Tuesday, June 23, 2015

ATTENTION OPS PARENTS

The following post was written by Gina Miller, an OPS parent who is actively engaged with her children's schools and the Omaha Public School Board.  In spite of her ongoing communication with the board, Gina was one of thousands of parents and teachers who were completely blindsided by the board's vote last week to extend the school day, which takes already overstressed children away from their families, their rest, and their enriching activities for an even longer period of time.

ATTENTION OPS PARENTS!

It is time to have a discussion about national education movements that are sweeping the nation and having a direct effect on our children and families.

I am tired of our PUBLIC schools telling parents what is right for my child with NO input from the parent. I am tired of our individual school districts and states hopping on any National Ed Reform Bandwagon that comes along with little to NO research for its effectiveness. 

My long standing position has been that I am against an extended learning day and taking any more time away from my family and adding more to my already overstressed kids. I would have liked to have an opportunity to hear from OPS administration on why they feel this is necessary or a good idea. I may have changed my mind!

I have appreciated the other opportunities I have been given to give input and hear feedback and to make an informed decision. So now I will DEMAND to have my voice heard since they seem to have decided it was not necessary in the first place.

I feel the OPS board did a great disservice to its parents and its teachers by ramming an ill conceived plan to extend the learning day without ANY input from the community, the teachers or the parents! There have been many reports stating that an extended school day will not improve anything. AND LET ME BE CLEAR this is not an "Extended Learning day" (ie...add more recess, more breaks, etc....) this is adding MORE "INSTRUCTIONAL TIME," in some cases a whopping 2 minutes per class.

I will be using this forum to inform OPS parents of our rights and our obligations to be engaged. This was a single vote. It does not mean it is the final vote, and does not mean we have to lay down and take it.

I am asking you to join me to remind this administration that WE DO WANT A VOICE AND WE DEMAND OUR VOICES BE HEARD!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Harming Our Families: Five OPS Board Members Pass Extended School Day

Ignoring the pleas of tearful parents and the logic of experienced teachers, the following five Omaha Public School board members voted to extend the school day beginning this August:
Lou Ann Goding, Lacey Merica, Matt Scanlan, Katie Underwood and Yolanda Williams.

Three board members voted against extending the school day: Justin Wayne, Marian Fey, and Tony Vargas.

Teachers and some board members questioned exactly what learning gains would result from tacking on the equivalent of three to five minutes to each class period. One high school teacher stated: “...five more minutes per class period is not going to make a substantive difference. It might mean I get all the pencils back that I handed out at the beginning of class … but in terms of quality teaching, that five minutes is not really going to be used as extended teaching time.”

Several parents spoke against the proposal and explained how the extended school day would negatively impact their children and their family life.

Apparently the five school board members listed above aren't concerned that this change will have little to no effect on quality learning, but will have a significant negative effect on children and families. So why pass the proposal? Is it possible that Ms. Goding, Ms. Merica, Mr. Scanlan, Ms. Underwood, and Ms. Williams are being influenced by an agenda other than the well being of the children and families they were elected to serve?

Stay tuned, and don't forget to vote.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Extended school hours harm children and families

The Omaha Public School board is considering extending the school day by a significant amount of time--20 to 25 minutes per day--keeping the youngest students in school until after 4:00 PM.

It is the position of the Nebraska Family Forum that children do not need to spend even more time sitting at a desk. They need rest, they need play, and most importantly, they need family time. Keeping these kids away from their parents longer, in a forced "learning" environment, will not make them "smarter" and certainly won't make them happier, more productive or more successful young people.  It will also not solve the problem of poverty, which is the single most important factor in the educational achievement gap.  All it will do is make children more tired, more stressed, and more distant from their families.

If the OPS board approves these changes, children who ride a bus could have almost a 10 hour day, longer than an adult work day. And once that 10 hour day is over, there is still homework to be done. This expansion of the school day is not only unnecessary, it's harmful. What about fun activities such as soccer, baseball, or piano lessons? What about religious education? What about time with mom and dad? And what about sleep?

If OPS parents are concerned about this continued encroachment into family time, it is imperative to 1) E-mail each OPS board member and express your concerns and 2) ATTEND THE BOARD MEETING ON MONDAY, JUNE 15 AT  5:30 PM TO SPEAK AGAINST THESE CHANGES. If you don't take this opportunity to make your voice heard, these changes could be passed tomorrow and implemented this August.

If anyone would like assistance with organizing a response from OPS parents, writing a statement to the board, or preparing a short speech, members of the NFF are ready and willing to help. Please send an e-mail to [email protected].

Brenda Vosik, Director
Nebraska Family Forum

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

The cost of a "free" public education

The collection of BMI data in Nebraska's schools is being done without parental permission or knowledge, except in the rare case of districts like Millard Public Schools, whose administrators and board are doing the best they can with a bad regulation.

This regulation, which took effect in the 2014-15 school year, appears to be a data grab by DHHS and is the fault of that agency and the Nebraska Legislature.  It is not the fault of the schools, although most school districts could certainly be handling the situation better.

DHHS has been given carte blanche by our legislature to conduct any medical screenings they wish without parental permission.  The NFF is actively working to get that law changed before the next data grab is mandated. What will it be? Mental health screenings in the schools? Mandatory STD tests? Blood draws and DNA testing?  Under current Nebraska law, any of these tests can be mandated by DHHS at any time as a condition of attending public school.

It seems that the free public education to which our children are entitled isn't free at all. And the cost is much higher than dollars and cents -- the cost is our children's privacy and dignity; the cost is the relinquishment of our rights as parents to make medical decisions for our own children.  The cost is the insidious takeover of parenting by the government, using the public schools with its captive audience of young children as the vehicle for that takeover.

DHHS used its authority under Nebraska statute 79-248 (an authority which appears to have originally been given in order to contain infectious diseases) to write a regulation requiring collection of BMI data by every school district in the state. During testimony before the Education Committee last March, it became clear that the data is being exchanged for grant money. In other words, children's medical information is being sold, again without parental permission or knowledge.  Apparently, the majority of the eight-member Education Committee must think this is o.k., as the pleas of concerned parents were ignored and the committee took no action to correct the situation.

Millard Public Schools is the only district I'm aware of that is doing the right thing and giving parents plenty of advance notice on when their kids will be marched to the scales. They are also providing a form so parents can choose to keep their child's medical information where it belongs -- in the privacy of their physician's office.

For those of you whose school districts are not providing advance notice of the weight checks, and especially districts that are sending home "fat letters," I urge you to get organized and go before your school board to demand change. The "fat letters" are particularly concerning, as the result could be severe diminishment of a child's already fragile self-esteem leading to potentially life-threatening eating disorders.


The NFF is available to offer guidance on how to go about organizing and addressing your school board.  Please e-mail [email protected] if you would like assistance.