As they consider reducing the amount of time middle school
students spend in the classroom, we call upon the trustees of the
Morgan Hill School District to be good stewards of taxpayer money,
keep the best interests of students in mind and increase
collaboration between teachers. We have three options that will
allow them to accomplish all three goals.
As they consider reducing the amount of time middle school students spend in the classroom, we call upon the trustees of the Morgan Hill School District to be good stewards of taxpayer money, keep the best interests of students in mind and increase collaboration between teachers. We have three options that will allow them to accomplish all three goals.
Trustees heard this week from teachers advocating reducing classroom time for middle schoolers when ninth graders leave next fall. Teachers’ complaints that students’ attention lags toward the end of periods were used as a reason to justify giving away 45 minutes of instruction time each day.
It would be tragic to squander precious time that should be spent improving the education the district offers our students.
The first option is to keep the number of minutes the same – 64,800 minutes a year – but divided into seven periods instead of the current six. That should address concerns that six longer periods tax student’s attention spans. It would also increase options for electives or study periods.
The second option is to shorten the day – by a maximum of 30 minutes – but require that teachers use that time for collaboration and professional development. That would address concerns that the day is too long for 12- and 13-year-olds, but ensure that the precious half hour is still used to improve students’ education, and not just allowed to evaporate.
The third option would a combination of the first two.
Those who complain that the students’ school day is too long would do well to remember that most private schools have middle schoolers, not to mention younger students, on a schedule comparable to the current middle school schedule. Parents pay staggeringly high tuition to send their kids to schools with that “too long” schedule.
Either of these options ensures that Morgan Hill’s middle schoolers have a better education as a result of schedule changes. The possibility of chopping 45 minutes off the day and tossing them away does not accomplish that goal – quite the opposite.
Not only that, allowing those 45 minutes to disappear does a fiscal disservice to the taxpayers of the district. While the contract with the teachers’ union does not specify the number of minutes for middle schools, the practice has been for 64,800 minutes.
The contract sets a schedule and salaries for teachers at all levels in the district.
The practice at the middle schools, which have housed the ninth graders for more than 20 years, has been that teachers provided 64,800 instructional minutes each years. We believe any reduction in those minutes must be accomplished through negotiations. If teachers expect to have their classroom time shortened, they must be prepared to make a trade off to achieve it. And a possible tradeoff would be for collaboration and professional development.
It is the trustees’ fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers of this district to negotiate a fair deal in exchange for any reduction in classroom time. Allowing those 45 minutes to vanish with no requirement to use the time for teacher collaboration and professional development would be a gross breach of that duty.
Keep the same amount of classroom time with an extra period, or shorten instructional minutes by 30 minutes a day and use that time for teacher collaboration and professional development: Either option would be benefit students, teachers and taxpayers. Abandoning 45 minutes a day at our middle schools means abandoning the students, parents and taxpayers of this district.
To respond to this editorial or comment on this issue, please send or bring letters to Editor, The Morgan Hill Times, 30 E. Third St., Morgan Hill, CA 95037, fax to 779-3886 or email to
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