. I think it is ridiculous that the legislators cannot edit the wording of the law to properly define single track year round schools so that they can operate under the same rules that multi-track year round schools are able follow. Please fight for a change in the wording of the law rather than changing our schedule.

We all know we are in an unprecedented situation, and we all will agree that a bit (a lot) of flexibility will need to be exercised in the upcoming school year. However, changing our schedule from a year round schedule to traditional - especially this late in the game - is not the answer. This proposed schedule change will create an unnecessary hardship on most families in a single track school - which is an unreasonable request for the board to put on our shoulders on top of the unease and restrictions we are currently facing to begin with. There has to be another solution to fulfill the requirements of the new legislation.

Before Covid-19, track 4 was slated to start school on august 3. This schedule was to be a 9 weeks in, 3 weeks out schedule, for the entire 2020-21 school year. I am having a hard time understanding how this in itself doesn’t fulfill the requirement of the legislation. Solution: just start single tracks schools on august 3! Now, if the issue is the extra 5 days of required learning in addition to meeting that requirement, there multiple solutions which would not yank our families out of our current schedule and create undue stress. 1. One Saturday school planned a quarter? 2. Have single tracks go back one week early after the Christmas holiday? 5 weeks of break is a long time! No one will complain about that! 3. What happened to the extra 15 minute we were to add to our daily schedule? I could keep going, but I’m sure you get the point - the board can easily find a creative solution that we all find preferable over a traditional calendar.

Or, as another poster mentioned: lobby to have the wording of the law so that single track schools can follow the multi track year round schedule. It is absolutely irresponsible governing that single track schools are being discriminated against in this situation, asked to turn our lives around in a time where we are already likely going to be asked to facilitate more remote learning, more chaos than any other year in history.

Please, please do not add to the chaos. Keep single track on a year-round schedule and find a better solution!

The law is improper interference with local interests and parental choice—and should be changed. But assuming that cannot be done, Why not move single-track YR schools to multitrack Schools? We are being told by all health officials that public schools need to reduce crowding. Moving to Multitrack will automatically reduce the population of these schools by 1/4. Would I dislike being kicked off track 4? Yes. But at least I’m not forced onto a traditional calendar.

Also, it seems to me that it’s not just the legislation that is creating this problem. It’s Also the WCPSS decision to delay the start date for single track schools by 17 days. So if we started first of July as originally planned, looks like we would comply with the law. Or if we added an extra 15 minutes, we could comply with the law. It’s important for WCPSS be 100 percent honest about what factors are causing this Dilemma.

Hi, I am a staff member and parent of two children that attend a single track elementary school . I am really taken aback by the proposal to change The single track year round schools to traditional with very little warning. I feel like what should be done is amending the law that discusses how single track year round schools do not follow the same guidelines as multi-track year round schools for the upcoming school year. We have faced something that no one has had to face before - COVID 19 and everyone has been under a lot of stress and anxiety. I don’t feel that this schedule change should have to be something else to endure. I think the simple solution would be to amend the law regarding single track year round schools rather than cause an upheaval in the lives of the staff members, students, and families concerned. After all haven’t our children been through enough?

Please keep our single track 4 YR schools on a YR calendar....and find another solution. I strongly urge the school board to vote AGAINST changing Tr4 only YR calendars to traditional calendars....even for one year, or ever.

If any change of calendar should be considered for single track YR schools, I feel it should be to a modified calendar. I know there is legislation in place that also prevents that, but then waivers that are preventing that need to be asked for & granted.

I think we can all agree that families, parents, teachers, staff, you all (the School Board) cannot keep fighting this fight repeatedly....a long term solution needs to be put in place. A calendar change for one year isn't a long term solution and it certainly falls extremely short in the 'stability' piece of the 4 pillars. I also feel like it would negatively impact the 'student achievement' pillar as well.

The 4 Pillars of WCPSS Student Assignment is Student Achievement, Stability, Proximity and Operational Efficiency. A change in calendar announced in June to take place in August does not in any way, shape or form meet the definition of Stability. COVID-19 had changed everything for everyone across the world. As we all know, it has been difficult for everyone. Please do not add yet another pieces of difficulty & instability for single track 4 YR calendar families.

There may not be many Tr4 only YR schools, but the families, children, teacher, staff, and admin in those schools matter.

According to this, Darren Jackson for NC House, this was unintentional. Please look into & consider this as well.

First and foremost, WCPSS should have contacted the NC Legislature to get clarification on why the law was written this way and determine if it could be amended PRIOR to proposing a calendar change from a single track year round (ST YR) to Traditional calendar. If that has been done, then that information should have been expressly given to parents along with the reason why the legislature cannot amend the verbiage. But WCPSS has left out that important piece of information and now has the onus of explaining its proposed calendar to mystified and disgruntled parents. Why is proposing a switch to the traditional calendar the ONLY option or BEST option. Again, this reasoning should have been explained to families. It is my hope that on June 2nd, the Board will be discussing this proposal, will consider other ideas for ST YR schools, and with parental feedback provided here, develop a better plan.

Bottom line, this proposed change will be a significant challenge for many children and their parents. Approximately 7,350 students and their families in 10 elementary schools and 2 middle schools will be affected. And I get it...small potatoes in a big field, but this isn't just a small change. There are a myriad of obstacles that will have to be overcome by families to make this switch. It seems the simplest of solutions is a word change to a law that was written in a such a way that it led to a terrible, unintended consequence.

I agree with the vast majority of opinions expressed on this forum. We need to keep our single track schools year round. We can all agree that current conditions have placed us in an environment that has been an adjustment to all Wake Co families. Is there a good reason to make another unnecessary change that will drastically affect our schools and families? With there being a Track 4 calendar already in place for the 20/21 year why would a single track school be targeted with a separate law that would subject us to this major change for one year? There are so many unknowns regarding the 20/21 school year. Subjecting us to this last minute change seems completely unjustified, unnecessary, and from reading these comments it is highly unfavorable.

COVID is already setting students educational baselines for next year below where expected due to the unexpected change to remote learning and stay at home orders. These were necessary measure to further to spread but drastically changing a schedule and uprooting stability when our state is attempting to safely return back to a new normal is going to further downslide our children. I understand schedule changes must occur in the name of safety - but these guidelines and drastic changes seem far over reaching citizen safety. Keeping the cadence these children expect to start and return to school in the way they are familiar, will further prevent damage already done from something not-preventable. At the school we are chose, nearly half are on Free or Reduced Lunch - stretching parents to scramble to figure out balancing childcare for an additional 2 weeks, and further a long term new unexpected schedule is the last thing they need and will cause further un-necessary trickle down to students at not only critical moments of building education, but repairing trauma that may have occurred during COVID as well.

I oppose the proposed changes.

Please keep single track yr on their track. As a local mental health professional, I know that children thrive on consistency and predictability. Our children, teachers, admin, and staff need to remain on their single track year round schedules upon their return to school. The necessary health and safety conditions of COVID-19 have upended our families and communities, our school community needs to remain a constant and that starts with the calendar. My child, like many others, thrives off the year-round calendar and appreciates the break after 9 weeks of hard work and dedication. He returns after his break, with renewed vigor and drive. This is why we chose to move him from his base/traditional calendar school to a single track year-round option. If WCPSS can find a way to make necessary changes for multi-track year round schools to adhere to number of days, there is no reason they can't do the same for single-track schools.

Where to start....I have one child in HS and one in a single track YR. We applied for our YR school a few years ago because we love the calendar for track 4 and opted to stay throughout my HS child's traditional calendar. I believe with the current epidemic and all the unknowns of the coming year, changing the calendar for a single year is detrimental for our kids!! Haven't they been through enough?? And why should they be treated any different from multi track YR? Seems like an agenda is there amongst those imposing this rather than thinking of our kids' best interests. Isn't that what you're supposed to be considering? Many of us as parents are already facing the concern and uncertainty of how our children will handle going back to school. How will they be socially distanced? How will the youngest handle not being able to hug or be close to a friend? How will the school implement additional cleanings? With our YR calendar, at least we can have peace of mind that opportunity for deep cleanings are an option during track outs. Why would you not want that WCPSS?? My child attends YMCA during track out and with the pending calendar change, she will not have the opportunity to experience the activities she is used to. She will miss her friends and the bonds she's created with all of the YMCA staff throughout the year for these camp times. She also spends time during track outs with her other parent and their family and this would be disruptive to that schedule, which we have worked hard to enact!! We signed up for summer care with the YMCA based on the current schedule, and now will have no care for the weeks in August when Track 4's calendar will not be in session. There are literally zero slots for us to sign up for! Are we not, as a community and a nation, already experiencing hard times WCPSS?
Your proposal challenges childcare, planned travel, safety issues, time with family and time off for all of us. What a disappointment WCPSS. You must reconsider this change.

I just feel like our kids have been through enough and changing their school schedule doesn't help anyone. I have a younger child in a multi track YR school and a older one who school was forced to move to a single track YR school this year. I already had to change my younger child's track last year to keep both kids on the same schedule since the older one was forced to move to track 4. There are tons of families that this would throw everything off by having different schedules. I don't feel it is fair to the parents or the students. I agree a exception should be made for this year on the new law. One track 4 shouldn't be able to do something another track 4 can't.

Please focus on keeping kids safe and helping teachers and staff work effectively – rather than creating more chaos for all of us by unnecessarily creating massive changes in our calendars. Please tweak the current single-track year-round calendar (if needed) to fulfill the law rather than switching us to traditional.

Requiring a calendar change for single-track Track 4 schools only but not multi-track schools that include Track 4 is discriminatory. The law itself is clearly written to help define year-round schools as DIFFERENT from traditional only in regards to start dates and remote learning requirements.

Converting single-track schools to a traditional calendar would harm parents and students, teachers and staff, as well as small businesses that are already under significant financial strain due to COVID-19. In addition to the many reasons stated in others’ comments, consider the following:

Parents – Because the vast majority of year-round parents have CHOSEN that calendar, it is a burden on them to suddenly shift to a traditional calendar. There are many, many reasons that year-round is a better option for many families and students.

Teachers & Staff – For both WCPSS staff as well as the staff at individual schools, it would be far less work to tweak the calendar single-track YR calendar that is already established – rather than completely change the entire calendar to a new one.

Small Businesses – There are many small businesses that offer camps/care to year-round students. Changing the schedule would shift a large chunk of their income to a different timeframe, further complicating their income models. Businesses that are already under strain from COVID could scarcely stand further complications.

The Board would better serve parents, students, teachers, and school staffs by focusing more on truly safe and effective ways (especially via virtual learning) to continue schooling for the 2020-2021 school year.

As the parent of a rising-Kindergartner at a single-track Track 4 school, I do not expect 5-year-olds to have any success at social distancing, regular hand-washing, and keeping their hands off their faces – whether there are 20 kids in the class or only 5.

As we all strive to navigate through this unprecedented time, please focus on what matters most – the safety of students, teachers, staff, and all their families. Thank you.

I work at a single track 4 school but have 2 children on track 4 year at a year around school. The transfer window is now over for teachers, and now I will be left with trying to find and pay for coverage for my children when they track out and I don’t. This is unacceptable that they don’t consider teachers and how this affects us. I don’t make enough money as a single mom to cover these camps. I chose to work at a title 1 single track school because I wanted to make a difference and I love what I do. But I can’t stay there for a whole year when my calendar doesn’t align with my 2 children.

There are a lot of really good responses on here so far, a real mess is being created. We need to be able to change schools if this is going to be passed at the last minute. Many people picked a particular school for elementary alignment. We should be given the opportunity to adjust once again to a new law. I know some single-track middle schools are going to see significant enrollment drops if this passes; either next year or this if we are allowed to change.

Two years ago I spent a ridiculously long time fighting the School Board to allow my daughter to attend her base year round school (which at the time was a multi-track year round). I did this because the YR schedule has always worked best for our family. The school has since become a single track YR and this law now punishes families who had no input on this change. I realize these are unprecedented times and it’s an impossible task to make everyone happy, but it would be disruptive to take the YR schedule away from students who have always followed it. Our kids have already had enough stress and change and the next school year will bring even more changes and challenges. It would help ease some of this stress if you could allow a waiver for just one year to let single track YR schools to remain on their regular schedule.

I agree with a lot of the concerns already voiced on this forum. What I cannot fathom is why the only proposed change to ensure that our children get the required number of days in school is to switch to a traditional calendar? Why is it not possible for our single track schools to follow the same schedule of the multi-track schools? I feel like this new law is being thrown around to force us into the traditional calendar with the WCPSS throwing their hands in the air saying there is nothing we can do? I am tired of repeatedly having to fight to keep our single track school calendars when they are loved by the majority of families whose children are enrolled in them. These "unprecedented times" (so tired of this phrase too!) have resulted in exceptions left, right, and center. So please tell me why an exception cannot be made in this case if it is ONLY for the 2020-2021 year? Our community has been disrupted enough. Maintaining some degree of normalcy will be in the best interest of students, parents/guardians and educators!

We are not supportive of this proposal. We chose our YR single track middle school (Durant Middle) solely to keep our children on the same schedule. Our YR multi-track school (Brassfield Elmentary) was beyond accommodating to shift our rising 3rd grader to track 4 to be on the SAME schedule as our rising 6th grader. This shift at the last minute will pose undue hardship on family schedules, vacation plans and childcare options for 2 full-time working parents. In addition, this would require our family to adopt to 2 separate schedules - YR and traditional in a very short period of time. I would strongly request consideration be giving to waiving this state law requirement for the year. A broader and more thorough discussion/forum needs to be held before decisions of this magnitude are proposed. The one year proposal seems preposterous to just switch back to a YR single track option next year. It's not fair to families to be faced with this proposed shift months after families had to choose and decide which middle school we wanted to attend to align with our own family facts and circumstances. My children have been in YR schools since Kindergarten and as a family we have enjoyed the breaks during the year as well as the short break during school years as a benefit to our children's learning and overall development. In addition, given the current pandemic environment we are all facing, the breaks in a YR schedule would allow for much needed deep cleaning on a more frequent basis. I know WCPSS and families are all facing challenges on how to ensure a safe return to schools in the fall, the last thing we need to add to everyone's plates is a last minute state law that forces our students to shift to an entirely new calendar structure. Thank you for your consideration.

We are NOT in support at all of this proposal. We have a rising 6th grader and specifically chose Durant Middle to maintain a YR schedule, as we also have a rising 1st grader at Brassfield. We have been through a tremendous change anyways, switching from Track 1 to Track 4, and have made family schedule plans based on the Track 4 YR Calendar schedule as initially proposed by WCPSS (post-covid). We feel that it is unfair, as there are NO other YR school options in our area for our children to attend for Middle School. The single track was a major change, and will be disruptive to our family for child care (both parents work FT), family schedules, and travel/vacation plans. We have been in YR schools since Kindergarten and as a family we believe it's an excellent schedule for our kids, they benefit from breaks and us being able to travel off-season.

I understand Covid changes a lot of things, but there is NO reason this single track YR school cannot follow the YR schedule. I strongly URGE you to consider adjusting the law to reflect Single Track Schools follow Mult-Track School schedules. This last minute change is hard enough as it is, already trying to manage different schools and now totally different schedules. One of my kids will ultimately lose out on school time and be penalized for time off when we have to travel based on pre-arranged schedules *that were justified even post-covid with the new schedule posted on May 19th.

I do not support this proposal. I have a daughter in single track school, and her progress has been amazing. We see zero burnout and zero fatigue throughout the year. We have learned one thing from our remote learning situation, and that is that the track outs are necessary to keep her focused and enthusiastic about learning. As the remote learning has dragged on, it has become harder to keep her focused on the tasks at hand. Year round learning is beneficial more than you know unless you've actually experienced it. We need to keep the year round schedule even if it means shortening a track out or two to get the required classroom hours in.

This appears to be nothing more than an attempt to phase out single track schools! We purposely found a home within the footprint for Timber Drive Elementary so that our children could attend. My 9yr old 3rd grader has shown that he thrives on the year round calendar. He needs those breaks throughout the year and works much harder at school after the few weeks off. The benefits of a year round calendar are considerable and should not be dismissed, even for just a year. I can't understand why we aren't able to follow our calendar when the multitracks will be following a similar one. An exception needs to be made. Our children have been through enough difficulties over the last few months, please dont take away the stability of a schedule that they are used to!

Today I emailed both my house and senate legislature representatives. Please do the same! Let your voices be heard!

https://www.ncleg.gov/FindYourLegislators

Looking at the calendar, you could still do a 45/15 calendar keeping the same school-wide days off by starting just 4 days earlier on July 28. Was this considered?

Being at a year-round school has been a huge benefit for our oldest in and being able to move to a year-round middle school was very important to us. Every teacher I have ever asked can't say enough about the benefits of year-round for all students. If there is a way to maintain multi-track year-round, then single-track can be maintained as well. Year-round is why we continue to live in Wake County.

This really does come across as a pretty clear attempt to phase out since track schools. Like many others have said, we applied to this school for multiple reasons, but one of them being the calendar (a big one). I understand that next year is going to look very different, in so many ways due to COVID-19. With so many changes, why this one as well? Yes, I've read the law, I understand what it says, and I've read all the comments here and responses. I am simply making my opinion known. Studies have shown why year round options are ideal for learning for most students, and with so many uncertainties in the air, it seems odd that changing a structure and routine that so many are used to now would seem like a good choice? Please re-consider other options.

I’m not sure if this has been addressed for not. If my YR middle school option (which I chose) is moved to a traditional calendar, then I am forced into a traditional calendar (my base is traditional). A few years ago, wasn’t this deemed illegal? Am I obligated to receive a YR option by state law?

This last minute change is unacceptable. If there is a way to maintain multi-track year-round, then single-track can be maintained as well. Wake County administrators need to do the work to make this happen. They should not spring last minute schedule changes on parents and children.

I have 4 children enrolled in a single track school and to say we are frustrated by this is an understatement. I understand that things are being adjusted and we are all trying to do our best due to Covid -19. I do not envy anyone in authority who is making decisions on how to deal with this and I appreciate the county’s efforts. However, I am very disappointed by the timing of this and even after reading the law (yes I read it), I still don’t understand why this is necessary. This will be the second year in a row that our family’s work and personal schedules will have to be changed because of decisions by the county beyond our control. What about our family’s “choices?” Covid-19 seems like a very poor excuse to push political agendas at the expense our students and their families. Why can’t their be an exception? Why can’t we start earlier than August 17th since we don’t have to account for other tracks? What can’t the county come up with a plan so that our families, students and teachers don’t have to deal with this yet again? Election Day is coming and I am sure I won’t be the only one voting with this situation in mind.

The multi-track schools all contain tracks 1-4, while single track schools are on track 4. How are the students on track 4 in a multi-track school meeting the requirements set forth by the law, yet the single track 4 schools (who share the same track) are not able to meet the state guidelines? 

Hey Tr4 only YR calendar families....how do you feel about proposing that we (Tr4 only YR schools) follow the proposed Tr1 YR schedule that begins Aug 3rd for the '20-'21 school year....versus switching to a traditional calendar for a year.

BOE, what is the feasibility of that happening?

We chose to live in our neighborhood because of the wonderful elementary school and track 4, as opposed to a traditional calendar. A couple years ago when this came up, we strongly opposed changing to a traditional calendar, and we are still strongly opposed.
Nine weeks on and three weeks off is wonderful for elementary-aged children. After nine weeks on, both the kids and staff are ready for a bit of a break, and the shortened summer break is great to keep the kids stimulated, so they don't unlearn anything they learned in the previous grade. My GREATEST concern about this proposal to shift to a traditional calendar for school year 2020-2021, is that it a total ruse and ploy to transition to a traditional calendar permanantly. Furthermore, I need someone to explain to me how the 180 school days can't be achieved by starting on August 3rd and ending on June 30th.

As a parent of three children at Timber Drive Elementary in Garner I am fully against switching their calendar to traditional calendar for the 2020 school year.

1) The email we received stated that the change was due to a new law that passed. I have read the law several times. Nowhere in that law does it state single track schools can’t operate. It states that no school may open before August. Track 4 was originally slated to start 8/3, which is after July. Yes, there may have to be some adjustments to the calendar, but if we start on the original 8/3 date we should be able to easily adjust. Perhaps during the long Dec/January Break that track 4 has.

2) It is a hardship to working families to change the schedule. Having children means planning for school breaks months and months in advance. Due to Covid parents are already scrambling trying to find safe options for their kids. Most Childcare options in the triangle book up 6 months-1 year ahead. Moving to a traditional calendar with such little notice leaves parents scrambling to find care at different times and for an entire summer break. This will be a financial hardship for many families who budget for smaller breaks spread through the school year.

3) Our children’s school schedule have already been disrupted and turned upside down. This proposed change means it will be an entire school year before they are back onto their year round school schedule.

4) We choose the year round schedule because our children have less loss of learning with shorter breaks, they thrive on the routine they are used to and expect. We have flexibility to spend time as a family and vacation on off seasons. We are able to better balance childcare in shorter breaks with our work schedules. Here in Garner there are only Track 4 only schools. Moving them to traditional will mean the families in Garner do not have ANY year round school options.

I hope you will consider what best for families and keep track 4 only schools on track 4.

I am completely against this proposal. We specifically applied to a single-track YR middle school so that our two kids would share the same schedule. With two parents working in our household, we rely on our children being on the same schedule and we have now been left with little to no time to plan for alternatives. We have been on the Track 4 schedule since my oldest was in Kindergarten and she is now going to middle school. We do not have another YR option in our area and we have now lost the ability to apply to other schools that we may have been interested in, but turned down given the fact that we wanted the same schedule for both kids. This not only affects our children's well-being, but we face challenges with transportation and childcare. All of our kids have been through so much with the COVID situation. It is not fair to take away the schedule that most have become accustomed to over many years. We moved to an area where we had good options for YR schools because we felt this was the best fit for our kids and their overall well-being, as well as for our family. I urge you to reconsider this proposal and allow the single track YR schools to proceed as normal. We have all been through so much with the COVID situation. It's not fair to make a major change like this so close to the start of school.

Please work with General Assembly to resolve this issue so that single track year round schools can operate on the track 4 calendar. With all the changes these children have been through to take away the schedule they are familiar with would be so harmful. We chose a year round calendar because our boys need more frequent breaks to be their best.

The year round calendar works best academically for our son. He does better when he gets breaks throughout the year. He is entering middle school this coming year, and we chose the year round option specifically for this reason. Our only year round option was a single track school. He also has a sibling at the multi-track year round elementary school. Having them on unexpectedly different calendars will be very difficult for our family. A one year waiver of this new law would help out a lot of children and their families.

I am completely against this proposal and ask the WCPSS School Board to vote against the calendar change for track 4 schools. We attend Durant Road Elementary School and have rising kindergarten and third-grade students that will attend the school next year. Now more than ever our children need consistency and stability in their lives and uprooting what they know of school beyond what they’ve experienced in the last three months will undoubtedly have adverse impacts on the more than 7,000 children who attend track 4 schools in Wake County. On behalf of the families and children that attend these schools, I ask that you work with our local legislators and government teams to modify the law to provide our children with the consistency they need and keep our track 4 school calendar. Our children’s lives have already been turned upside down and changing schedules will undoubtedly cause further harm. We continue to stay at our base school because of the year-round schedule; it has helped foster a love of learning in our daughter. If we wanted a traditional calendar school, we would have requested a change to our traditional calendar school. But, now that those options are closed, we can’t! The change to a traditional calendar will not only impact my children academically, but it will impact their social and emotional well-being, and cause major undue hardship as we try to find safe and reliable childcare, As a parent, I worry about what challenges we will face during the 2020/2021 school year and how we’ll ensure our children are safe. The school year ahead is full of uncertainty and concern. Give our children the one thing they know and have thrived under – a year-round school calendar! As we all strive to navigate through this unprecedented time, please focus on what matters most – the health and safety of students, teachers, staff, and all their families. We must work with our local officials to change the wording of this law to allow our students to continue learning in the environment they know and trust; and we must urge our general assembly to not discriminate against single track schools. Please, save our track 4 calendar schools!

I also am against this proposed change. I would even be willing to start off as distance learning in July in order for us for our kids to not have such a disruption to next school year. Please reconsider and allow our kids to have a schedule they’re used to.

We chose a YR school over our traditional base school for many, many reasons. One of the reasons is because of the YR schedule. Will we be forced to move to our traditional calendar base school because of this change? Our school will no longer be our calendar option.
Our kids have been through enough over the last 3 months. Why do we need to disrupt them yet again? They need stability and reassurance now in the face of uncertainty. No one knows what the 20-21 year will be like.

I am a huge proponent of year-round schools, and I ask that you please consider other options for single-track schools. Of the 10 schools potentially impacted, no fewer than 5 are in the Garner area, providing no year-round options for the town and adjacent area. This is a disservice to the students who benefit from continuous learning (no summer slide) and parents (and staff!) who also benefit from intermittent breaks.
In my experience, a year-round calendar reduces burnout for all involved. I respect that the intent is that this is temporary (only for the 2020-2021 calendar year), but we are experiencing an extreme case in which exceptions should be considered.

Our family is completely against this possible sudden calendar change and I am highly offended at how it could go down and be played out so quickly during these already scary and challenging times. We chose year round calendar in Garner 7 years ago and I now have a rising 7th grader and 3rd grader who absolutely love their schools and their year round schedule. I personally am a little exhausted at having to fight this the past couple of years! Everyone has stated all of the positives in year round schools that we all have grown to know and love. (Parents, students & staff) I propose that with the new law in place that you change single track year round schools to modified calendars to get around the law that was set up during a pandemic when ALL kids were at home virtually learning! Our kids and parents have been through enough this year. Please don’t make another huge change to their lives. We all know that this will not be a change for just one year!

This is all smoke and mirrors. The BOE have been discussing changing the year-round back to traditional calendar for the past few years. They have been giving the exact same reasons the parents back in 2006/2007 used when those parents didn’t want to change from traditional to year-round. Now, the BOE has the coronavirus and subsequent shutdown as the perfect excuse to make these changes. Obviously, it works in their favor to do this experiment with a single track YR school. They will use the data from the 2020/2021 school year to justify pushing for these changes permanently. There are many avenues they could take to not have to make these changes: remote learning (but, let’s do actual RL and not just give busy work, like at my son’s school); extending days by a couple of minutes; cutting some days off of trackout; etc. Why was there a proposed 20/21 calendar sent to families, if that wasn’t the direction the BOE wanted to go?

As a teacher and parent of a Track 4 school, I wish that we did not have to face this change among the many other changes we will have to maneuver. Students and families will have a lot to adjust to and I would hope that we could hold on to some sense of normalcy.

Link to work session live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TP18q2NEMM

This is a terrible idea. The whole reason we chose the school we did was because Track 4 was not only appealing to us but works best with our schedules. We had the opportunity to do traditional and passed on it. I'm not at the point where I will change schools(we have come to love our school so much) however, I see this only as an opportunity for you to phase out single track schools and am not confident that you will return to Track 4 next year as stated. I understand the complications that are put forth are unprecedented and this may include some changes. I believe the initial suggestion of extending the school day and adding remote days should have been sufficient. I understand I am not an administrator and am not well versed in all things YR related BUT I do think you can fight for a better outcome. I don't agree with nor do I support this proposed change. I think you can and should do better. This is not in the best interest of the students or their families.

Chris Heagarty is suggesting in the board work session happening right now, perhaps a little feebly, that the board approaches the legislature to correct the new law as it regards single-track schools. We as parents and staff need to DEMAND that the legislature makes this change. It is completely inequitable to make different requirements for just single-track YR schools. Cathy Moore mentions an "open conversation" with the legislature. Jonathan Blumberg says he thinks there wasn't an intent to target single-track schools, and mentions exploring a waiver possibility.

We agree with this plan. Thank you! Our family would prefer the traditional calendar and a later start date. We would love to see our single track elementary and middle school converted to a traditional calendar permanently so this discussion does not continue and we can move forward for years to come without the worry of this debate. We are long time Wake residents who have no plans to move. It would be wonderful to know all 3 kids are on the same schedule for our next 12 years in Wake schools. I understand all viewpoints but sometimes simplicity is better. Thank you WCPSS!

I am totally against the single track 4 calendar change. Making a last minute decision that affects so many families and students is unacceptable at any time and especially in the middle of a global pandemic. If multi-track can remain as is then make that happen for single track, WCPSS. This is irresponsible and frankly makes no sense at all. Do the right thing for our children!

PLEASE change the single track year round schools to a traditional calendar. Or, at the very least, offer a traditional calendar along with another year round track option at those schools. I would specifically like to see North Garner Middle school switched to a traditional calendar. This school is under enrolled and has been a single track for several years. My understanding of utilizing multi track and year round calendars was to get more students into a building. My children are being sent 14 miles away, to Cary, for middle school because we prefer a traditional option. Both of the Garner middle schools are approximately 6 miles from our house, neither of which is an option for us. Bussing has been a logistical nightmare and I do not see it getting any better with the new guidelines that will most likely be put in place. I strongly urge you to consider the change. Or at least consider adding a traditional option to these schools.

I agree, we are in favor of the traditional calendar change. We are “stuck” for lack of a better word in the Garner area with no real option for a traditional calendar middle school. So there is no point to go to traditional elementary if you have multiple children because Dillard Drive middle school is too far. Thank you for considering this calendar change.

I’d like to know how parents can help get the legislation to be corrected in a timely matter before the BOE vote on June 16th. What can we do to help support WCPSS solve this oversight that is now a nightmare for us? If this legislation is corrected I suggest that single track 4 schools start on August 3rd like other multi track schools are planned. I really hope that this is considered and addressed by someone. The time missed learning due to the Corona Virus added with the time it took to truly start up remote learning successfully added with the elongated break from June 11th - August 17 is far to long for the effective point of year round schooling. Realistically our students are already behind academically due to this pandemic and there’s no reason I can completely comprehend after listening to multiple BOE meetings online to hold the start day off until August 17th if legislation changes the wording of their oversight in the law they wrote.

As a parent of single track 4 children I would like to thank the WCPSS and the BOE for working diligently to solve this dilemma. We have voiced our preference for single track 4 for many years in which you have not only listened, but granted our requests in the past. I realize our current dilemma stems from the new law, it is not the result of any BOE or WCPSS plan. Thank you for keeping the conversation open with the legislators as well as with parents to try to come to a solution that is best for all involved. We are hoping some sort of pardon can be worked out under our extreme circumstances. This calendar change gives very little time for teachers and families to adapt and it brings even more change in the lives of our children at such an unstable time. Thank you for your efforts to find a solution. Please know that we support you and are grateful for your efforts.

I am hopeful parents will share their thoughts in a positive manner realizing we are part of the largest school system in the state as well as one of the largest in the nation. Serving just under 200 schools and around 160,000 students with multiple calendar options is no small task and we thank you for the countless hours you put in to keep our children educated in such uncertain times.

안전바카라 인터넷카지노 모바일카지노 바카라 바카라 조커카지노 슬롯사이트 인터넷카지노 카지노사이트

슬롯사이트 에볼루션게임카지노 카지노 인터넷카지노 바카라사이트 안전카지노 온라인카지노 슬롯사이트 마이크로게임카지노

As a parent of two kids on a single track 4 school I prefer to keep it like it is as a single track year, Thank you for considering our opinions and letting us invoice what we think is better for our kids.

I contacted my congressman for district 4 David E. Price. Parents can as well by going to this link. https://priceforms.house.gov/contact/

You can also call his office 202.225.1784 or 919.859.5999

Please find out what district you are first before you contact your congressman.

I am waiting a few days before I call to see if he responds. I urge other parents to reach out to their congressman and encourage them to correct this issue.

What we as parents should do is advocate for our children and work together with the BOE to resolve this for our students. If the BOE would be so kind as to give parents a direction as to whom else we should contact or how we can help assist them further on behalf of our 7,000 + single track year round students that information would be greatly appreciated. I thank the BOE for all if their hard work and dedication, especially during these difficult times. I hope we can work together to correct this Legislation mistake before the vote by the BOE is held on June 16th.