It’s back to school time

ENGLISH Oklahoma students are ready to go back to school, with most classes in the state resuming by Monday August 22. The 2016-2017 school year begins next week at Tulsa Public Schools, where once again Hispanic students are the largest group, followed by Caucasian and African American kids.

Teachers at TPS returned this week to get ready for what promises to be a wild but fun first few days after the long summer break.

It is important to remember that some school districts in the state will only have four teaching days a week, even though most of the districts will stick to the traditional five day school calendar. This change has to do with cuts in the education budget that are being felt especially hard in some locations around the state. Nevertheless, teachers believe the change will be positive for the kids and for themselves, being able to have more hours to prepare more interesting classes. According to some educators quality is sometimes better than quantity.

By the end of the year the money saved on teaching and administrative salaries and the transport system will allow the schools to make new investments and reconsider their situations.

Most parents have expressed their discontent with the new strategy, because they will need new working arrangements to figure out who will stay with the kids on their free day.

Marvin is a primary school student who is now in the fourth grade. Marvin believes it is fantastic to stay home one more day a week, as he will now have more time to visit friends and practice sports.

The Oklahoma Education Department said they still don’t have the final number of schools affected by the budget crisis, and will wait until autumn to assess the situation of those school districts moving to the four day system. (La Semana)