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OMessage From Kathy Korte, PTSA President

Hello parents:

On Tuesday, Jan. 26, I represented LBJ parents at a forum on APS' proposed block schedules. With me at the forum were Principal Mike Bachicha, 8th grade Councilor Joe Sena and Head Special Education teacher Kurt Schoenholzer.

It was my opinion that of the schools present at the forum today, most are critical of the two proposed block schedules.

Here are where the criticisms were focused on:

1. META (Maintenance, Enrichment, Tutorial, Advisory): Across the board, administrators, parents and teachers at the forum expressed concern regarding this 45-minute class that would meet daily under the two proposals. Where is the curriculum? What are the standards? Is this a graded course? Is it flexible (set by schools) or will this course have parameters? If this course comprises interventions, are teachers qualified to teach those interventions? The list goes on and on.

Associate Superintendent of Middle Schools Ruby Etheridge acknowledged that a META committee is to start meeting Wednesday, Jan. 27. So the framework for META is still a work in progress. Those present at Tuesday's forum were critical of the lack of information regarding such a central component of the proposed block schedules. Ms. Etheridge agreed much work needs to be done.

2. Costs: Many concerns regarding what these schedules mean to school budgets and whether schools can accommodate those financial needs. Again, it was revealed that a Finance Committee is still working on whether the two proposed block schedules are financially feasible to APS in such tight economic times. Again, those present were critical of the fact that cost feasibility studies have not been completed regarding the two proposals.

3. In the case of a five-period block schedule in which Math/Language Arts&Literature classes are taken every day, there was great concern as to whether all 26 middle schools will be able to find teachers who are highly qualified to teach more than one subject. In other words, if schools need more Math/Language Arts teachers to accommodate a daily block, will they be able to move current teachers around to fill those spots? Will there be enough Math/LA teachers?

4. There was much criticism of the fact that this one-size-fits-all approach to a bell schedule really hampers the efforts individual schools have made to tailor their days in a way that benefits their particular student needs.

5. There was great concern that special education, ESL and other special needs many students have are lost in the proposed schedules. I'm not very familiar with the alphabet soup of the education world, but it would appear special-ed and ESL teachers were highly critical of the block schedule.

Finally, Ms. Etheridge did tell us that board member David Peercy at a meeting on Tuesday morning expressed his concern that APS was moving too quickly and maybe should slow down the process a bit. Other board members expressed the same sentiment, she said.

So Ms. Etheridge conceded that instituting pilot programs at middle schools next year may be a likelihood. This concession was met with approval, as a majority of us in the room this morning thought that APS has not worked out all the kinks in these proposed block schedules.

In APS' defense, Ms. Etheridge said administrators feel that a block schedule is more conducive to giving students 21st century skills, like collaboration, project-based learning and critical thinking skills. It also provides personalization and a safe environment for learning (less movement in the halls).

I do appreciate APS' efforts to make this process transparent. It was expressed at the forum today that APS will do well to go a bit slower, work with parent, teacher and administrator concerns and allow more public input after the META and Resource committees have completed their work.

I will keep our community informed as to the future steps taken in this process.

Regards,
Kathy Korte
PTSA President