MONROE - Working parents may have a difficult time getting to parent-teacher conferences at Monroe High School this fall because of a switch to morning-only hours.
This fall, parent-teacher conferences will be from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Oct. 29. In previous years, conferences at the high school were held at various times, but generally started after school and continued into late afternoon or early evening, MHS Principal Mark Burandt said.
The change is related to the way instructional days are counted. A recent letter to MHS parents from Burandt explained the district tried to get a waiver from the state Department of Public Instruction to hold conferences at night. The DPI denied the district's request, forcing the district to change the time for conferences.
The district is aware the morning hours pose a serious problem for many parents, but there wasn't much the district could do about it, said Jennifer Thayer, district director of curriculum and instruction.
Thayer explained the state requires districts to have 180 days of instruction, and the DPI has strict rules governing how instructional days are counted. Parent-teacher conferences can be counted as up to two days of instruction if the conferences are held during the day.
Late last fall, Monroe applied for the waiver that would have allowed the district to count evening conferences as instructional days. The district found out in February that the wavier was denied. But by that time, the school calendar had long been settled with the union, and the district could not fit the conferences in any other time within constraints of the contract, Thayer said.
Elementary schools in Monroe still have late-afternoon conferences this year, but that wasn't possible in the higher grades.
It's district policy to have nine hours of parent-teacher conferences throughout the year, Thayer said. Elementary schools have all their conferences in the fall so parents can learn about their child's progress early in the school year. This year, elementary schools will have their conferences from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28, and again from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Classes in the middle and high school level are semester based, so the district has conferences in the fall and again in the spring. This year, the spring conferences are scheduled from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26.
Unlike conferences at the elementary level, conferences at the high school are not scheduled. Teachers will be in their normal room during conference time. Parents can choose which teachers they wish to speak with about their child's progress. Parents also can sign up for a 10-minute slot posted outside the teacher's classroom to ensure a meeting.
Thayer said the district recognizes that the morning schedule makes it difficult for working parents and is working to avoid the morning-only schedule in the future.
"We know it's a problem, the (teachers) union knows it's a problem," Thayer said. "We're looking at a solution."
This fall, parent-teacher conferences will be from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Oct. 29. In previous years, conferences at the high school were held at various times, but generally started after school and continued into late afternoon or early evening, MHS Principal Mark Burandt said.
The change is related to the way instructional days are counted. A recent letter to MHS parents from Burandt explained the district tried to get a waiver from the state Department of Public Instruction to hold conferences at night. The DPI denied the district's request, forcing the district to change the time for conferences.
The district is aware the morning hours pose a serious problem for many parents, but there wasn't much the district could do about it, said Jennifer Thayer, district director of curriculum and instruction.
Thayer explained the state requires districts to have 180 days of instruction, and the DPI has strict rules governing how instructional days are counted. Parent-teacher conferences can be counted as up to two days of instruction if the conferences are held during the day.
Late last fall, Monroe applied for the waiver that would have allowed the district to count evening conferences as instructional days. The district found out in February that the wavier was denied. But by that time, the school calendar had long been settled with the union, and the district could not fit the conferences in any other time within constraints of the contract, Thayer said.
Elementary schools in Monroe still have late-afternoon conferences this year, but that wasn't possible in the higher grades.
It's district policy to have nine hours of parent-teacher conferences throughout the year, Thayer said. Elementary schools have all their conferences in the fall so parents can learn about their child's progress early in the school year. This year, elementary schools will have their conferences from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28, and again from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Classes in the middle and high school level are semester based, so the district has conferences in the fall and again in the spring. This year, the spring conferences are scheduled from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26.
Unlike conferences at the elementary level, conferences at the high school are not scheduled. Teachers will be in their normal room during conference time. Parents can choose which teachers they wish to speak with about their child's progress. Parents also can sign up for a 10-minute slot posted outside the teacher's classroom to ensure a meeting.
Thayer said the district recognizes that the morning schedule makes it difficult for working parents and is working to avoid the morning-only schedule in the future.
"We know it's a problem, the (teachers) union knows it's a problem," Thayer said. "We're looking at a solution."