An informal conversation between Weston Supt. of Schools Colleen Palmer and parents covered a state mandate for a regional school calendar, curriculum, student stress levels and a plan for a school resource officer.
Palmer hosted a meeting with coffee and cookies in the Weston Intermediate School cafeteria last Wednesday evening. Among the small crowd of 21 parents were Board of Education Vice Chair Ellen Uzenoff and fellow board members Nina Daniel, Denise Harvey and Elise Major.
"This is very informal, but hopefully an opportunity to start a conversation," Palmer said, as she stood before parents seated around tables.
One parent asked Palmer her position on a new mandate for standardized school calendars across the state.
Palmer said the next calendar the Weston Board of Education votes on will be the last one with local control for the town's schools before the requirement kicks in for the 2015-16 school year.
She said it's meant to make it easier for students attending magnet schools and for districts to save money on professional development days, but added it has some unintended consequences.
"Districts have different needs and you would want some flexibility," Palmer said. "One size doesn't fit all."
'Numbers in Halloween Costumes'
During talks on curriculum, the subject of coding came up and Palmer was asked why, with all of the accomplished professionals living in Weston, they cannot share their knowledge in the classroom. Palmer said the state requires certification to teach, but also said there needs to be more flexibility.
On another topic, Palmer said the new Common Core standards will enable students to really learn math rather than simply memorizing formulas.
"Algebra is just numbers in Halloween costumes," she said. "All you have to do is remove the mask and see who it is. Kids will become more confident in math and enjoy it."
At the same time, Palmer said she does not see the Common Core standards detracting Weston's schools from doing what they do.
A Pressure Cooker
Palmer said, "Kids have power schedules and there's only so many hours in a day," adding educators try to promote a healthy lifestyle with more success.
Several parents complained about scheduling conflicts in which students are pulled from classes for band, for instance, then marked absent.
"There's trade-offs and there's no perfect schedule," Palmer said.
In cases where a student is struggling in math class, for example, Palmer said the student should not be pulled from that class to attend another program.
The mother of an eighth grader and a sophomore said, "I think there's a stress level that goes beyond the rigor."
For instance, she said students in some classes are constantly hit with pop quizzes in a "gotcha mentality" and a project could be due at midnight while depending on classmates to come through with their role.
There were also complaints of student athletes coming home exhausted from practices that last for several hours — especially football, then having homework to do. Palmer said parents can talk to the coaches directly when there are conflicts.
"We have great students," Palmer said. "The students you send us are truly remarkable kids and I'm astounded. They're all amazing. We have to look at some courses where maybe we're pushing them too hard and maybe there's too much stress."
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
