Calendaring Committee Changes

One of the very first changes I was able to have influence on is the change in the Jordan School District Calendaring Policies. I have served on some kind of school committee or PTA since 1998 when our family moved into the Jordan School District. One of those committees was the “Jordan School District Calendaring Committee.”

I served on the Calendaring Committee for many years as a parent representative, and I was completely frustrated with the process. As a committee member representing the community, I felt like I did not have a VOICE, and neither did OUR community.

Here are some of the problems I remember having:

• The committee was too large, I think we had about 25 members.

• Members were on the committee too long. We lacked new ideas.

• The policies were cumbersome and did not allow for innovation or out side the box thinking.

• There was no way to ask the community for input. I represented the community but had no access to input from the community.

• What input we did receive, we rarely listened to. Youth from Bluffdale Elementary gave us a great idea to build a calendar with the benefits of both traditional and year round and we did not even consider the idea.

As a member of the Jordan School Board we went to work to revise this policy.

• WE formed a committee to receive input from different stakeholders.

• WE studied the policy and removed limitation that restricted innovative thought in calendaring creation. For example, does Spring Break have to be over Easter Holiday?

• WE reduced the size of the committee by 50% making the committee more manageable.

• WE put term limits on the committee ensuring that change of committee members would happen on a rotating basis.

• WE put together a new administrative team to lead our committee work, allowing for new ways to accomplish the work of a calendaring committee.

• FINALLY, WE put into policy the requirement that Public input had be be received before the Calendar could be approved by the Board. YOU now have a VOICE on our Calendar.

yOUR VOICE on the Jordan School Board, fought for you to have a VOICE. Past Calendaring surveys have been the most highly replied to surveys taken in the district. The week long Fall Break, the longer Winter Break were direct results of changes in our policies and listening to our community, teachers and students.

Now is yOUR time to VOICE yOUR concerns on the calendar. What calendar do you like, and why?

https://jordandistrict.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6X2HGMGOvHdeYSN

Calendaring Committee Policy Changes of 2017

November 22, 2016: Today was the first time I sat at the table and a non voting member of the Jordan School Board. In fact, it was during this meeting that the election was finalized and I was declared your representative on the Jordan School Board. 

I have been frustrated at the process of making our school calendar for many years. It is ironic that this was one of the first issues that we dealt with in the BoardRoom. 

Issue: The Jordan School District Calendaring Committee is burdened by so many policies, they are unable to create effective calendars. An example of this the consistent scheduling of July 25th start date for year round schools. Since July 24th is a State Holiday with late night celebrations, we are not being considerate to Parents, Students and Teachers making July 25th as the first day of school. 

Additionally the calendaring committee has not been able to listen to patron comments because our over-regulating policies will not let them think outside the box. As a result, many patrons do not feel listened to, when they make comments about our calendar. 

Solution: The Jordan School Board tonight accepted a change in procedure that opens up the process to find win-win solutions with our school calendar. 

First: We will re-examine current policies removing any policy that is not state law. (Here is the current policies http://policymanual.jordandistrict.org/policies/d207.html) This will unshackle the hands of the calendaring committee giving them more freedom to come up with calendars that work.  It will allow them to come up unique calendars that can meet our needs. 

Second: No calendar can come to the School Board without first going through a Public Comment Period. The calendaring committee will create two or more calendars that will receive public comment. This will allow Parents, Students and Teachers to give input through a survey BEFORE the calendar is approved. The board can review these comments when making the decision on which calendar to choose. 

Win-Win Solution: As I member of the Calendaring Committee I am the first to admit, this is one of the toughest committees to serve on. They do a great job, based on the guidelines we force them into.

This Win-Win solution will give this committee more freedom to create unique calendars that will meet our needs. Parents, Students and Teachers now how a larger role an influencing the calendar. Please note: This will not solve all of our calendaring issues. There will still be complaints, no calendar will be perfect, but it does allow patrons and teachers to have a larger role in deciding what works best. For more information on the calendar see http://planning.jordandistrict.org/calendars/

This is something I have been working hard for and I am excited we now have a voice in the process. (The 2016-17 calendar was approved in tonights BoardRoom. The July 25th start date was removed. The calendar was approved on a 5-2 vote. If I was a voting member, I would have also voted no, not because of this calendar, but because of the process) 

Working Smarter NOT Harder idea:  

I passed on an idea given to me by several patrons during the campaign. Our School Calendars ought to be created in an ICalendar and/or Google Calendar format, allowing patrons, students and teachers to download and instantly populate  their digital calendars. We have great programers that can do this quickly, saving all of us valuable time. 

Update November 2018

Our new calendaring committee meet in November 2018 and proposed a new calendar for the 2019-20 school year. The major change is that are proposing is to create a week long break in between the first and second quarter, and a week long break between the third and fourth quarter.

This is a hybrid model that students from Bluffdale Elementary School Suggested years ago. They loved the breaks of year round, but the structure of traditional.

We have listened to yOUR VOICE and now you get a chance to vote.

Part of the new policy is that the calendar will go out to seek public option. Remember we can not make the perfect calendar to make everyone happy, but we can listen and try to find win-win solutions. Let us know what you think. Are you interested in having a calendar that gives you a break in between quarters?