School Schedules/Calendars

Question – SEP Conferences

July 2014

Question – Although having all SEPs in the same week may seem like a good idea in theory, for those of us who work for the district AND have children in high school and junior high, it was not so great. Because I had to attend my high schooler’s SEP on Monday and my junior high-schooler’s conference on Tuesday, I was not only tired when it came time to visit with my speech students and their parents, I was also not as prepared as I would like. Last year was much better when the conferences were divided between two weeks.

Response – The decision to move these SEPs to the same week was not made lightly and came with extensive input from both the GEA and parents. Teachers by-in-large, wanted their compensatory days in the same week. Parents wanted those days aligned so as not to have 4-days annually where secondary students did not attend when elementary did and vice-versa. The committee and school board attempted to resolve this with a compromise. It is recognized that this is a significant challenge for some teachers who also have students in the district. As we would hope that all teachers would accommodate parents who are unable to attend the scheduled SEPs, we would also hope that they would fellow teachers who are also parents, who may have conflicting responsibilities.

Question – SEP conflicts

October 2013

Question – Although having all SEPs in the same week may seem like a good idea in theory, for those of us who work for the Granite AND have children in high school and junior high, it was not so great. Because I had to attend my high schooler’s SEP Conferences on Monday and my junior high-schooler’s SEP Conferences on Tuesday, I was not only tired when it came time to visit with my speech students and their parents, I was also not as prepared as I would like. Last year was much better when the SEP Conferences were divided between two weeks. I know that I wasn’t the only teacher with this problem, even in my own school. Please reconsider keeping them separate when making the schedule for next year.

Response – GEA, in response to overwhelming requests from teachers asked that the compensatory day be the same week as P/T conferences. If we split that day up by having different weeks for Elementary conferences we would create 4 non-aligned days (days when elementary is in session and secondary is not in session and visa versa ) our community surveys indicate, parents do not like the non-aligned days. Also, on days when elementary is not in session, but the secondary schools are in session, attendance at the secondary level drops substantially so that secondary students can be home to provide care for elementary students when parents are both working. We recognize this can be a challenge for some of our patrons. The calendering committee (made up of parents and employees) will continue to review this issue as calendars are determined for future years.

Thanks to the School Leadership and Improvement Services Department for their assistance in responding to this question.

Hunter High School Network 9th Grade Reconfiguration Meeting

October 2013

Earlier this month, the superintendent hosted a informational meeting on the requested study of reconfiguring the 9th grade into Hunter High School. This was a community based request and the meeting was the first step in a proposed reconfiguration. As promised at that meeting, we have accumulated questions that were received and have posted responses for your review. We have also attached a PDF (click on the link below entitled, “Grade Reconfiguration Process) that explains the reconfiguration process. If you have additional questions that are not addressed in this post, please send those here. Thanks for your interest.

Grade Reconfiguration Process

9th Grade Reconfiguration Questions and Answers:

Why is Hunter High School considering grade reconfiguration or adding the 9th grade?

Last year, the 2012-13 school year, several members of the community approached the Hunter High Community Council expressing interest in looking into the benefits and or possibility of bringing the 9th grade over to the High School. Kennedy and Hunter Junior High Schools Community Councils also had people approach them with a request to look at the possibility of the 9th grade being relocated to the High School. All three Community Councils wrote a formal letter to the Granite School District Administration requesting that a grade reconfiguration be considered for Hunter High.

What are some of the benefits to bringing the 9th grade to Hunter High?

There are many benefits to having the 9th grade at the high school but some of the biggest reasons to consider bringing the 9th grade to the high school would be for the increased opportunities for academics and extra-curricular activities. Students that have wanted to take accelerated or advanced classes would have the ability to do so. Students may be able to graduate earlier or access more college level courses. Administrators, teachers, counselors, and support staff would also be able to provide interventions and support earlier to students that may struggle academically or socially. Students may be less inclined to drop out or fall behind.

Is there enough room to add 9th graders to Hunter High? Isn’t there already too many students? Would the 9th graders fit without bringing in relos? How would Hunter High be able to accommodate more students?

There are currently 6 relocatable classrooms located at Hunter Junior High that could potentially be moved to Hunter High. Additionally, there are several rooms currently at Hunter High that are not being used as traditional classrooms. These rooms would be freed up for instructional purposes. Hunter High School is currently accommodating over 400 students that are on special permits. The number of special permits a school takes in each year is evaluated based on the ability of the school to accommodate them. The Hunter High Administration would work with the Granite School District to make sure there was adequate space to accommodate the 9th grade if the community decided to proceed with this reconfiguration proposal.

Currently, what is class size limit? What size will classes increase to? Will it decrease a teacher’s ability to teach effectively with an influx of students?

Class size is determined by local classroom capacity and programmatic offerings. This would not change in the event of a reconfiguration. Class sizes would not increase. The increase of new students would be offset by teachers and staff who would move over to Hunter High from other schools that have reduced staff, or by hiring new teachers.

What would the student to teacher ratio be?

The current FTE (full-time equivalent) ratio as set by the district is 28.25. This means that a school with 1000 students would be given funds to hire 35 teachers (1000/28.25 = 35.39). More students would mean more teachers and staff to support them.

How can it be a healthy learning environment if you add 600+ kids to lunchroom, halls, and classes?

We have larger school populations in a number of our schools. Population challenges are offset by enhanced scheduling of lunch periods and other strategies to minimize the impact.

Why would it not cost money to bring in more buildings to a parking lot?

Since that work is done in-house, the cost is minimal to relocate those resources.

WHY?

This reconfiguration is being studied as a result of a community request. The district feels strongly that such decisions should be made at the local level. The School Community Council members (made up of parents and teachers throughout the Hunter High network) have requested the study. The district is simply adhering to the communities’ request.

Why put 9th graders in a new school where there are seniors and also 9th graders are still learning about themselves, they are still kids, give them time to grow.

The current school configuration model for our high schools was not based on academic or social criteria, but instead on necessity due to high initial growth of our school district. In most other places throughout the state and in other states, the 9-12 model is recognized as providing a better, more focused high school atmosphere resulting in higher graduation rates and increased academic outcomes. There is no data that suggests that this type of configuration is detrimental to the academic and social development of 9th grade students.

How do the 12th graders react to the 9th graders in “their school”?

Throughout Salt Lake School District and in Canyons, and in our own Granger High School, there has not appeared to be any adverse reactions to having the 9th grade in the building.

What programs from the Jr. High are you cutting?

We do not anticipate our junior high schools cutting any programs. On the contrary, we are excited about providing a true middle school program for our 7th and 8th grade students that will provide them additional opportunities that may have been limited with older students in the school.

What happens to the Jr. High left half empty?

There is no data that suggest that reconfiguration would leave any of our junior high schools half empty. At best, the loss of the 9th grade would open up around 25-35% of the junior high facilities to allow for the enhancement of our 7-8 middle school programs.

If the change doesn’t take place, could the schedule of the Jr. High Schools be changed to match the High School for activities and clubs?

Individual schools can request schedule changes directly to the board regardless of this reconfiguration proposal. However, such schedule changes would not necessarily increase 9th grade opportunities for activities and clubs.

What happens to the 9th graders who are guaranteed to be in the Quest Program if they move it to Hunter High?

The Quest Program is a Gifted and Talented program that is only offered at Kennedy Junior High. Students in the program are offered three gifted and talented courses, in core subjects in their 9th grade year. We would work to accommodate these students by offering either the same GT classes or other AP or concurrent enrollment classes. There is no reason to believe this reconfiguration would disenfranchise gifted and talented students. On the contrary, additional academic and collegiate level offerings for 9th grade students would prove beneficial.

Will sports align with the students?

Yes

Why not move Kennedy Jr. to Kearns High?

A boundary reconfiguration is not needed, nor have any communities requested it. If the reconfiguration proposal were to succeed, both Kearns and Hunter High Schools would both have 9-12 populations. Any student can currently special permit to the school of their choice.

How much traffic will more students make?

Since 9th graders don’t have drivers licenses, it is not expected that there would be any additional parking issues. However, there would be an expected increase in drop off and bus routes. The current physical configuration of Hunter is conducive to moderate increase in morning and afternoon traffic. Adjustments in drop off points can always be made depending on the actual impact.

From this point on, will Hunter be a 9-12 High School?

No, the community will make this decision.

When will this take place?

The earliest this proposal could be adopted would be for the fall of 2015.

How will it affect students on permit? How will it affect future permits and how many can be accepted?

There are currently 400 permits to Hunter High. These could potentially be capped based on full 9-12 enrollment.

Why not a new school?

Hunter High is one of our newest facilities in the district. A new school building is not needed to facilitate a 9-12 reconfiguration.

Can you split high schools? (Granger, Kearns, Hunter)

We would need more information on your question in order to answer it. It is not understood what you are asking.

Additional questions not addressed in this post can be submitted here.

Question – Registration Cards on Websites

July 2013

Question – I am a principal’s secretary at an Elementary. I’m on the Advisory committee with GAEOP. The committee met last week and I asked the question about when we might have a fillable PDF for the Discovery registration card. And perhaps when it would be available to put on our individual schools web site? I know that Jordan and Salt Lake districts are currently using this. As an elementary school secretary, we are always trying desperately to find ways to use our 8 hrs. effectively. We would love to not have to use the time copying and creating packets and spending money on paper and postage. Huge amounts of hours are spent every spring, throughout the summer and early fall preparing these packets. It would be great if we could plan a registration date where the parents brought in the forms already printed and filled out. The other issue that is difficult is the email addresses. They are so hard to figure out the printing, you know, is it an a or is it an o or an i or an l, having the parent fill it in is nice in a typed form. We desperately need more help in our offices, and this is just one way that would help us out. The plan would be, put the entire packet on our schools web site; the parent fills out the PDF file and forms and then prints them at home. Then parents could bring them to the school site. This would help with postage and lots of very needed time in the office to do others things that can’t be expedited any other way. Thanks for listening, we know the budgets are tight but it doesn’t change the fact the elementary school secretaries are really stretched thin.

Response – We appreciate the hard work of our principals’ secretaries and the responsibility they have for assuring that our schools run smoothly; we continue to streamline processes and take advantage of technological advances that will help us all work smarter and more efficiently. Our biggest challenge has been that schools want to design their own cards. We’ve been meeting for some time to get everyone to agree on a standard card – including consistency in form items and compliance with federal and state regulations. The next step will be to have this available online.

While the suggestion to have parents bring them in already filled out is intriguing, it’s not immediately clear how well this would work. (That’s a nice way of saying we’re not sure how many would do it – and we’re not in a position, practically or philosophically, to tell parents to go away and come back when they have filled out the forms. Our superintendent would take great exception to such an approach – he is fond of saying that the kids aren’t here for us, but that we are here for the kids.) We will, though, continue to do all we can to make the process easier for both parents and school personnel.

Thanks again for the question.