Let me preface my remarks by

stating that I am a parent of two Fayette County students and, like Ms.

Zhuño, am an educator. In fact, I have served as an administrator

at a school using a schedule similar to those proposed and now work with

schools throughout the country to help them improve student achievement.

I also lack the luxury of relatives in the area to care for my children

during vacations.

Simply put, the calendars DO

NOT mean more school days. Your headline and Ms. Zhuño's comments

infer the opposite. Day care costs will not increase. Ms. Zhuño

wants readers to believe they will. Yes, day care costs may occur in September

or February, as she states, but a person using minimal budgeting skills

would understand that money was saved from the summer costs of day care.

Quite simply, the number of days required for childcare will not change.

Ms. Zhuño speaks of

"Extended Care Intercession" as an opportunity for the schools

to take over raising our children. Let me make this clear, schools do

not want the job of raising the children. A lack of family structure has

placed this role upon them. Fortunately, Fayette County educators have

had to do minimal work in this area due to the makeup of the community.

Ms. Zhuño doesn't want the schools to "raise her children"

but thinks day care can do the job. I find this a very interesting attitude

that could become a focus of another discussion.

I particularly enjoyed Ms.

Zhuño's comments on allowing a kid to be a kid. Upon moving to

Georgia, I was told by many that the best months to plan outdoor activities

were the March­April and September­October time periods. Seems

to me that these would be great times for kids to get outside and play.

As for the dog days of summer, I think having a student inside an air-conditioned

school works far better inside an air-conditioned home watching television.

During August, my neighborhood was void of children outside playing during

the day. Cooler evening temperatures brought many outside.

To address the concerns of

teacher's taking classes, I too, have experience in that area. Throughout

the time I was working with the balanced calendar, I took classes to expand

on my degree. Not one time did I have a conflict that kept me from meeting

the course requirements. Yes, I did miss a class to go on a fall vacation

and had to make arrangements with the professor. In addition, not one

of the teachers within our system expressed concerns about the calendar

negatively impacted their plans for education.

Most importantly, the state

of Georgia and the country as a whole have clearly defined the upcoming

task for schools. Schools must improve student achievement to catch the

rest of the world. At no point does Ms. Zhuño's or your article

discuss the impact on student achievement. I firmly believe we must learn

from those who are doing things better. European and eastern countries

have periodic breaks throughout the year rather than an extended summer.

I know from experience that

the change in calendars resulted in increased attendance, reduced violence

(i.e., fights) and helped increase student achievement. In addition to

the improvements directly related to student achievement, the faculty,

staff, students and teachers at my previous school were thrilled with

the change. Parents found the fall break an excellent time for family

vacations and teachers planned educational trips for clubs and classes

to various sites. We annually had a group tour Europe during the fall

break and a neighboring school sent the soccer team to England for a week.

I would like to share a couple

of recommendations for the system if they choose one of the proposed calendars.

I encourage the school system to communicate and work with childcare givers

and parks departments to plan for these breaks. Also, the breaks should

align with other dates on a school calendar. We placed our fall and spring

breaks at the end of nine-week grading periods.

I find the idea of a full week

at Thanksgiving intriguing. With the preponderance of transplanted families

in Fayette County, the idea could improve overall attendance and eliminate

parents sending a message to their children that vacation is more important

than school when required to make travel plans that pull students out

of school.

I commend those who developed

these proposed calendars and encourage the board of education to adopt

one. The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over

and to expect different results. To catch the rest of the nation and the

world, Georgia schools must use practices that have proven effective for

others.

Scott Warren

Fayetteville

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