News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By Suzanne Whittingham 

There are petitions asking the citizens of Williams Lake to sign on the dotted line about the looming school closures of Glendale and Kwaleen Elementary Schools. Julie Rotzinger is D.P.A.C representative and Co-Chair for the Glendale Elementary Parent Advisory Council in School District 27. Janna Erickson is the other Co-Chair for the Glendale P.A.C. Both of these ladies want the community to understand precisely what is at stake with the possible closures of Glendale and Kwaleen elementary schools. 

Julie Rotzinger outlined the tremendous struggle that retired teacher Byron Kemp went through to bring in the 'Balanced Calendar' back in 1991. “Glendale school was the first school in Canada to implement this strategic and innovative change. It was years of work for Byron to bring these changes to our region,” she said. Both Julie and Janna commented how “People are opposed to change. In this case, if we loose the 'Balanced Calendar' in these two schools now, in all likelihood, we will never get them back.” 

At the second public meeting held at Williams Lake Secondary School February 15, citizens had opportunity to voice their concerns about these potential SD- 27 school closures and program cuts. The District has a $3.4 million budget shortfall that needs to be addressed. Julie Rotzinger said, “We find out what the SD-27 budget will be on March 15th. On April 15th, the Board of Trustees for SD-27 will decide what the final decision will be with regards to the potential closures of Glendale and Kwaleen Elementary schools as well as any possible program cuts.” 

So what then is at stake with the 'Balanced Calendar'? 

To understand the controversy over the 'Balanced Calendar’, a look at 'A discussion paper, 'It's About Time' is crucial for understanding the issues. Educators met back in the nineties to discuss new approaches to calendar restructuring. Their mandate was, to simply 'think outside of the box'. The discussion paper acknowledges that, “in the end, their ideas broke through the time barrier.” It all started with the observation that our educational enterprises were built primarily on five premises that educators knew to be false. Those false premises, as outlined in the discussion paper are: 

1. The assumption that students arrive at school ready to learn in the same way, on the same schedule, all in rhythm with each other. 

2. The notion that academic time can be used for nonacademic purposes with no effect on learning. 

3. The pretense that because yesterday's calendar was good enough for us, it should be good enough for our children- despite major changes in the larger society. 

4. The myth that schools can be transformed without giving teachers the time they need to retool themselves and reorganize their work. 

5. It is reasonable to expect "world-class academic performance" from our students within the time-bound system that is already failing them. 

What the Balanced Calendar addressed was the creation of a scheduling approach that supported best both the needs of the community and the children who would be attending those schools. In the case of Glendale Elementary School, a case example quoted in the discussion paper, “the first single-track year-round school calendar in Canada was implemented to counteract a declining enrollment and its schedule was designed to match the needs of the logging community. Because the loggers were unable to work during the spring thaw and fall freeze-up, the school scheduled 3-week holidays at these times.” This type of schedule continues to this day in the two schools that are threatened with school closure in School District #27. 

Both Janna Erickson and Julie Rotzinger were clear on the many benefits to the community and students that would be lost with a return to the traditional scheduling approach. There are many studies that have been conducted to research the benefits of a Single-Track Balanced Calendar. The discussion paper outlines very clearly that, “It is the shorter but more frequent holidays that minimize the forgetting. These shorter breaks allow the learning momentum to continue, which is particularly beneficial for economically, educationally and socially disadvantaged students. (Glendale has quite a significant low-income presence). The students who are at high-risk suffer the greatest 'summer learning loss'. If students do not have the opportunity to participate in summer activities that reinforce and enrich their learning, they will have significant learning loss. Our way of schooling allows us to reduce the amount of time needed for review each fall.” 

There are many more benefits to the year-round calendar that have been identified not only in studies, but have been given substantiation by teachers, parents and students. In the 'It's About Time' discussion paper, it says, “Teachers report a reduction in fatigue and burnout, with increased teacher morale. This results in fewer sick leaves, less stress and less teacher absences. Less time is also spent by teachers reviewing the forgotten learning of the previous year. Teachers who have worked within the year-round schedule find it more efficient and productive to plan curriculum for shorter blocks of time.” 

The 'It's About Time' discussion paper also reports that “Several year-round schools have reported a decrease in vandalism at the schools and reduction in crimes committed by juveniles in the community.” Julie Rotzinger said, “Glendale boasts a very low vandalism rate, which means less repair/maintenance costs for the School Board.” 

Janna Erickson explained that parents “enjoy the three weeks off at Christmas because it allows their family to vacation far away more easily and the hectic holiday schedule is alleviated by the extra week off.”  

The list of benefits derived from the switch to the balanced calendar are long in the discussion paper, and these results are highlighted from several studies: “Most important are the benefits to the children who learn within the Balanced Calendar. With the shorter blocks of time for both learning and breaks from learning, there are higher levels of motivation for students and teachers. The students find it easier to sustain their motivation for shorter periods of time.” (Quinlan, George & Emmet, 1987: Zykowski et al., 1991; Hazelton et al., O'Neil & Adamson, 1993). 

As another clarification of benefits, the discussion paper 'It's About Time' outlines that “The balanced calendar centers on reorganizing the school year to provide learning that is more continuous by breaking up the long summer vacation into shorter, more frequent holidays throughout the year. It doesn't eliminate the summer vacation, but reduces it and redistributes it as 'time off' during the school year.” Julie Rotzinger wanted to make it very clear that “Students attending Glendale and Kwaleen Elementary schools go to the SAME classes and receive the SAME instruction as the students on a traditional calendar.” 

Perhaps some of the most dramatic results referenced in the 'It's About Time' discussion paper that have arisen out of the move to the Balanced Scheduling are those about declines in student drop-out rates. The paper says, “In these times when the issue of high drop-out rates exist in so many schools, the fact that there were significant declines in the dropout rate along with improved school attendance consistently reported in the literature is further evidence of benefits that should not be ignored.” 

All of the details of the research and data available on the two fundamental approaches to calendar scheduling in schools cannot be covered here. What is most important is our understanding of the bigger picture of the need to be adaptive to the changing needs of both our community of Williams Lake and the children who are relying upon us to make wise decisions now that affect their future success in this world. 

The Single -Track Balanced Calendar approach has Adam, Julie Rotzinger's ten year-old son's seal of approval. He has experienced the benefits first-hand and told his mom how much easier it is to remember things when he goes back to Glendale School after a break. Julie would like to see a continuation of Adam's enthusiasm for learning and success in all of his future endeavors. 

Both Julie Rotzinger and Janna Erickson expressed concerns about the potential closure of both of these schools. They do not understand why the Board is zeroing in on Glendale and Kwaleen, for, as Julie says, “It does not cost any more money to run these schools, except for the busing needed when the schools are open when the traditionally scheduled schools are closed. We have even addressed that issue with parents from Glendale finding alternative means of getting their children to school in those times if it saves the school from closure.” All that the parents, teachers and students affected by these decisions can do now is wait and hope.

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