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About Us: FAQs Half Days
What, Another Half Day for My Child! Why?
We have heard this exclamation and question from many parents for the past two years.
We know that it can be frustrating to deal with the schedule changes that may occur because your
child has a half-day of school. But we want you to know that those half days are very important.
The half days in November allow teachers time to meet with families in parent/teacher conferences.
These conferences give us the opportunity to discuss the children’s progress in school.
Conferences also give us a chance to learn about the families’ expectations for their children.
Five other half days are spread throughout the year.
These teacher work days are an important part of keeping Whitmore Lake Schools up to date in the area of curriculum.
They have given the teachers and administration the chance to look carefully at
what is being taught and how it aligns with the expectations set by the State of Michigan for every public school student.
Last year, in partnership with the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (WISD), our district undertook a major curriculum project.
The Curriculum Committee decided that we needed to examine our current student learning objectives in each subject area.
The WISD provided funding for outside facilitators. These facilitators, who are experts in their fields,
worked with subject area committees made up of teachers from each grade level or curriculum area. With the facilitator’s guidance the committees created curriculum maps.
The maps showed what was being taught and where it was being taught.
By reviewing these maps we were able to see overlaps and gaps in our curriculum.
We also examined the State of Michigan’s standards and benchmarks and compared our curriculum to the State’s expectations.
We cross-referenced our curriculum with the State’s to make sure that all of the State’s standards and benchmarks were being addressed at appropriate levels.
This examination led to many discoveries. For example, the middle school and high school science teachers found that there were students who were taking the High School Science MEAP (Michigan Education Assessment Program) Test,
who had not been taught major concepts that might appear on the test.
This deficiency was caused by course overlaps and the students’ course selections. The teachers worked together to make sure that there were not overlaps and omissions.
Now, each student who will take the High School Science MEAP Test will have had lessons on all of the benchmarks that could be assessed on the MEAP Test.
Teachers were able to work with colleagues from every level, kindergarten through twelfth grade and there has been excellent discussion and planning. We have been able to celebrate what we have been doing right.
And we have been able to find opportunities for improving the quality of the curriculum for all children attending Whitmore Lake Schools. This work is not easy. It is mentally demanding, as it requires intense focus and a lot of knowledge and research. The conversations about curriculum among the teachers have been rich and thoughtful. The opportunity to develop a quality curriculum plan for all students is exciting and rewarding.
So, yes, we know these half-days may pose an inconvenience for your family.
However, you should rest assured that the staff of Whitmore Lake Schools uses this time wisely and with purpose.
We need time for parent/teacher conferences so we can have meaningful conversations about what the children are doing in school.
The opportunity to have teachers from all grade levels work together gives us the ability to align and clearly articulate Whitmore Lake Public Schools’ curriculum.
This work will help to ensure that the students of Whitmore Lake Schools are able to compete academically with students from any other school in our state.
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