Public schools are valuable assets. Most occupy prime real estate in central locations – ensuring ready access to students who live within reasonable proximity. Public schools are often seen as the heartbeat of their community. The local Church and the Scout Hall might have lost patrons over the years, but the public school continues to serve the neighbourhood, despite the fact that in some locations its site and its facilities are stretched to the limits by growing student numbers.
Public schools are often seen as the heartbeat of their community.
In 2012, the United States had a staggering 98,454 public schools. In 2015, New Zealand recorded 2,441 state and state-integrated schools, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded 6,651 public schools in 2014.
Among the many challenges educational leaders must face, the primary one is student enrolments. Each year Principals and School Boards must navigate the waves of enrolments, and the impact they have on student-teacher ratios, staff employment, timetables, funding, allied services, operational expenses and so on.
Indicators such as birth rates, transitional housing, and community demographics can generally be relied on to give indicative estimates of student enrolment figures. But sudden population changes, caused by migration, for example, and the consequent increase in student numbers can occur at a faster rate than schools can manage. And there’s the dilemma. How can schools continue to provide the best possible education for their communities?
According to The Age (October 10, 2016), the number of students attending Victorian public schools will reach one million by 2020. Some public schools won’t be affected, and the construction of new schools will ultimately prove a solution. Principals and School Boards in major growth corridors, however, are already working hard to deal with massive overcrowding.
Staggering is their current tool of choice, and it seems to be doing the job. Schools are compensating for overcrowding with staggered start and finish times, staggered playtimes, and staggered lunch breaks.
Staggering is a terrific approach to an otherwise complex issue.
Two factors help. Legislation does not mandate start and finish times. Teachers’ face-to-face classroom time is no more than 22.5 hours per week. This means there is ample room for flexibility to start the school day earlier and finish it later. Where schools have tried this, the management of student growth has been achievable. Staggering is a terrific approach to an otherwise complex issue.
Is it possible to build on the concept of staggered days and extend it further? Could we consider staggering the school year?
For Victorian students the school year is currently 40 weeks. Teachers, like most professionals, are employed for 48 weeks and are entitled to 4-weeks leave per annum. Principals have the authority to approve staff leave, and in some overcrowded schools, which have successfully introduced a more flexible school day, perhaps staggered annual leave for staff, and staggered holidays for students, might be worth further exploration.
Could staggering be the catalyst for reviewing other educational and social issues? What about spending more time on targeted teaching, or increasing flexible work options? Could it reduce peak traffic, or avoid high season travel costs during holiday times? Could schools become employment hubs for small businesses – for the teaching of English, sport and recreation, art and technology classes, or for support groups, to name just a few? Could public schools become less competitive and more locally focused? Could Victoria begin the global reform of schools and education, in finding local solutions?
Could schools become employment hubs for small businesses
Today, 1,524 Victorian public school buildings lie dormant for 12 weeks of the year. That’s a great many valuable resources sitting idle for almost a quarter of the calendar year.
Rather than simply ask ‘Why?’ perhaps we should be thinking of ways to maximise their value, and then ask ‘Why not?’
Cheryl Lacey is principal of Cheryl Lacey Consulting, a firm focused on elevating educational outcomes by putting the right professionals at the centre of the right improvement and performance strategies.
To learn more contact Cheryl at cheryl@cheryllacey.com
© Cheryl Lacey 2016. All rights reserved
