School days get longer
The basics of reading, writing and ‘rithmetic may stay the same, but the time spent at them can, and does, change.
Students heading to their classrooms for the coming school year will be looking at a slight increase in the number of minutes they spend cracking those books. Earlier this year, amendments to The Education Act and Regulations were proclaimed setting out the instructional hours for the province’s school divisions. As part of those changes, the total hours of instructional time has been set at a minimum of 950 hours, and the earliest students will begin the school year is the first day following Labour Day and the latest day in the year students will be in school is June 30.
According to a Government of Saskatchewan news release, school divisions are required to submit their calendar year plans to the Ministry of Education by May 1, and the regulatory changes must be incorporated. Boards of education will continue to set specific timelines for the opening and closing date of schools, school hours of operation and the general schedule of operation for the school year. Boards will also retain the autonomy to allow teachers to begin working earlier to prepare for the school year.
Establishing a calendar for the upcoming school year is a yearly process, according to Noah Wernikowski, communications officer with the Regina Catholic School Division (RCSD). “Every year, we make a new calendar. It’s a little different each year, but the basics are the same,” he said. The amendments to the Act will mean an increase of 40 hours over the school year, which Wernikowski said boils down to about 15 minutes more each day for the more than 10,000 students in the division. “The government’s intention in increasing the instructional hours was to improve student outcomes. As a school division, we strive to make this happen by ensuring all the time spent with our students is filled with quality instruction,” he said.
The RCSD conducted extensive consultations with parents, teachers and teacher associations to determine how to allot the increased time. “It was a lengthy and comprehensive process, and we are very happy to have been able to incorporate the feedback we received into the calendar,” Wernikowski said. The RCSD worked hard to make sure the new calendar, which comes into force for the 2013/14 year, balances the legislative requirements with the needs of parents, teacher associations and students. “It allowed the ebbs and flows of the calendar year to come together,” he said.
The division’s consultations followed extensive talks with stakeholders conducted by the government it introduced the new legislation. Consultations began in December 2011 and included the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, the League of Education Administrators, Directors and Superintendents, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, and the Saskatchewan Association of School Business Officials.
The changes were prompted by concerns raised by the Provincial Auditor in 2011, who stated that Saskatchewan school divisions did not offer a minimum amount of instructional time, resulting in inconsistency in instructional hours. The regulatory changes introduced for the 2013/14 school year provide school divisions the flexibility to work with their local communities to develop calendars that include consistent and adequate instructional hours, according to a government news release. The changes also bring Saskatchewan into line with other provinces, the government said.