parent power  By Dr. Jo Lynne DeMary 

Are Longer School Days on the Way?

As we begin a new school year, I encourage you to create high expectations for your young person and commit to partnering with the school to make this a successful academic year for your child. Please send me your questions. If you have a concern, it is likely that another parent does as well.

Q. I recently read that one of our local high schools is lengthening the school day. If this is an important consideration for student achievement, why wouldn’t my child’s school lengthen the school day too?
A. It is not unusual for a school to pilot a different school schedule, such as that being proposed at Meadowbrook High School in Chesterfield County. A pilot program will allow the district to document the perceived benefits of such a change and to work through questions and unforeseen issues that may arise.
These students will be in school the time equivalent of almost 15 days a year longer than their counterparts in other division high schools, and the school improvement team needs to collect quality data this year to substantiate the benefits.

Q. It is my understanding that school district employees—teachers, coaches, bus drivers, office staff, cafeteria workers—are required to have background checks before they enter the schools. Who pays for these background checks, and what kind of information do they provide? What about volunteers in the schools?
A. School divisions are required by the Code of Virginia to determine if a new employee has a criminal record or is a convicted sex offender prior to the first day of employment. This information is obtained from the Virginia State Police, the FBI and the Department of Social Services. It is the responsibility of the school board to pay for the cost of the background investigations.
Schools check their volunteer applications against the state sex offender registry. These procedures are followed to protect our children.

I was surprised to attend a meeting of my local school board last month and find a discussion of school uniforms on the agenda. Shouldn’t parents have a say in a decision such as this?

A. The state board of education developed guidelines for local boards to use when establishing uniform policies. The guidelines promote extensive involvement of parents and the communities, protect students’ rights and consider the ability of students to purchase the uniforms.
I am confident that your board will conduct public hearings on this topic and will act based on the level of support received by parents and caregivers.

Jo Lynne DeMary was Superintendent of Public Instruction for Virginia. As an educator for more than 38 years, she has held positions at all levels. She lives in Chesterfield.

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