atl school days longer and no school on fridays

State Funds are supported by who we have put in Lansing. I do not hear them complaining and asking for equal funds for rural communities. Why did the teachers and staff get a raise in this economy? That is some of the funding needed to run a school. Mismanagement at all levels: the top, the board, and the union. The sports program is marginal. An Athletic director and paid coaches must go. You can have a strong sports program with volunteers! There are plenty of funds available! If there are no volunteers then sports must be cut since it is not important.

This is about our childrens education not about you.So we need to keep this debate about them,calling each other names dont help.One thing that we might keep in mind is that more and more employers are going to a four day work weeks to save money so by going to a four day week might help our kids prepare for the labor market in the future.A lot of people have done well in live because of the education that they got from atlanta,including me and it was because people made some hard decisions that had to be made.

Our names are Jason and Jennifer Pryor although I have always told my self I would never post anything on this page here I am. I have 3 kids ranging from preschool to 5 th grade currently in Atlanta schools I did attend the school board meeting last night. and would have to say at least a couple of the board members sound like they will be voting with the kids in there best interest.1 board member did make it clear she will be voting for the schools best interest (in my opinion from a business stand point) the proposal from Mrs staufer is clearly about money and i quote her saying "there is no proof that this is good for or detrimental to the kids education" shouldn't school only be about improving the kids education? i see alto of people posting about it here but the simple fact is that if you don't show up at the meeting on the 18th and voice your concern, your opinion means nothing and you are a part of the problem not the solution.I will admit that this plan sounds like it would work out great at the high school level however i completely disagree for the elementary school kids.the proposed 4 day school week is a temporary solution to a permanent problem.as stated staffer wants to do this for the remainder of this school year as a test and if it works out ask for a waiver from the state to continue it next year.this plan will have the kids in class for more hours then the average person works per day. and as we told the board last night I for 1 personally will not allow my kids to continue attending Atlanta schools if this passes. what kills me is the fact that my daughter cried herself to sleep over the thought of changing schools having to make new friends and be cheer leading for the enemy.I have talked to hillman schools all ready they start there day at 810 am and will be willing to let us meet the bus at the school zone dividing line approx at the m32 m33 interchange this will equate to about 6 miles of extra driving for me each way to met there bus so no it will not cost families that much more to transfer kids. not to mention families can carpool which is also being discussed I hope the board realizes that we are just one family and although passing this might save some money now basing my figures on the school getting 7300 from the government for each kid the school will lose $211,700 over the course of my kids education alone because even if this is temporary once I transfer them to hillman they will not return to Atlanta schools as i feel that 1 transfer is already to much. we made sure of where we wanted to live and bought our house before our kids started school so that they graduated from the same school district that they started in and now even that is up in the air. the board has a hard decision to make and I sure wouldn't want to be in there shoes as this will either save or bury our schools
on a side note I would like to commend the board members that stepped up and donated money out of there own pockets to cover the buss expenses to the circus that was truly putting the kids first i hope you do the same on the 18th

as for the above comments we would gladly pay .50 a ride for each of our 3 kids to keep the school open 5 days a week and there are cut that could be made through out the school to save money sports are not required and should not take any money out of the education budget make them all pay to play. do not supply buses for away games unless the parents are paying for the cost of the driver fuel and mileage. right now band is required by Mrs staufer for all 5th and 6th grade students this is not a state requirement and does not have to happen. 5th and 6Th grade science camp i do not have the letter in front of me of there was mandatory meeting in which miss staffer stated that all parents must work a min of 2 hours volunteer time in order for the kids to go and that paying for your own child would not be allowed. if the school has no money we the parents should have to pay for or children to go again this is not a state requirement. as for the bus situation last night I stated that instead of picking each kid up at there own drive way pick each street up at one location at the end of the street this would save the time the busses would be on the road and the amount of wear and tear on the buses for continual stopping and turning around.on my street alone this would add up to at least 15 miles a week less travel for the buses.that being i said i received a letter from Mrs staufer this morning stating "the bigger concern is the liability of having bus stops.if the school has a bus stop, then the school has to either pay to supervise or take the responsibility of having kids unsupervised." I have to completely disagree with that quote supervising the kids is our responsibility as parents until they are on the bus then the school is response able going by this logic if my kids are standing at the end of my driveway and one of them happens to fall and get hurt the school is responsible. please do take this as a personal attack towards miss staufer at all because that simply isn't the case. we have had to sit down with her on many occasion and she has always been willing to meet with us even when we just showed up without an appointment and for the most part we have always gotten satisfactory results only having to involve the police once. if more parent involvement would help keep this from happening please tell us what we can do I for 1 would be more then happy to contribute
for those of you that have an opinion but can not make the meeting on the 18th please either voice your opinion to the members of school board throughout this week or write it down and I'm sure someone would be willing to read it to the board

Mommy wrote:

Charger07, What else besides sports are there to do here? If Altanta drops sports they will loose more students. I understand some people may work a ways a way, but if the students need to be in school at 7:30, how many parents work before then? Can they not drop off their kids if they are so worried about the long day? Then those that participate in sports have something to do while waiting for their parents to pick them up. Homework should not be an issue because the teachers are supposed to give the students time at the end of each class to do it, besides many of the students do not do their homework anyway. For those of you that need daycare, see if you can possibly work something out with a classmates parent or a friend that stays home. Just a suggestion.

Mommy,
Well, we used to have many 4-H groups active when I was growing up in Atlanta and it was a very wonderful, memorable part of my life. I also believe that a lot of people have to travel out of Atlanta to get to work, so they leave pretty early. I used to work in Gaylord and live in Atlanta and I had to be out the door by 7:00 a.m. There is no easy answer to all of this, but I think it would burden parents more than help them to have a 4-day school week.

MeIsmyaka wrote:

Everyone needs to relax on this issue. I completely understand the facts of how early the bus pick up is and drop off to home would be... not to mention how much of an inconvience in day care there would be. The other side is funding... your school is falling apart just like many other schools in the country. The fact is you could be out of the bus system, classes, sports and other things that keep the school running.
The fact that as parents you might be put out, what is the main concern? The children's education and quality of life. There are facts that a long school day will not impact the kids in the long run... schools in many states run year around and it works for them very well. We parents here in Michigan have no idea how GOOD we actually have it. You have no gangs, no serious crime or terror threats. Your children get a quality education, regardless the fact that Atlanta is a hole in the wall town that is dying on a daily basis.
Stop with all the chronic complaining and weigh the facts and see that you do not have it all that bad. There are schools in Metro Detroit that would give anything to have the luxuries your small pathetic town has. Grow up and stop bitchin' because there are many others out there that have it a lot worse than Atlanta Community Schools has it.
Keep up the chaos and the choice will be do your kids go to Hillman, Jo-burg or Onaway...

Do you have a child in this school system? Do you even live in Atlanta? Have you given one thought about the lives of these children if their parents are further strapped for cash by having to find more money for daycare while they are feverishly working to try to put food on the table? Get real. You spout off about "growin up and stop bitchin'", but do you have a personal stake in this? A lot of people do. Coming from a family where my parents had 4 children in school at the same time, I know all about the sacrifice my parents made for us. If Mrs. Stauffer doesn't want to budge and thinks she can use the "model" used by school districts in more affluent areas, then she is not the right person to be leading a rural school district. What's wrong with letting a parent pay for their children's science camp stay although they cannot donate time? PARENTS ARE WORKING!! Take off those rose-colored glasses and get with the reality of the situation.

It will be a burden on some, and work out ok for others.

Sometimes we have to make concessions based on the big picture, and not our own little worlds.

I do not look forward to getting up that much earlier, or my kids getting up that much earlier, or home that much later, or that some will have to arrange daycare, but in the grand scheme of things, something has to be done, and this makes the most sense.

Our school has trimmed and trimmed until there is nothing left to trim without affecting the quality of education further.

At least with this alternative, there will be more instruction time and time to get homework done with the teachers and not the parents who do not understand the new methods of teaching, for example, math. Not to mention the money saved in order to keep operating and possibly avoid a consolidation in the future.

Is it a bandaid? Maybe, maybe not. We will have to try it and see.

I think if you are thinking of sending your child to a different school it might pay to ask what they are going do to resolve there money problems first, they did cut the funds to all schools right.

Get a grip wrote:

<quoted text>
1. This is not a solution to the budget woes. It is a suggestion on how the district can save money while offering a better educational opportunity for the students. Their work would be turned in daily with much less homework being sent home. Time spent in school saves time at home.
2. You don't have kids in school, but you are in the forefront on telling others to pull their kids out of school before you even know the details.
3. There will be a public hearing on Jan. 18 at 7pm at the school. The public will be heard. Before you go screaming into the night for everyone to pull their kids it might be an idea to listen to both sides of the proposal.
4. One of the items being looked at is changing the bus routs so that the bus rides will be shortened.
5. If you take your kids (which are no longer in school) to JO-Burg you would be saving ten minutes in the morning. They start ten minutes later than the proposed start in Atlanta and they would be in school on Fridays. Not to mention the drive to and from Jo-Burg twice a day. Sounds as if you are ready to cut off your nose to spite your face.
In summation, this topic was brought up because the State has cut $165 per pupil from this years budget. Next year they are cutting $434 per pupil. If planning is not done now to try to find solutions to these cuts and teachers are laid off you would probably threaten to "pull your kids out of Atlanta" because the teachers were let go.

Classes begin at 8:00 a.m. in Lewiston and conclude at 2:44 p.m.
Classes in Johannesburg begin at 8:20 a.m. and conclude at 3:04 p.m. info can be found at http://www.jlas.org/2009-10%20Calendar.htm

As hard as it seems you have to understand she is trying to save the school!! Sounds like she wants it to be temporary. is a great superintendent and Atlanta should trust her. School finances are public knowledge and take a look at the budget to come up with ideas. She is doing what she can to save a wonderful place!! 7:30am???? We have been starting at this time in west Michigan for years. I report by 7:00a.m. Yes...my students get on the bus early some at 6:15 or earlier. They adjust and this is just the way it is.....even though it isn't great. We also pay $50 for each sport with a family cap. We don't bus students to any weekend sports since most parents attend on the weekends and take the kids home. BIG cost savings! We use no windows software on our computers just a free software service called open office. Another idea is to outsource some of your staff that are eligible for retirement. Just some ideas! Best wishes...

Parent wrote:

The kids would start school at 7:30 according to the paperwork that came home today, teachers have to be there at 7:10. And end at 4:08.
Even though this means my kids (and I) will have to get up at 4:30 to get on the bus a little after 5 and won't be home til closer than 6, I still think, from a cost savings stand point, it is a good idea to a very bad situation that the state has put the schools in.
We have to make cuts somewhere, and I would rather see this than another person lose their job.

I come from a rural school and we took concessions to save jobs and from closing our doors. Teachers all over the state are taking pay cuts and paying more for insurance. Each year staff moves up steps which is natural with a cap. After 15 years do you realize I make the same amount as if I was there 35 years??? Athletic directors MUST be paid and is a thankless job if you really know what is entailed in their job. They are responsible for attending all sporting events and much more than anyone can imagine. Our AD is also the principal in our school. Coaches don't get paid that much......take a look. Minimum wage......In our school we are struggling badly and some coaches took the money and then donated it back for uniforms or the sports program. If unions give up the right to coach and be paid it is hard to get back.

White House in Atlanta wrote:

State Funds are supported by who we have put in Lansing. I do not hear them complaining and asking for equal funds for rural communities. Why did the teachers and staff get a raise in this economy? That is some of the funding needed to run a school. Mismanagement at all levels: the top, the board, and the union. The sports program is marginal. An Athletic director and paid coaches must go. You can have a strong sports program with volunteers! There are plenty of funds available! If there are no volunteers then sports must be cut since it is not important.

just info wrote:

<quoted text>
Classes begin at 8:00 a.m. in Lewiston and conclude at 2:44 p.m.
Classes in Johannesburg begin at 8:20 a.m. and conclude at 3:04 p.m. info can be found at http://www.jlas.org/2009-10%20Calendar.htm

Jo burg starts at 7:40 AM

Why should our children suffer longer days so the teachers can have raises and get another day off? I understand that teachers dont make alot, but thats not why they do it. cut the buses, we will carpool.

everyone on both sides of this debate needs to read this article. the main school in this study is in the up. the second half is a list of every district in Michigan. i will be printing out a copy of this article for each school board member and since it's 25 pages long and trying to get it to them before the meeting next Monday.(this might be hard since i only know were 1of them lives) if anyone talks to any of the board members please tell them to feel free to call me and i will deliver it to them personally. below is a quote from Roger Cole The superintendent of
Stephenson Area Public Schools
in the Upper Peninsula

"Our school days were 8 to
4, kindergarten through 12th
grade," Cole said. "We had kids
on a bus as early as 6:25 a.m.
who were not getting home until
5:50 p.m.; they were putting
in 11 hour days, and then were
expected to do homework. I
had two children in elementary
school, and they would cry
at night because they were so
exhausted."

here is the link to the full article

http://www.thecenterformichigan.net/tcfm/docs...

White House in Atlanta wrote:

Keep it Simple! Busing is not required! If you want a 5 day week a fee of .50 per ride will cover the $25,000. Can you take your kids to the school for that price? What will be the child care arrangements and cost on Friday? Pay the .50! Sports is not required! I believe in sports but not at the cost of education.

If we cut sports in Atlanta, we would lose at least 50 kids to other schools, just in grades 7-12 and we would be forced to close.

The Pryors wrote:

everyone on both sides of this debate needs to read this article. the main school in this study is in the up. the second half is a list of every district in Michigan. i will be printing out a copy of this article for each school board member and since it's 25 pages long and trying to get it to them before the meeting next Monday.(this might be hard since i only know were 1of them lives) if anyone talks to any of the board members please tell them to feel free to call me and i will deliver it to them personally. below is a quote from Roger Cole The superintendent of
Stephenson Area Public Schools
in the Upper Peninsula
"Our school days were 8 to
4, kindergarten through 12th
grade," Cole said. "We had kids
on a bus as early as 6:25 a.m.
who were not getting home until
5:50 p.m.; they were putting
in 11 hour days, and then were
expected to do homework. I
had two children in elementary
school, and they would cry
at night because they were so
exhausted."
here is the link to the full article
http://www.thecenterformichigan.net/tcfm/docs...

You can find many other schools that have to well with this. The point is that there won't be any homework unless they miss school. Classwork will actually get done instead of going home where it is rarely completed.

Most of you seem to think this is only about the money. Yes they are looking to cut the budget and this move will save $25,000 in bussing and other savings, but you fail to see the bigger point. Students will do better with a 4 day week, especially in secondary school where they will be offered more choices of electives and have virtually no homework. The majority of students do not do homework at home for one reason or another. This way they will be held responsible for getting homework done because it must be done by the end of class with the extra time. Since homework will be done, they can get rid of the pointless enrichment hour and offer other classes. Some ideas I have heard are astronomy, newspaper, current events, forensic science, and broadcasting on channel 6 at Sunrise Cable.
This move should also cut down on truancy because students will only have to make it 4 days a week instead of 5. It also opens up a day for high school students to get a part time job to help there families out that are struggling financially.
One more point, Atlanta Teachers are some of the lowest paid teachers in the State of Michigan and have some of the highest workload due to having to prepare for 6 different classes, as apposed to teachers at larger schools who only prepare for 1 or 2 different classes.

Charger07 wrote:

<quoted text>
Mommy,
Well, we used to have many 4-H groups active when I was growing up in Atlanta and it was a very wonderful, memorable part of my life. I also believe that a lot of people have to travel out of Atlanta to get to work, so they leave pretty early. I used to work in Gaylord and live in Atlanta and I had to be out the door by 7:00 a.m. There is no easy answer to all of this, but I think it would burden parents more than help them to have a 4-day school week.

Hmmm... thinking that being out the door by 7 with the kids starting about that time is better than being out the door at 7 when school doesn't start til 8:30? Am I missing something here?

wondering wrote:

<quoted text>
Hmmm... thinking that being out the door by 7 with the kids starting about that time is better than being out the door at 7 when school doesn't start til 8:30? Am I missing something here?

Yes you are missing something. Go back and read my post #26 in response to comments by "Mommy".

Mommy wrote:

Most of you seem to think this is only about the money. Yes they are looking to cut the budget and this move will save $25,000 in bussing and other savings, but you fail to see the bigger point. Students will do better with a 4 day week, especially in secondary school where they will be offered more choices of electives and have virtually no homework. The majority of students do not do homework at home for one reason or another. This way they will be held responsible for getting homework done because it must be done by the end of class with the extra time. Since homework will be done, they can get rid of the pointless enrichment hour and offer other classes. Some ideas I have heard are astronomy, newspaper, current events, forensic science, and broadcasting on channel 6 at Sunrise Cable.
This move should also cut down on truancy because students will only have to make it 4 days a week instead of 5. It also opens up a day for high school students to get a part time job to help there families out that are struggling financially.
One more point, Atlanta Teachers are some of the lowest paid teachers in the State of Michigan and have some of the highest workload due to having to prepare for 6 different classes, as apposed to teachers at larger schools who only prepare for 1 or 2 different classes.

They (Atlanta teachers)are preparing for waaaaaaaay smaller class sizes, though, so I don't feel it is a viable comparison. Where are these high school students going to get these part time jobs? Adults are out of work and some of them would be grateful for minimum wage jobs just to be able to try to support their families. If the students do not do their homework, it is my opinion that the fault lies with the parents and students, not the teachers. And truancy?? If they're not attending now, they're certainly not going to attend just because their school week is cut by one day.