Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Rogue Valley gubernatorial candidate blasts Gov. Brown on climate change ... Historical Society executive director stepping down ... Police say Grants Pass man admits to 50 vehicle thefts in Rogue Valley ... Rogue Valley gubernatorial candidate blasts Gov. Brown on climate change ... Historical Society executive director stepping down ... Police say Grants Pass man admits to 50 vehicle thefts in Rogue Valley ... EDUCATION Medford schools restore parent-teacher conferences Comment By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted May. 12, 2015 at 11:23 AM By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted May. 12, 2015 at 11:23 AM » Social News The Medford School District has earmarked three days in the coming school year for parent-teacher conferences and will allow schools more discretion in how to use the time. The annual sit-down conferences with teachers were cut in 2011 when the district had to trim eight non-instructional days from the teachers’ contract because of an $11 million shortfall. District officials have determined it’s time to restore those days in its 2015-16 calendar, approved by the School Board in April. Superintendent Brian Shumate, district administrators, principals and teachers explored various options before scheduling parent-teacher days about eight days after the end of each grading period so parents can have their child’s report card in hand when they meet with teachers. The conference will be held Nov. 16, Feb. 8 and April 18. In past years, all three days had been scheduled Thanksgiving week to give teachers time to meet with each family. The new model, Shumate said, will allow teachers to meet students’ and families’ needs throughout the year but also will force schools to be more creative on how they use the time. Schools could hold group conferences with the families of students with similar academic needs, student-led conferences or one-on-one conferences for the parents of students requiring more serious interventions. “I feel really good about the resolution, and I trust principals and teachers are going to use the days wisely and come up with really creative ways to meet the students' and families’ needs,” Shumate said. The district previously had offered conference days only to the parents of kindergarten through eighth-grade students but next year will offer them to families of high school students as well. Parent-teacher conference days can be counted as instructional hours. But at the high school level, they do not count toward the 130 hours of class time required per course, said Todd Bloomquist, Medford’s director of secondary education. Bloomquist said high-schoolers tend to be more disconnected from their parents, thus increasing the need for teachers to communicate with parents about their child's progress and, if necessary, recommend interventions. The 2015-16 calendar includes 175 instructional days as did last year's calendar. But adding parent-teacher days means students will be in class three fewer days, a detail which concerned some School Board members. “I, on principle, could not say comfortably that we should take away minutes from the classroom,” said Ron Andersen, who was the only board member to vote no on the proposed 2015-16 school calendar. Julie Evans, Medford’s director of elementary education, said the state allows up to 30 hours of parent-teacher conferences to be counted as instructional time. Bloomquist and Evans said the district will be meeting the required number of instructional hours. “It’s really tight,” Bloomquist said. “But we’re fine. We've run the numbers.” Shumate said the district is considering 2015-16 to be a "pilot year” and will be gathering data from each of the schools to determine best practices going forward. “We feel we can get a lot of positive mileage out of getting the parents involved in their kids’ education,” he said. Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt . By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Posted May. 12, 2015 at 11:23 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501