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Longer School Year Worries Ohio Tourism Industry


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From WCPO.com: http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Longe...i4YGTrBKoQ.cspx

Essentially, Governor Ted Strickland wants to reform Ohio public education, including increasing the number of required days from 180 to 200. That would effectively add an entire month to the school year, and would result in even shorter summer vacations. The impact? Well, less time to promote tourism dollars in the state of Ohio, and at amusement parks like KI, a potential shortage of labor if Strickland`s reforms make their way into the education system.

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I was going to stay away from this topic but upon further thought I can not.

In the articles and often in reporting on this topic around the country it seems to me that what is best for our children's and this countries future is often pushed back because of others interest. In our local area a group was spreading money around to some law makers so they maybe able to slow down new charter school openings. The group was putting out misleading information, so a bipartisan group was formed and they commissioned a 2 year study on the facts. Well this was the year the lobbyist recipients were going to try to slow things down but as luck would have it the study was released and debunked most of the misleading information and showed that the Charter schools were having tremendous success especially in the at risk areas. The lawmakers who were going to submit changes realized they would look like fools introducing a bill to slow down successful education for children in at risk areas, they dropped the issue quickly.

This subject reminds me of some thoughts I had on my own personal situation as I was trying to figure out why I never quite had enough money to get some much need things done around the home. So as I thought about it I realized; “I have everything I want but not the things I need”. So I liked that phrase so much that I am incorporating that thought in everything I do this year.

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In theory, increasing the length of the school year should raise the overall education of the state of Ohio, which is a VERY good thing.

However, it will come at a cost. Not only would dozens of school buildings need retrofits to provide air conditioning, but there are other logistical issues. The air conditioning factor is a major one, because classrooms that are 90 to 100 degree are not very conductive to learning, and to air condition all the public school in Ohio would cost millions of dollars. Where would all that money come from? Additionally, the summer months are when some teachers take continuing education classes and workshops. Teachers that continue their education at local colleges may find themselves having scheduling difficulties with these programs if the school year is extended. Not to mention all the additional operational expenses related with operating schools for an additional twenty days.

Then from the tourism side of things, there are many issues. Operators would loose about a third of their peak season. Not just places like Kings Island and Coney would suffer. Things like the Newport Aquarium, The Beach, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Cincinnati Zoo would all suffer from having a shorter "peak" season when kids aren`t set to a routine schedule with early bed times do to school. And while the overall aim of the education reform would be higher education levels in the state, it would come with an impact on the tourism industry. And the tourism industry`s impact radiates into other areas of the economy with secondary suppliers.

This is a very important topic, that I`m sure will be discussed in great detail over the next several months and years. There will likely be proponents on either side of the issue. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds.

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Well, I worked for the park for 7 years.

I (to this date) maintain that my employment at the park was far superior to both High School and College. The skills and knowledge that I obtained through park sponsored training, travel and contacts last to this day. I remember arguing accounting and business principles with my Accounting and Economics professors in college. And as example, I could site managing an operation that would gross almost a million dollars within a 6 month period.

The governor is right in that public education needs reform. Days are simply not the only thing that needs to be looked at. They need to look to what is actually done in schools and allow the teachers to actually teach. The sooner that schools can ditch the Every Child Left Behind program and stop being babysitters, the better.

OK .... WooferBear off his morning soapbox.

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There are so many variables to figure in on the subject, the problem I have is who is advocating as a group and spreading money around to promote the best interest of the students. My children have mostly went to either a catholic or charter schools and Travis some public. The non public schools the teachers are paid less (another issue for another time). I have asked a few of the teachers why they have left carriers in the public schools with higher pay. Their answers differ a bit but two things always surfaces, the learning is the big focus and the environment is much less stressful. When applying to Miss Rae's charter school I asked the CEO of the school why they went to year round schedule (which we love and helped us decide to enroll Miss Rae there). He said they had many request for it and they wanted to offer something different to the community but said it was the teachers who pushed for it and helped make it a reality.

I follow up with my own boiled down solution of which is best of the debate on both sides;

Parents choice they know their children and their life style and will make a choice for what fits them best.

The other side wants more control of curriculum, scheduling and and the ability to make wide swiping change when they feel the need to do so for differing causes.

Which is right?

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The air conditioning factor is a major one, because classrooms that are 90 to 100 degree are not very conductive to learning, and to air condition all the public school in Ohio would cost millions of dollars.

{offtopic} Why did this make me think of my HS graduation... >_> Principle had the air conditioning turned off, so all us students as well as our family and guests were fanning ourselves in that gym. It was 85-90 degrees outside. {/offtopic}

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In theory, increasing the length of the school year should raise the overall education of the state of Ohio, which is a VERY good thing.

However, it will come at a cost. Not only would dozens of school buildings need retrofits to provide air conditioning, but there are other logistical issues. The air conditioning factor is a major one, because classrooms that are 90 to 100 degree are not very conductive to learning, and to air condition all the public school in Ohio would cost millions of dollars. Where would all that money come from?

And don't forget that many schools have actually released students early due to these very high temperatures. One question coming out of this is, is this a matter of the number of hours rather than just the simple number of days? Could Gov. Strickland better achieve this by extending the days themselves rather than simply adding days? Many employers, and even some school districts have cut their transportation and operational costs by extending hours while cutting the number of days.

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Keep in mind that the catalyst for this reform is the fact that the Ohio Supreme Court declared years ago that school funding in Ohio was un-constitutional. It's about time that a Governor is actually working to do something to resolve it, as opposed to just ignoring it.

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Oh, I thought teachers have a license to teach and seniority then usually backed by a union. So they all must be excellent right?

To back up what you are saying CedarPointer my daughter goes to what is nicknamed as a year round school. In actuality the go the exactly the same number of days as the traditional school schedule, except they just distribute the days/weeks off more throughout the year. The test scores have sored since they adopted that schedule 4 years ago. I am not advocating one way over another, but I feel a one size fits all approach is doomed from the start

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I am so glad I live in Indiana! We also go 180 days though.

Teachers have deadlines and requirements they must meet, as to what they must teach. So if they are making these deadlines on a 180 school year calendar, why does it need extended? I think lengthening the school year by 20 days wouldn't really help at all. As a current high school student, I can tell you that by around mid to end may, everyone just stops worrying so much about school. Since the weather is warmer, and Summer break is almost there people just shut out of "school mode" and go into "Summer Break mode"! So increasing the length of the school year would just make students even more anxious to have summer break! so the increasing of the school calender by almost a month would be completely pointless. *end rant*

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ohio Lawmakers At Odds Over Length of School Year:

...And state Rep. Denise Driehaus, another finance committee member, said she's concerned a longer school year will cut into tourism — including business at Kings Island amusement park — and the summer employment of teens if they're in school an extra month....

...Across the USA, two states — Virginia and West Virginia — require public students to be in school 200 days annually, while five other states are in session at least 190 school days, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality....

This is NOT correct. West Virginia requires 180 days of instruction and has set start and end dates. If the days cannot be achieved in that timeframe, nothing happens. Last year, for example, only 4 of WV's 55 counties met the requirement! The Governor has proposed starting school five days earlier in his recent State of the State Address. See: http://www.register-herald.com/opinion/loc..._021212056.html and http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=...p;storyid=28846 Virginia also does NOT have a 200 day requirement, except for special needs students.

The quoted sections are from:

http://www.vindy.com/news/2009/feb/16/ohio...year/?newswatch

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I just have to add in a comment. While that article mentions increased school funding from the state this year, there are several districts in the Cincinnati who are actually going to see a DECREASE in state funding this year. The Cincinnati Enquirer ran an article about this several weeks ago. Several districts would stand to loose 3% of state funding if my memory serves me correct.

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But Terpy, don't you agree, instead of adding a whole bunch of days onto the school year already, what about lengthening the day some!?! I mean, the time of school "lunch" for qualify for the breakfast menu at many places, and the kids get out just after the morning (accounting for PST) ESPN Sportscenter re-runs are over!!

Most parents are working until 5:00 pm anyway...sheesh!!

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...."We oppose this change in the school calendar," said Robin Innes, director of public relations at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky. "It would result in a loss of business, that's for sure."

Innes said the park's busy season has already been shortened by schools starting in August.

"Several years ago when school started after Labor Day, the last two weeks of August were a busy time for us. It was prime family vacation time and an important part of our summer business.

"Ohio's tourism industry pays about $2.5 billion in annual taxes to the state and local governments," added Innes.

"Those revenues will decrease if the summer vacation time is shortened."...

http://www.crescent-news.com/news/article/4532489

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