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Dr. David Hopson |
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October 22 , 2007 The planning process for Expanded Learning Time (ELT) in the Gateway Regional School District ended this past week. As I’ve indicated from the beginning, there were a large number of hurdles to negotiate in order to put ELT into place for September of 2008. These included concluding the planning process, finding partners, getting community support, meeting the state’s requirements, getting school committee approval and getting agreements from the various unions that would be affected by expanding the work schedule. On Tuesday, October 16th the Gateway Teachers’ Association (GTA) decided that this was not the appropriate time for their union to consider Expanded Learning Time. In order to move forward with ELT, the union would have needed to enter negotiations to determine pay, benefits and other related items due to the additional working hours. Without this negotiated and agreed upon agreement, it is impossible to meet the state’s requirements for entering into an ELT grant approval process. Thus for all intensive purposes, Gateway no longer needs to continue planning for implementing Expanded Learning Time. I recognize that the GTA’s decision will please some and anger others depending on the viewpoint individuals hold towards expanding time in school. While I am disappointed that we’ll be losing some opportunities to better meet student needs—including $1.6 million in funding to cover expanded hours—I also believe we’ve gained much information that we can use to improve education in the district, even if we don’t increase time. In addition, if the state ever mandates expanded time, Gateway will have looked at many of the options and be much more prepared to implement such a mandate than if we had not gone through this process. I respect the teachers’ decision as a group of individuals that know best what is happening in their classrooms and in their interactions with our children. Furthermore, I recognize that without staff support, expanding learning time would not succeed. I am grateful for the time, efforts and insights district teachers on the planning committees put into the process—it has been a very interesting process from which the district and I have learned a great deal. What this planning process demonstrates is that Gateway’s teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, community members and the school committee can work through a process of planning for the future in a straightforward and cooperative manner and reach a conclusion without a great deal of acrimony. I believe that this is not unique to the ELT process but that it happens routinely throughout the district, although many people never see all of these interactions. I thank all of the individuals that spent much time and effort in working through the myriad issues surrounding ELT in Gateway. It was a pleasure to think ‘outside the box’ and explore the many possibilities of expanding the school day at the state’s expense. I anticipate the school committee will incorporate much of the information that was generated as it moves forward with planning for the future. ### |
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