Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Changes that went into effect this year for Central Bucks' middle schools will remain in effect next year, as well.
Students who will be attending Central Bucks middle schools next fall will continue to have the same six-period school days that middle schoolers have this year. Administrators said this week that Central Bucks will stick to the new schedule at its five middle schools for the 2013-2014 school year. "We're about to start the scheduling process at the middle school level," Dr. Rodney Green said Tuesday at a school board meeting. "So I wanted to make sure that everyone knew we were continuing with the six-period schedule." The decision comes nearly a year after hundreds of angry parents, teachers and students packed the school board meeting room to protest a decision to cut a class period from the middle school day. In February 2012, the …
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Tuesday's changes added fuel to the fire of critics who want the board to halt changes to the middle school schedule.
In a move that critics contended violated the board's own policies and the state's Sunshine Act, the Central Bucks School Board on Tuesday voted to move some of the public comment period to the end of its regular meetings. Board members also voted to cease audio taping of the meetings. Board president Paul Faulkner said after the meeting that district officials rarely used the audio tapings, and since they're not required by law, the board decided to drop them. Both changes did little to restore the confidence of parents already upset at the board over its handling of the changes to the district's middle school schedule. Sarah Kempke was just one of many speakers who once again took to the podium to assail the board over its actions the …
Thursday, April 5, 2012
With state approval in hand, Central Bucks School District administrators and teachers discuss curriculum changes while parents still oppose the new schedule.
Central Bucks teachers and administrators are forging ahead to address details of changing the middle school schedule for the fall, while some parents continue to ask that the changes be halted. Representatives of the teachers union, district administrators and the school board met Tuesday for about two hours to discuss the changes, how they were implemented, and what happens next. While bad feelings linger, union president Keith Sinn told Doylestown Patch on Wednesday that he has advised teachers to start getting ready for the new schedule. "We can drag our feet all we want, but it’s April, it’s a done deal, so let’s get moving on to address these questions, because we need to be prepared," said Sinn, a chemistry teacher at CB East and …
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Controversy over middle school schedule changes shows no signs of letting up.
Parents opposed to dramatic changes to middle school schedules in the Central Bucks School District are showing no signs of going away. First, a full-page ad appeared in a local newspaper on Tuesday, urging the school board to table the plan, which is supposed to go into effect in September. Then, dozens of people gathered at State and Main streets in Doylestown Tuesday afternoon at a Rally 4 Education to protest the changes. Finally, a dozen or so people took to the podium Tuesday night to challenge the way the board has handled the matter, using words like "arrogant," "indifferent," and "disrespectful" to describe reaction to their pleas. One woman even accused the board of moving the public comment portion of the meeting to stifle …
They gathered in downtown Doylestown for an hour Tuesday to bring attention to the issue.
Dozens of parents and students held aloft signs and chanted "Save Our Schools" Tuesday on the corners of State and Main in Doylestown, the busy intersection that often plays host to demonstrations. It was the latest public display of pushback in a movement that has been going on for weeks, ever since the Central Bucks School Board voted Feb. 14 to alter the middle school curriculum. After the Rally 4 Education, many of the protesters headed to the Central Bucks School Board meeting to continue speaking out. They say they oppose both the changes themselves - which lengthen class times and eliminate one class period a day from the current schedule - and the way school officials implemented the plan. Check back later for coverage of the …
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Despite impassioned pleas from parents, board says it backs administrative recommendation to cut electives, increase class length
Despite being called cowards and puppets of the administration, despite being compared to the captain of the Titanic, despite being accused of being responsible for the downfall of civilization, the Central Bucks School Board held its ground. Unless the state intervenes, starting in September, middle school students will see their class periods extended and the number of electives they can take cut. For nearly two hours Tuesday night, parents and students slammed the board for its decision to make such a radical change to the middle school schedule. They claimed it was a move made to save money, not enhance education, and that it was done with little or no input from the people who will be affected the most. "This is not a happy chapter …
PJ
11:44 am on Friday, February 22, 2013
I would like to know HOW the new schedules are assessed as to success or failure. Example: drop music from the curriculum for all students then give a test to see how (with no coaching from the outside) well students play instruments or sing or perform in plays or musicals. Well, that example is obvious, the students will of course perform poorly. How would a success/failure be determined if only… more ›