Schools
District Seeks Four 90-Minute Delays at DHS for Accreditation Prep
Darien High School would open at the normal hour, but classes would begin 90 minutes late to give teachers time to meet.
In preparation for a visit by an accrediting association, school administrators asked the Board of Education last week that the start of classes at be delayed on four days out of the coming semester.
Matthew Byrnes, assistant superintendent for secondary education, told the board Tuesday about the district’s plans to host a team from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. NEASC sends its personnel to schools to assess the quality of instruction, the use of facilities, student-teacher interactions, and the culture of learning.
DHS will be hosting the association’s visiting team in April 2012, but the organization requires each school to evaluate itself before it sends its team to a campus.
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To do so, Byrnes asked that DHS teachers be allowed meet with each other on four days this semester — Feb. 15, March 22, April 12, and May 17 — and that the start of classes be delayed 90 minutes on those four mornings. Students would be allowed to arrive at the high school at the regular time and would be supervised in the library, gym, cafeteria, and computer lab.
Board member Susan Perticone said she was concerned about the prospect of students losing instructional time in the classroom.
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“We embark into the budget season. … Now we are being asked to close school?" Perticone asked.
“We are not asking to close school,” Byrnes said.
"Schools that have done this self-study have benefitted. The reason we are proposing this schedule is to allow more time to prepare," he added.
Byrnes thanked Darien High School English teacher Matt Pavia and principal Dan Haron for coordinating the accreditation process.
“We are right where we should be as far as the calendar goes concerning the NEASC visit,” he said.
Board member Heather Shea asked Pavia about the prospect of losing class time.
“I see the loss as being rather insignificant,” Pavia said. “It is a quantity-quality assessment. … You have a net gain.”
Haron estimated Tuesday that the district would spend $30,000 to host the visiting team members for four or five days. Those expenses pay for lodging, meals, and a reception.
Board chairman Kim Westcott asked Haron if other school districts look for ways to trim expenses related to hosting the accrediting association visiting team members.
Haron said he asked that question when he served on a New England Association of Schools and Colleges visiting team in another district. The association functions as a club, he explained: any school district that wants to belong to the club must pay the dues.
The board did not take action on the request. Chairman Kim Westcott told audience members that she would like to hear their thoughts on the issue. She can be reached via email at kpwestcottboe@gmail.com.
