What's the deal with CPS and the extended day? | 9.16.11

There’s been a lot of talk in the media of late about extending the day at CPS, and a lot of confusion amongst parents on the when, what and how of this endeavor. Although currently these questions remain unanswered, CPS has assembled a task force to flesh out the details. We are very pleased to be included on this task force to help shape how the day will be lengthened for next school year, 2012/2013, with Patricia O’Keefe of RYH representing our group.

Amidst all the noise, RYH continues to maintain that we need a longer day, but that day needs to be comprised of quality of education not just quantity of minutes, smaller class sizes and an examination of the amount of standardized testing our kids are receiving. It’s our belief that a strong parent voice has been lacking over the years in policy-making at CPS, and we plan to do our part to advocate for the parents in our membership who share similar concerns.

We also want to hear from you in person on this and will be holding an all-school meeting on Tuesday, September 27th with a Cocktail Summit after the event (Location tbd).  Please save the date so you can come out and share your thoughts and concerns about the planning for a longer day.

As school starts next week for the majority of our schools, we are thankful for the strong and committed parents in our membership that work hard each year to improve their kids’ school. We hope that this school year is an excellent one for your children and as always, we thank you for your continued participation.

Sincerely,

RYH Steering Committee

Heather Hootman

Wendy Katten

Sonia Kwon

Linda Lesondak

Patricia O’Keefe

Clifford Meece

Amy Smolensky

Claire Wapole

Jill Wohl