San Mateo Times: Report finds some students hurt by short school calendar

Report finds shortened school calendars hurting underprivileged students
By Neil Gonzales
San Mateo County Times
Posted: 10/31/2011 06:32:39 PM PDT

Shortening the instructional calendar is helping school districts in San Mateo County and across the state balance their tight budgets. But that strategy is stunting the progress of students, particularly those who are from low-income families or learning English as a second language, a new report said.

"Any time you're talking about reducing instructional days, you're talking about reducing opportunities for learning," said Bernardo Vidales, superintendent of the Jefferson School District, which for the second consecutive year has lopped off three days from its academic calendar.

Released Monday, the report by Education Trust-West -- an Oakland-based school policy, research, and advocacy organization -- underscores how the budget-related reduction of instructional days especially hurts underprivileged students.

"Not surprisingly, the negative impacts of limited instructional time are exacerbated for high-need students, who are less likely than their more advantaged peers to access additional support and enriched learning opportunities outside of school and during the summer months," the report said. "Cuts to summer school classes also hit low-income students the hardest as they are the most likely to suffer from 'summer learning loss,' or the loss of academic skills over the summer."

Because of California's budget crisis in recent years, the state has allowed districts to shorten their calendar by up to five days -- from 180 days to 175 days. So districts have negotiated with their employee unions to do furloughs, which have resulted in fewer instructional days.

Districts could shorten their calendar even more -- by up to seven additional days -- under legislation the governor recently signed into law, the report noted. Gov. Jerry Brown approved Assembly Bill 114, which allows districts to provide as few as 168 instructional days if state revenue projections fall short. A 168-day calendar would be the shortest in the nation, the report said.

For the Jefferson district, which serves many needy students from the Daly City and Colma areas, the shortened school calendar means "three days less of mastering state standards," Vidales said.

That in turn forces teachers to spend less time on such subjects as social studies and the arts to focus more on the core subjects of English and math, he said.

If projected state revenues don't materialize, he said, his district could consider doing more furlough days, although the unions would first have to agree to them.

Jefferson has also done away with regular summer school because of the budget constraints, although it has spread out intervention programs throughout the school year, he said.

Similarly, the Millbrae School District is chopping five days from its academic calendar for the second year in a row.

"Any time you cut back on instructional time, it puts much more pressure to meet requirements from the state and (the federal education law) No Child Left Behind," Millbrae Superintendent Linda Luna said. "Those requirements and expectations are still there."

Closely tracking student attendance and making sure field trips and other programs are aligned to state standards are among the measures her district is doing to try to counter some of the effects of a shortened school year, Luna said.

According to the report, 60 percent of districts statewide dropped five days from their 2010-11 school year.
Research has shown that such "decisions have had a disproportionate impact on high-need students -- including English learners and students from low-income families," the report said. It pointed out that a recent UCLA study found that more than half of the principals from low- to medium-income districts cut instructional days compared to just 25 percent of principals from wealthy districts.

The UCLA study also showed that reducing learning time can have adverse consequences for English learners or students struggling with new material, the report said.

Instead of cutting back on instructional days, the report urged districts and schools to find ways to extend learning.

It cited Cunha Intermediate School in Half Moon Bay as an example.

Cunha has a mandatory period for English learners who need extra hours of targeted instruction, the report noted.

To see the full report, visit www.edtrust.org/west.

Shortened School Years

Jefferson School District: three days cut
Millbrae School District: five days cut
Brisbane School District: five days cut
Statewide: 60 percent of districts cut five days

Sources: Local school districts and Education Trust-West