Lucky us! LAUSD Supt. Ray Cortines robo-called LAUSD parents today announcing we will be receiving a “telephonic survey” consisting of 5 questions, as the District begins planning the instructional calendars for the next 3 years. (Um, is telephonic a word? nvm.)
Hello folks!
This is our chance to return the start of the school year back to September and out of the heat!
Just say NO to Early Start!
I also propose we lose the whole week at Thanksgiving and make the holiday breaks more evenly distributed, but priorities! Return the after-Labor Day school start date. So parents, answer those survey calls and make your voice loud and clear!
#AugustIsForSummerVacation #FixTheAC #NoMoreEarlyStart!
UPDATE: They’re calling from 213.241.4544 – so look out for that number and answer it when they call you. It only took me 2 mins. 5 questions.
Courtesy of Angel Zobel-Rodriguez, MagnetAngel, here is the list of LAUSD survey questions:
First Question: School should start in Early August, Mid August, Late August, Early September.
Next questions use a five-point scale, Strongly agree, somewhat agree, neither agree or disagree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree.
Second Question: Winter Break should be 2 weeks,
Third Question: Elementary and Middle/High school students should be on the same calendar, (isn’t this a no-brainer?)
Fourth Question: Create a longer winter break with an “intersession*” (apparently a 5 day/wk – 5 wk intervention for those students needing remediation) and another one during the 7-wk summer. *think mandatory summer school during both the winter and summer breaks for kids below basic. And everyone else can just hang out for another few weeks while their parents go to work. Oh that’s gonna be popular! Not.
Last Question: First semester should end before Winter Break. (clue: that’s why we have the August start date to begin with.)
Be prepared. They will only make 3 attempts to call you, and once answered they will not call back. Good luck! (Thanks for sharing the questions Angel.)
And, If you want to add more weight to your voice, sign the Change.org petition here:
LA Kids Deserve Summertime – Start School After Labor Day
Also, email Supt. Cortines and your board members directly here:
superintentdent@lausd.net
george.mckenna@lausd.net
monica.garcia@lausd.net
scott.schmerelson@lausd.net
steve.zimmer@lausd.net
ref.rodriguez@lausd.net
monica.ratliff@lausd.net
richard.vladovic@lausd.net
GoMamaGuide 
Since I am a parent of high schoolers I understand the importance of a true
break at the winter holidays. When my High schoolers were still in elementary school, I like many other elementary school parents, wanted school to begin after Labor Day. Then they culminated from elementary school and my opinion quickly changed, as I witnessed my daughter doing lots of studying for finals that would be taking place once the 3 week winter recess was over. It was no holiday at all.
I encourage you to see the big picture to communicate to families of elementary aged students the
fact that one day, they too will have older students with finals. That they will
not want their winter holidays to be one of stress and constant studying. This was how it was prior to the district starting the school year earlier and allowing for finals before school resumes in January.
Hopefully we can then find a start date that makes the most sense.
Claudia O’Connell
Phoebe, 12th
Lila, 9th
Wesley, 4th
Claudia, Thanks for sharing your perspective. I hear where you’re coming from. My thought is that if we split the difference, say start the last week in August, remove the full week break at Thanksgiving and return it to the 2 days it had been previously, and extend the first semester a week by shortening the winter break to 2 weeks instead of 3 (which already feels long for working parents), we would likely solve the issue.
gomama,
I don’t see the point in all of your tweaks, besides making the summer break as long as possible. You don’t address Claudia’s perspective nor address the academic advantages and disadvantages of an early start that allows for true semester breaks and an end to the school year in May that is better suited for AP exam schedules.