Teachers, board members support school testing before Christmas Break

HAMLET — First-semester testing in Richmond County Schools is traditionally done after Christmas Break, but that could potentially change next year.

Dr. Kate Smith, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, presented two proposed calendars, one for Richmond Early College and one for all other schools in the district, to the Board of Education Tuesday evening. The calendars will be subject to a 30-day review by the board members; they will vote on the decision at the February board meeting.

“To create both of these calendars, we did send out a survey to all of our school improvement team chairpersons to get feedback from their faculty,” Dr. Smith said. “We also met with our teacher advisory council group and our assistant principals to gain feedback.”

Trend data showed that a priority from teachers and administrators was more scheduled work days through the year and keep parent-teacher conferences as an entire day.

The proposed calendars meet all legislative requirements and permit built-in work days on the last day of each nine-week grading period. Because of a legislative requirement that school is not allowed to start the Monday before August 26, testing on these proposed calendars would take place after the Christmas break.

“However, there are a number of school districts out there who are currently starting school in such a way….that they can end prior to…..Christmas break,” said Superintendent Dr. Joe Ferrell. “That is a board decision.”

At last count, Dr. Ferrell said that 37 out of the 115 school districts in North Carolina altered their calendars so that testing would occur prior to the long Christmas break.

“We’ve spent quite a bit of time talking about that,” Dr. Ferrell continued. “Should the board choose to do that, we could have the traditional calendar and the early college calendar exactly the same.”

“My thoughts on this,” started Chairman Wiley Mabe. “It hurts our students and our faculty to have a holiday and then come back and try to cram two weeks of re-training, or re-educating them back up, to where they were before they went out on break. I think that’s just unfair. Why can’t we have 16 weeks before Christmas Break and 16 weeks after Christmas Break?”

Board member Bobbie Sue Ormsby said it always seems like there is bad weather that interferes with the January testing, another potential casualty of having testing after break.

“What are the consequences of us starting, or ignoring, the state?” board member Ronald Tillman inquired.

Dr. Ferrell said the only punishment is that the superintendent receives a letter notifying that the district is in violation of the calendar law.

“That’s the only thing I’ve been told,” Dr. Ferrell. “To date, there has been no reduction in funding or no other consequence for lack of a better word.”

“It would be a great benefit for our kids and our staff,” Mabe continued. “I just think it would help with our test scores. They’re out — You stay away from it for 14, 20 days and you go back and you forgot some of it.”

All the board members agreed that it is something they would look into prior to the vote next month. Dr. Ferrell said he would look at what similar districts are doing across the state.

“We gained a lot of feedback from our teacher advisory council group that they would love to see us align a schedule [across the district],” Dr. Smith said.