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Schools

Divisive topics engage PTAs

They may take sides on changes that anger many parents: school start times, recess and teaching test-taking.

By EDDY RAMIREZ
Published September 18, 2005

INVERNESS - Joy Ely is a stay-at-home mom who sits on the PTA board at Inverness Primary School, where her son Cody is in the first grade. By contrast, Terri Stewart is a single mother who works outside the home and doesn't have time to attend the parent meetings at Inverness Primary, where her son Zachary is also in the first grade.

But when their children came home last year with notes from superintendent Sandra "Sam" Himmel announcing that school would start almost two hours later beginning in the 2005-06 school year, the two mothers were equally dismayed that a decision so important would be made without their input.

More than a month into the new school year, many parents whose children attend schools with drastically different start times are still upset about the change.

Now, the Citrus County PTA is discussing whether to break its silence on the subject and lobby for schools to return to the old start times or an altogether different schedule.

It's unlikely that the district will make changes to the schedule this year, but parents hope that by organizing they can influence policies that affect all schools in the future.

"My biggest concern is that the decision to change the school hours was made unilaterally, instead of getting input from teachers and parents - the ones who are really affected," Stewart said.

Last week, members agreed to form an advocacy committee that will study the effect of the new start times on families and student performance. After reviewing their research, delegates from each of the seven school PTAs will vote whether to take a side on the debate.

School start times won't be the only issue that the committee will study. Officials say other hot topics for discussion include whether children get enough recess time to exercise and play with their peers. They also want to look at whether schools spend too much time teaching students test-taking strategies to master the FCAT and what the implications have been for arts and music education.

School officials "have wanted input but they didn't have a means to get it," said county PTA president Kathy Thrumston. "We're growing as a county and the needs of parents are getting bigger and bigger. We need to have this sort of thing in place."

The move represents a break from how the parent organization has operated. The county PTA has refrained from taking sides on any issues, fearing that any stance on a policy set by the School Board or the superintendent would detract from its overall mission to support teachers and parents. Strict guidelines have kept the group from taking sides on policies that neither the national or state PTAs have formal stances on.

But local PTA members are increasingly finding it difficult to resist taking a position on local policies that they say may be detrimental to the education of their children. "I know we voted people into office, but by golly they need to hear our voice," Stewart said.

Last school year, Himmel announced that all younger children would start school earlier in the day and that later starts would work better for high school students. In the past, schools had varying start times. Now it's uniform: High schools start at 7:40 a.m., middle schools at 7:55 a.m. and elementary schools at 9:05 a.m.

Himmel said that, under her plan, young children would not sit at bus stops in the dark. Also, the new schedule would reduce late bus runs and prevent drivers from rushing from one run to the next. Additionally, the district would save $150,000 under a more efficient schedule of bus routes.

Since then, the plan has drawn criticism from parents, who must now also pay for before-school child care and who worry about their children's performance in the classroom.

At a School Board meeting last week, Stewart, a state child caseworker, warned that the extra time in the morning for high school students could result in increased delinquency while younger students, including her son, could be set back in school, citing studies that show younger children learn best at earlier times.

But Himmel noted that the three elementary schools that opened later than the others last year all earned A grades under the state's accountability system.

In an interview, Himmel said it's simply too early to gauge the effect of the new start times on student performance.

"We have to make decisions that are not always popular," she said. "We will keep talking to our principals and see how it's going."

But parents like Stewart say they are skeptical that principals or teachers are being candid in conversations with the superintendent.

"The principals aren't going to speak up," Stewart said. "They're not going to oppose the superintendent. I mean, come on. People need job security."

For that reason, she said, the PTA needs to take a more proactive role to ensure that the district hears directly from parents about the strains the new start times have put on some families.

The county PTA receives feedback from PTA chapters at six elementary schools and one middle school. Overall, the organization represents 1,000 parents who are dues-paying members.

Pat Deutschman, School Board chairwoman, said she supports the PTA assuming a more active role. She said the committee's input would help inform the board's decisions on "an as-needed basis."

"That would really be the only way (the organization) can be successful," she said.

Deutschman, who served on a school advisory council before being elected to the School Board, said Himmel should have sought more parent input before she made the decision to change school start times. She said she understands the reasons behind the changes, but wants the district to monitor how students and educators are coping with the switch.

"People feel excluded and violated and get angry if you don't take the time up front and make every attempt to address their concerns," she said. "When (the school district) fails to take parents into account, it comes back to haunt you."

Eddy Ramirez can be reached at eramirez@sptimes.com or 860-7305.

[Last modified September 18, 2005, 02:15:36]