ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 17, 1996 TAG: 9602190023
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
The leaders of parent-teacher associations at many Roanoke schools support Superintendent Wayne Harris' proposal to use part of the April spring break to help make up days missed because of bad weather.
They prefer using some days during the break rather than having classes on Saturdays or lengthening the school day. And they believe that would be less disruptive than some other options, such as extending the school year.
"To me, the best choice is spring break. Parents should realize that the break is not guaranteed," one parent told Harris at a meeting of the Central PTA Council this week.
Another parent said making up days during the break would send a message to students and parents that instructional time is important.
"Maybe we shouldn't schedule spring break in the future, so people wouldn't come to expect it," she said.
Meanwhile, Salem and Roanoke County schools might lose part of their spring break because Friday's snow forced schools to close throughout Western Virginia.
Salem would lose two days of its break - April 11 and 12 - under the makeup plan tentatively approved earlier by its School Board. Salem has missed 10 days, three fewer than Roanoke and Roanoke County.
"At this point, we're tentatively into spring break," said Salem Superintendent Wayne Tripp.
Some parents called Tripp on Friday and said they wanted to preserve the break. But schools are not in the vacation and travel business, Tripp said. "We're in the school business, and my feeling is we need our young people to be in school."
Before Friday's snow, Roanoke County had developed a plan to preserve its break by using "banked time" and lengthening the school day. But it might be difficult now to save the full week, said Marty Robison, executive assistant for county schools.
"We are trying to determine how many more days we might miss before we make a final decision, but this makes it harder to preserve the break," Robison said.
"If we miss two or three more days, there may be no choice but to use part of the break."
Most other school systems in Western Virginia also have shortened their break, or are considering doing so, because they've missed so many days.
At Roanoke's Central PTA Council meeting this week, Harris outlined alternatives for making up the missed time and asked members for their views.
While most seemed to believe that using spring break days was preferable to Saturday classes or a longer school day, not everyone agreed.
"I don't think you're going to make everyone happy regardless of what you do," one parent said.
Roanoke's break is scheduled April 8-12. April 8 and 9 are paid holidays for school employees. Schools will be closed those days regardless of the decision on the rest of the week.
But Harris has recommended that April 10-12 be used as makeup days. He is reluctant to recommend classes on Saturday, which is observed as the Sabbath by some students and staff.
From an educational and instructional standpoint, it makes more sense to make up the lost time with full school days rather than lengthening the school day, he said.
But some School Board members have asked the superintendent to consider alternatives to using spring break days, because that could disrupt some families' travel plans. And it could increase the absentee rate, they said.
Harris told the PTA Council that records show attendance was about 5 percent below average when spring break last was used for makeup days in 1994. The average attendance that year was 92.6 percent. That dropped to 87.5 percent on makeup days during the break.
But attendance was much worse - 72.5 percent - the last time students attended class on Saturday, in 1993, Harris said.
State law requires schools to be in session 180 days, or offer 990 hours of instructional time. The state can waive five of the first 15 missed days as long as the instruction time does not drop below 990 hours.
But unlike some other superintendents in Western Virginia, Harris said he prefers to make up all the days rather than ask for a waiver.
Three makeup days were included in the regular school calendar. The School Board already has approved three other makeup days: Memorial Day and two teacher workdays. The board is expected to decide next week whether to use three days of the break.
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