School's out

My fourth-grader at Red Oak Elementary will be in school a total of four full days in November.

That's right. She has two days off for Veterans Day and the entire week of Thanksgiving off, not to mention six half-days for parent-teacher conferences, two half-days on Wednesdays for "banking time" and a half-day on Nov. 21 just for the heck of it. And, lest we forget, Oct. 31 off.

When I asked the school whether a schedule like this would compromise student learning and continuity in the classroom, I was told that it was a trade-off for higher-quality parent-teacher conferences.

Why do we need "higherquality" parentteacher conferences? Probably because the fourth- and fifth-grade classes are overcrowded (30-plus kids per class) and the teachers just can't get all the conferences done in five days.

The district has decided to close all OPUSD schools during the week of Thanksgiving because some parents have been taking their children out of school anyway, costing the district money. Instead of making those students responsible for what they have missed, the district is putting an undue burden on parents, especially those that work or are out-of-district.

The district seemingly has no regard for the additional child care expense that is incurred by families when children are out of school. I find it interesting considering OPUSD continues to tell Oak Park residents how important the outofdistrict students are to the school district. These families are left with the choice of either incurring additional child care expenses or dropping their child off on a half-day, then turning right back around and picking them up at 12:15 p.m. Not to mention the families with children in elementary and middle/high schools, which let out hours apart on half-days.

I wonder how much longer these out-of-district parents and working parents will put up with this.

I am beginning to question OPUSD's priorities. Are these decisions being made with the best interest of the students and their families in mind? Beth Katz Oak Park