Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009

Adios, wacky schedule

The Wake County public school system's infamous "Wacky Wednesday" early-release schedule is, mercifully, on the way out.

The newly elected school board majority is keeping a campaign promise by planning to ditch the controversial program at the end of this school year. Amen.

Supporters of early release, which sends kids home an hour early each Wed-nesday to give their teachers more time to meet and discuss their school curriculum, should not misread the reasons for the reversal.

It is not, as some early-release proponents characterize it, an insult to teachers, whose inestimable contributions all grateful citizens recognize.

It also is not, as some suggest, an ignorant rejection of the value of teachers' planning time for their students. Surely just about everyone wants teachers to evaluate and optimize their school lessons.

Instead, it's a bow to the realities of today's families, who are hard-pressed to juggle varying school schedules.

For single parents, households in which both parents work, and many of those with a parent working at home, releasing children an hour early on some days creates a significant child-care hardship.

Coming on top of the school system's unwanted assignment of some students to year-round schools, and its dividing of siblings between traditional and year-round schedules, Wacky Wednesday was the last straw for many parents.

Politics and public policy often are portrayed as a clash of opposing dichotomies. But more often than not, governing requires the prioritizing of competing worthwhile goals.

In this case, stable scheduling trumps early meetings. Besides, why can't teachers confer and plan after the end of the regular school day?

And call me wacky, but to keep up with our global economic competition, I think our students should spend more time in school, not less. You?