Sue Flicop

There is a lot of discussion about early release days here in Newton and whether or not they are worthwhile.  I’ve heard several comments lately from parents that the teachers don’t find them useful–but at least one teacher I know felt the opposite way.  Add to this conflicting information the idea that in-classroom professional development is more effective since it helps teachers while they are actually teaching.  So what do we do now?

First, I like the idea of a teacher survey that gets some in-depth information about professional development.   There may be differences among teachers about what method they find most useful; these could fall into categories by level of experience, subject area, elementary/secondary, etc. We can use this information to help determine what is the best combination of methods to provide effective professional development efficiently.  We might find that some changes need to be made in our current system that would be beneficial to all.

Second, I think we need to be sure there is accountability for early release days.  Since these days are written in the contract, we have every right to know what happens and how this learning helps our children.  Families make sacrifices to support the early release days (either time off from work, more after-school program expenses, etc.) and should feel assured that the time is well worth the extra effort.