Coast Mountain School District Votes To Return To Five Day School Week

Friday, March 14, 2008 03:56 AM

Terrace, B.C. - With the exception of Terrace School Trustee Hal Stedham, Coast Mountain School District has voted to return to a five day school week beginning September 2008.

Board Chairman Lorrie Gowen says "The majority of the people want a return to a five day school week and we were acting on their wishes".

The adjusted five day week will see students in school 180 days, 13 more than the four day week they currently have and 14 fewer than the standard five day schedule.

Ana Peasgood, a Terrace parent who assisted in circulating a petition to the Board that had 1200 signatures on it says , “ I ‘m in disbelief waiting to see what happens next , no schools were closed and the Board says they are running at a deficit”.

The regular School Board meeting had to be moved to a local theater after hundreds of people showed up for the special session.

Included in that group were 120 residents of Gitxsan who paraded in front of the theater asking for a return to the five day week. The Band says the four day week has resulted in increasing problems for their youth on the reserve because of the extra free day.

Bev Clifton Percival of Hazelton headed the Gitxsan delegation; she says the community wants a standard five days not an adjusted five day as is proposed.

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Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 03:56 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: lunarbase on March 14 2008 6:25 AM

Earlier discussions indicated they would go back to a 5 day school cycle, but the support staff and anyone not on salary but paid by the hour would continue to only work the equivalent of 4 days, just spread over 5. So basically the children get short changed in educational support and other areas. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on March 14 2008 9:58 AM

Good!
Go back to a 5 day school week,go back to actually teaching reading,spelling,punctuation,handwriting etc.and maybe our school system won't be graduating so many illiterate kids!
Set up a proper dress code,rules of conduct in schools,etc.and actually enforce them.
Stop allowing kids to come and go from school as they please!
Stop calling teachers and adults by their first names,(remember "Sir" and "maam")? and put some respect back into teenagers that they will pass on to their OWN kids!
It's the little things like saying "your welcome" as opposed to "yup","no problem",or "okay and uh huh" as a reply to "thank you"!
Our kids are a generation in trouble, and aside from bad parenting,our school system is to blame for many of the problems.
Go back to enforcing liqour laws,drug laws,in regards to minors.
It IS illegal for kids, but it is no longer treated as such!
When we stopped doing all these things,we started kids down this road to nowhere.
We are not helping them,we are hurting them!