PPSD Middle/High School Common Planning Time/Early Release: No More

Update to the previous post about Councilman Zurier’s upcoming hearing about PPSD’s practice of releasing middle and high school students early in order to accommodate the need for teachers’ common planning time: an announcement from Mayor Taveras’ office released Tuesday states, "...the district will immediately increase instructional time by ending the practice of dismissing students early every week to accommodate state-mandated common planning time."

That’s it? Well, okay then.

The City Council Education Subcommittee's August 23 5:30pm hearing, according to email that Councilman Zurier sent to constituents, is still going forward to "review other issues related to the re-opening of school this fall, including the assignment plans for children who were in schools closed this Spring, and the “match” process by which teachers from the closed schools were assigned new positions."

The Mayor’s August 2 announcement focused mainly on the recently negotiated contract with the Providence Teachers Union. More about that in the next post.

Common planning time and early release - seeking alternative solutions

Ward 2 City Council member Sam Zurier is holding a meeting on August 23 that will focus on the impact of common planning time on middle and high school schedules. Last year, middle and high schools released students early to accommodate common planning time for teachers. For more on the effects, reactions, and possible repercussions of the early release time, please see GoLocalProv's "Providence Schools Violated State Law."

Here's Councilman Zurier's invitation, which is extended not only to parents but also to anyone who would like to comment on or learn more about the impact of common planning time on instructional time:

I would like to give you a heads up that the City Council Education Subcommittee will be holding a meeting on Tuesday, August 23 at 5:30 p.m.  It will take place at City Halll on the third floor.  The purpose of the meeting is to ask the School Department how it is going to handle common planning time in middle and high schools this year, with the hope that they have found an alternative to the early release program they ran last year.  I am hoping that some parents can come to the meeting to express their concerns with last year’s program.