After more than a month of debate and continual dissent from parents, the Wednesday early release schedule will stay in place district-wide next year.In a three-hour meeting on March 10, the Gunnison Watershed School District board adopted a calendar that includes early release Wednesdays in both Gunnison and Crested Butte. School board members Tyler Martineau, Anne Brookhart and Jody Coleman voted to adopt the proposed early release calendar, while Mark VanderVeer opposed it. “Something is not working,” VanderVeer said. “If we vote for the same thing [early release Wednesday calendar] we will be in the same boat next year. I cannot accept this calendar because it does nothing to address the problems.”Early release Wednesday was first implemented four years ago as a way to give teachers time during the school day for professional development. But for many parents, especially in the south end of the valley, the extra 1 hour and 45 minutes of unsupervised time was a child care burden and disrupted family routines. Ryan Romero, a parent who spoke at the meeting, lives six miles west of town and said he has to take vacation time to pick up his children on early release days. “My wife and I are burning through a ton of paid time off to get our kids on early release days,” Romero said.In the weeks leading up to the vote, the school district had formulated seven alternative calendars for the board to consider. These alternatives included moving early release to Fridays, full days for teacher professional development and no early release days.Before the vote, Coleman proposed a multi-part amendment that would require the district to continue addressing the concerns of district professionals and parents. The first part of the amendment directed the superintendent to hire a part-time position to coordinate academic and creative engagement for students from the end of school to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Further, the amendment authorized the establishment of a task force to find solutions to parents’ calendar concerns. Finally, the amendment requires an implementation plan that includes updating the board regularly.During the discussion, Superintendent Leslie Nichols said professional development that is scheduled as part of the faculty work day offers the most “bang for the buck” for increasing teacher and student performance. Early release Wednesdays are intended to provide teachers and staff extra time at the end of the school day on Wednesdays to increase teaching skills. Gunnison High School principal Jim Woytek also supported the existing early release schedule, which increases time for teachers to improve teacher effectiveness. He referenced research that says teacher efficacy is the No. 1 predictor of student performance. Teacher efficacy is when educators can work, look at data and plan together to support teaching and learning, he said.A number of administrators spoke in support of the continuation of Wednesday early release because of the time it provides teachers to collaborate and improve their skills. Middle school assistant principal Lance Betts also said he was also in favor of early release Wednesdays. “We do not have the flexibility in our master schedule to provide common planning time for teachers. It would be really hard for us to replicate what’s going on now if early release Wednesdays were gone,” Betts said.Robert Speer, director of special services for the district, said the time associated with early release Wednesday is important for his staff.“It has really been beneficial for me to be able to get my groups of people together in a room [on Wednesdays],” Speer said.(Dave Pinkerton can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or dave@gunnisontimes.com.)
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