Press graphic uses fuzzy math

Press graphic uses fuzzy math

I’m baffled by the fuzzy math in the Charles City Press today (Nov. 24, 2015). To tout that Charles City students will have 73 days off from school between now and the end of the school year on June 2, 2016, is misleading at best. Does the Press believe that students ought to be in school on Saturdays and Sundays (52 of the 73 days off) as well as holidays (6 of the 73 days)? Students in Charles City have the same winter break as students in Decorah, Howard-Winneshiek, New Hampton, North Butler, Osage and Waverly-Shell Rock. Furthermore, at every school in the Northeast Iowa Conference as well as Nashua-Plainfield, Osage, and Rockford, students have at least one full day off from school in January and February, either for teacher professional development or just as a holiday. Spring break in Charles City and Nashua-Plainfield is 5 days in length. The majority of our neighboring or NEIC schools have 3 days off at Easter as their spring break.

Community members and the 19 members of our School Improvement Advisory Committee provided input on our school calendar last spring. Based upon that feedback, we modified the calendar to place the full days of professional development on holidays like Veteran’s Day, MLK Day, and Presidents’ Day to accommodate parents who have those days off from work. At the board hearing on the school calendar on April 27 there were no oral or written comments provided.

The mission of the Charles City Community School District is “to engage, inspire, and empower students and staff in order to maximize learning.” I am proud of our school board’s investment in the periodic all-day professional development of our staff so that we can meet that mission. Continuous improvement during the school year is at the heart of our school reform efforts. It can’t be relegated to just the summer.

One thing is clear: We have countless reasons to be proud of the Charles City Community School District. Each and every day there are innovative teaching and learning activities taking place. Students have an abundance of co-curricular and extra-curricular offerings from which to choose. And our highly dedicated employees are second-to-none.

Dr. Dan Cox is the superintendent of the Charles City School District.

Dr. Dan Cox

Superintendent of CC schools