Schools' year may begin Aug. 15

By Antoinette Konz
Montgomery Advertiser

January 28, 2005

Montgomery Public Schools officials hope to begin the 2005-06 school year a week later than last year in an attempt to comply with a requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act, a move that is being applauded by the state's top education chief.

Carlinda Purcell, superintendent of Montgomery Public Schools, presented a copy of the calendar for next school year at Thursday night's school board meeting and requested that school board members adopt a start date of Aug. 15 at its February meeting.

"It is our hope that by moving the start date back a week that we will have enough time to notify parents if their child's school is on the national school improvement list prior to the first day of school," said Mark La Branche, chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Education, who was also part of the committee that put together the calendar.

Under the No Child Left Behind Act, each state must provide student assessment results -- as well as the schools identified for school improvement -- in a timely manner so local districts can inform parents that they may choose a different school for their child. In turn, school districts must offer school choice to eligible students prior to the beginning of the school year.

Alabama State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton said Thursday that he applauds Montgomery Public Schools for trying to do the right thing.

"I sent out a memo to all superintendents in September advising them to not start school before Aug. 8, because that is the day they will be notified if they have schools that will be on the school improvement list," Morton said. "However, I recommended that if they already have a school on the list or if they anticipate having one on the list, to not start school until at least Aug. 11 or Aug. 15 so that they will have some time to inform parents before school begins."

Last year, the state department of education did not release the scores and the names of schools on the improvement list until Aug. 12 -- three days after school began at more than half of the state's public schools. During the 2003-04 school year, the information was released 16 days after the first day of school for most districts.

Morton said that although districts will be notified by Aug. 8 if they have a school on the list, the names of the schools on the list will not be publicly released until after the Alabama State Board of Education meeting on Aug. 11.

Currently, there are 14 schools in the tri-county area that are on the school improvement list -- 13 in Montgomery County and one in Autauga County.

Autauga County has not yet approved a 2005-06 school calendar. Earlier this school year, the Elmore County Board of Education set the start date for the 2005-06 school year as Aug. 8 -- the same day the district finds out if it has a school on the list.

James Myers, assistant superintendent for Elmore County Schools, said the reason that his district decided on an Aug. 8 start date is because that is what the community and parents wanted.

"We don't feel we will have any schools in school improvement, but we know that the possibility does exist," he said. "We are trying to meet what the people in our community and our parents want, and that is to start school early in order to finish the semester at Christmas and so that the children can have a fall break."

Sandra McCullum, a Montgomery resident whose grandson attends one of the listed schools -- Davis Elementary -- said she is happy that MPS will start school a week later. She also thinks the state should set a universal start date for all schools -- a date that is at least two weeks after the test scores and the names of schools on the improvement list are released.

"I was really upset last year to learn that my grandson's school was put on the list, yet I didn't find out about it until after the school year began," she said. "I am still upset about it. If your child is going to be offered a choice, it should be done long before school starts so that parents don't have to move their child after school begins. One week is really not ample time, but it's better than nothing."

At least two state lawmakers said Thursday that they agree.

Sen. Zeb Little, D-Cullman, and Rep. Craig Ford, D-

Gadsden, plan to present bills to the House and Senate on Feb. 3 that would require school to start no earlier than Aug. 21, so that parents will have a minimum of one week before the school year begins to review their child's test scores and find out if their child's school is on the improvement list.

"No Child Left Behind requires that parents be notified before the first day of school," Ford said. "We cannot afford to lose over $200 million in our education trust fund because of non-compliance with No Child Left Behind. We received a waiver this past year, but we have been told that there will not be another waiver."

Similar bills were proposed last year but failed, Little said.

"I had hoped that legislation would not be needed," he said. "But schools keep on pushing their start dates up earlier and earlier each year."

Five states -- Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Virginia -- have each enacted laws pertaining to when the school year can begin, but not necessarily because of No Child Left Behind. The majority of the states passed the laws in an effort to protect the tourism industry and because summer vacations were getting shorter and shorter and not allowing enough time for family vacations.