GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Since April, the newly founded womens’ and mothers’ human rights, grassroots advocacy organization, called “The Mothers’ Agenda NY” (aka The MANY) has been talking to community parents, distributing fliers and sending emails to mobilize mass numbers of us around this very issue.

The MANY is urging the Department of Education and Panel for Education Policy to change their mandated school calendar and allow the first day of this new school year to begin on Monday, September 13th.

The reasons are many. Obvious to every mom, dad and guardian, we’re responsible for helping our children transition from their summer vacation frames of minds to the routines and positive habits required by the seriousness of school, study and homework.

Opening school for just one day only makes our jobs harder!

Following months of vacation, starting then stopping school over four days, destroys parental efforts to initiate routines and causes added stress and anxiety for everyone concerned. We highlight the added expense on working parents who scramble to arrange for a single afternoon of mid-week childcare, the kindergartner starting school for the first time, the non-English speaking immigrant child in a new school surrounding, and the ninth-grader newly traveling to high school in a distant borough or neighborhood. Finally, we consider what one day of school means for every teacher in NYC will be stressed to repeat what they said and did, four days later. The September 8th mandate does nothing to benefit those who really matter. It will be a real life version of the movie, “Ground Hog Day.”

1.1 million children and hundreds of thousands of families and teachers will be affected by this care less dictate. As usual, this type of decision-making is indicative of Tweed’s disrespectful policies, as well as the Chancellor’s ongoing refusal to acknowledge the voices and wisdom of parents (and thousands of progressive teachers who see us as allies, not enemies).

We are pleased that our messaging and outreach has successfully brought many more parents to their keyboards that have reached the ears of Joel Klein, and once again, found an ally in Patrick Sullivan (the only thinking person on the PEP).

Should the Chancellor and the rest of his Tweed clones choose to do what they also do and not listen to reason, The Mothers’ Agenda NY is calling on all parents to stand together in protest on September 8th.

Moms have the moral authority to establish workable routines for our families. The Mothers’ Agenda NY is about women and mothers raising consciousness and our civic voices; and in our infancy we are letting the policy makers know that we have POWER in numbers. We CAN extend our children’s summer vacations until it makes sense for school to begin on Monday, September 13th.

Right. On that first day, teachers could hand out grading policies and course overviews, and try to get to know a few of the students and familiarize themselves a bit with the classes. Then, by the following Monday, that first day will have been largely for naught, almost completely forgotten and in need of a total redo. It also makes schools, teachers, counselors, administrators, etc., look silly in the eyes of students — right off the bat. Great job! Well did!

A five-day first week is overwhelming. The one-day week wouldn’t be ideal, but would give us the weekend to get some administrative work done and make the second week a bit easier.

Between surveys, Delaney Cards, phone lists, contracts and classroom policies, etc., it’s at least 2 days of non-teaching, probably 3 days if you include the diagnostic stuff. If those days are right in a row it makes me uncomfortable, because I feel like the wrong routine is being established – I’m doing most of the talking and they’re not learning anything interesting. If that’s broken up by a weekend it doesn’t seem as bad. The first day isn’t “class” it’s just filling out forms.

. . . Delaney cards? That sounds almost Shakespearean. Ah, the millennia just come and go.