The Blizzard of 2016 (and Another Reason Why There Shouldn't Be a Mandated After-Labor Day Start Date to School in Maryland) - Entrepreneur Generations

Sunday night after the 29 inches stopped falling.

During the evening of Friday, January 22, through Sunday, January 24, Baltimore was slammed by a historic blizzard that dropped 29.2 inches of snow on Baltimore in less than 48 hours. This was the single largest snowfall in Baltimore history, and caused the cancellation of 6 school days, as the snow crippled the city that shuts down if there's two or three inches; with ten times that, city services took a  very long time to dig us out.

As a teacher, I admit that sometimes a snow day is good; having a day away from the grind can be healthy for all sides. However, having six snow days in a row right smack dab at the end of midterm week definitely poses some challenges for teachers and schools.

Since we don't know yet what will happen with these days lost at the end of the school year (will the

Tuesday morning - most roads still not plowed.

 end of the year be extended? Or will we, like in 2010, have some of those days excused because of the State of Emergency declared in the state?), I can only speak about what my biggest concern is: the external assessments. The IB Exam is on May 2nd around the world. The date is not going to be extended. This is the same thing with other external exams, like the AP exam, and the SAT, and the ACT. I had, before the snow, a rough calendar plan for each of the 59 days left of the school year until my students' IB exam. Now, that number has shrunk to 55 days, and, let me tell you, I'm not expecting this El Nino weather pattern to leave us unscathed in February and March, either; we could lose more days. It's now 55 days of class to work through 4 units, to read Song of Solomon, Cannery Row, The Turning, and Americanah.

The car is somewhere underneath that.

We can, and will, handle it. However, if Peter Franchot gets his wish, and we start the school year after Labor Day, teachers'  time with students would shrink even more. This year, Baltimore City Public Schools, and most in the state, started the week before Labor Day; Franchot wants to cut away those five days at the beginning of the school year and put them at the end; however, that's well after these external exams and, indeed, after the seniors graduate. In Peter Franchot's wishes, I would have (at least) 11 full days less of instruction for this year's students than I would have in a normal year. That's more than two full weeks of instruction.

Why would he want to put Maryland students behind other students in the nation, who also have to take these external exams? It doesn't make any sense.

Unplowed roads on Wednesday.

There's a reason that every school system in the state is against Peter Franchot's troubling proposal, which wreaks of white privilege. Our state should be looking at creative ways to extend the school year, with a shorter summer break and more breaks throughout the school year. Research shows this will help our students reduce their summer slide, something that disproportionately hurts poor kids.

The unpredictability of Maryland is just one more (minor) reason to be against Franchot's proposal, but it's a real one: by forcing school districts to start the school year late, we risk letting extreme weather affect students more than we would otherwise.

Monday morning - road mostly impassable.

Zori makes her way down the path.

from Epiphany in Baltimore http://ift.tt/1P35fG6 The Blizzard of 2016 (and Another Reason Why There Shouldn't Be a Mandated After-Labor Day Start Date to School in Maryland) - Entrepreneur Generations

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