JC Schools candidates weigh in on early release days

The Board of Education plans to revisit a Jefferson City School District proposal for weekly early release days — and while the two school board incumbents seeking re-election April 6 support the proposal, a third candidate’s views differ.

Jefferson City Board of Education candidates on the April 6 ballot include current board Treasurer Ken Enloe and board member Lindsey Rowden, both of whom have been serving since spring 2018, as well as Ian Shadrick, who is looking to serve his first term. The board has two three-year terms available.

The Jefferson City School District has proposed weekly early release days on most Mondays for next school year to allow for more frequent and consistent staff professional development time.

On Feb. 22, the board voted to approve the 2021-22 school calendar excluding the early release days. It will reconsider the proposal another time, possibly at the March 15 board meeting.

Shadrick, of Jefferson City, is a blind rehabilitation specialist and works remotely as an adjunct assistant professor of special education at Hunter College City University of New York.

While he understands the need for more professional development, he said, the district should explore other options, such as a professional development days once a month.

“I’m concerned the 70-minute model is extremely difficult for families,” he said. “I think with the recent change in start times paired with that 70 minutes every week, it would really put a strain on a number of families.”

He’s also concerned with the staffing plan during these early release days. The district plans to use staff such as paraprofessionals to help supervise during the 70-minute time slot. It is also considering using a staff supervisory rotation to offer tutoring to students.

“I think doing something with a larger block of time would be more appropriate and probably more efficient,” Shadrick said.

Another concern is the “potential lack of community response or buy-in” because it could impact the community if parents need to take off work during the early release time, he said.

Rowden, of Jefferson City, is a family care specialist at Freeman Mortuary. Rowden said she supports the early release days proposal, but her biggest concern is that 70 minutes isn’t enough time.

The dismissal process will take away from professional development time, along with other factors such as travel and preparation time. The dismissal process can currently take upwards of 30 minutes, Rowden said. COVID-19 protocols could be adding more time than usual to the process.

“I just think that we need to iron out how much time is needed, what are we going to do with the time, and then how are we going to measure the success of what’s done during that time,” she said.

Rowden said she would like more information before determining whether 70 minutes is adequate or if additional time would be needed.

“I want to make sure that if we’re making a change like this that we’re doing the right thing the first time and don’t need to make an additional change a year or two down the road,” Rowden said.

Enloe, of Jefferson City, is the director of human resources and business development for information technology company Huber & Associates.

Enloe said he supports the early release days proposal because the goal is to improve student achievement.

“They’re committed to using this as a way to accomplish that and to be creative, collaborative in impacting student achievement in the classroom — because that’s what it’s all about,” he said.

Enloe, who made the motion Feb. 22 to approve the calendar but exclude the weekly early release days, said he wanted more time to ensure he was confident in it and that stakeholders were comfortable with it.

“I just felt like it was best for us to take a little time just to make sure we vetted it completely, and I feel like that’s been happening,” he said.

He said he has been speaking with administrators, staff and parents about their concerns.

“Overall, I feel good about the process that we’re going through,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll come to the point that when we make a decision, it’s absolutely the best plan possible. I personally hope it does move forward.”

Enloe said he is more comfortable with the plan after learning about the district’s process to create it, which has been similar to the process it used when developing its COVID-19 re-entry plan.

“I have no doubt that our staff is committed to making it work if it’s approved,” Enloe said.