THE CITIZENS' REPORT for Cobb County

THE CITIZENS' REPORT
on the Cobb County
School District
Attendance Calendar


May 2011
(preliminary report)

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An Open Letter to the Cobb County Board of Education

The purpose of this report is to analyze the benefits and challenges of school
attendance calendars in Cobb County public schools. It is the position of the
report contributors that there is no ideal school attendance calendar, and we
acknowledge that all attendance calendars have both benefits and challenges.

It is the goal of this report to compare the Balanced Calendar of 2010-2011 to the
2009-2010 calendar and also to next year's August 15th Start Date Calendar.

This report seeks to offer an objective view of the relevant data so that
stakeholders may draw conclusions about the school calendar based on fact.

This report also provides thoughtful recommendations for the development and
implementation of future school calendars. These recommendation support
existing Cobb County School Board policies as well as best practices in Georgia
and throughout the nation.

It is the position of the contributors and undersigned citizens that the school
calendar which provides the most benefits and fewest challenges for our
students and stakeholders should be implemented.

Sincerely,

Vanessa Aguilar
Tammy Armentrout
Jeff Armentrout
Teresa Baxter
Corinne Bontrager Terry Brooks

Julie Burns
Amy Cargile
Kelly Duncan
Dara Fairgrieves

Kara Gold
Thom Gray
Julie Hale

Shannon Hardy

Tracy Homer
Michael Issac
Michelle Issac
Andrea Johnson

Donette Konneker Tricia Knor
Beth Kriebel
Jennifer Lundberg
Lori Lyons
Amy McCarver
Lisa Miller
Adrienne Outlaw
Mike Sansone
Lynne Scott
Torie Shores
Kim Stanek

Robb Stanek
Jerri Tickner
Kaycee Velazquez Jody Vane

James Vane
Stephanie Watson
Brad Wells
Lisa Wells

Gerald Williams
Lynn Wonders
Faye Yost






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Table of Contents


1)
Overview

2)
Community Surveys & Opinion

3)
Student Achievement

4)
Attendance

5)
Discipline

6)
Teacher Morale & Retention

7)
Maintenance & Utility Costs

8)
Other Considerations

9)
Recommendations

10) Appendix



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Overview


In November 2009, the Cobb County Board of Education adopted the Balanced
Calendar for a three-year period applicable to the school years: 2010-2011, 2011-
2012, and 2012-2013. It should be noted that a three-year adoption period was
atypical. With prior calendars, the adoption period varied but was generally for
a two-year period.

In February 2011, the Cobb County Board of Education adopted the August 15th
Start Date Calendar for a two-year period.

By making a change to the school attendance calendar before a single year under
Balanced Calendar had been completed, the Cobb County Board of Education
acted with incomplete data and therefore, without a clear picture of the
ramifications of their decision. It is the intent of this report to provide that data
so that stakeholders may draw their own informed conclusions.

The content of this report is not arbitrary. It addresses the topics the Cobb
County School District specifically deemed important in its November 11, 2009
press release, such as Student Achievement, Attendance, Discipline, Teacher
Morale & Retention, and Utilities. The Citizen's Report covers each of these
topics, plus numerous community opinion data points, other considerations that
have been raised, and provides a recommendation for improving future calendar
development.

A copy of the district press release follows.



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Surveys & Community Opinion

Summary

The data shows overwhelming support for the Balanced Calendar by all
stakeholder groups: teachers, staff, parents, students, and the community. The
data points are:

1The 2009 Employee Survey
2The 2011 Calendar Survey
Board Member Reports & Email Counts
2011 Cobb County Association of Educators Survey

The results of these four data points are remarkably consistent. When presented
with the opportunity for a school calendar with a shorter summer and additional
week-long breaks versus a later August start date and no additional week-long
breaks, all stakeholder groups strongly prefer a calendar with a shorter summer
and additional week-long breaks.

Across all data points the margin of preference for the Balanced Calendar is
significant, averaging 76.1%. The support ranges from a low of 61.0% to a high
of 88.2%

Limitations of the Data

The 2011 surveys should be considered informal polls as they were not
scientifically structured. It should also be noted that the results of the 2011
surveys may be skewed due to the three calendar options presented (the two
mid-August start date calendars had Christmas Breaks that many found
objectionable.) Further, the email counts do include duplications (many emails
were sent to all board members rather than to a single board member).
Therefore, the consistency in the email tallies is influenced by duplication.

The 2009 Employee Survey, however, was restricted to one response per
employee and included a statistically significant number of responses (8,441).
This survey is statistically valid.

A summary of the data follows. In the appendix, you will find the actual survey
reports.

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The Data


Prior to the adoption of the Balanced Calendar in November 2009, the Cobb
County Board of Education surveyed teachers and staff on four calendars under
consideration. The survey received 8,441 responses. The results were as follows:



Balanced Calendar



51.1%


Current Calendar with February Break
33.3%


Current Calendar



11.1%


Mid-August Start Date Calendar

4.4%

Note: The first two options reflect a school calendar with a shorter summer and one or
two additional week-long breaks during the school year. The third and fourth options
reflect a school calendar with a longer summer and no additional week-long breaks.

In February 2011, the Cobb County Board of Education conducted an online
survey on school calendar options. The survey received 38,431 responses (after
reduction). The results were:



Balanced Calendar



77.2%


August 15th Start Calendar


14.7%


August 17th Start Calendar


8.0%

In early 2011, Board members received thousands of emails regarding the school
calendar. Board members David Banks, Lynnda Crowder- Eagle, and David
Morgan reported the following at board meetings:

David Banks reported receiving

over 1200 emails with 72% in support of Balanced Calendar. He also

reported receiving over 1500 emails when Balanced Calendar was adopted in

2009 with a significant majority in support of Balanced Calendar.

Lynnda Crowder- Eagle reported receiving

emails that were 2.5 to 1 in favor of Balanced Calendar (approximately 70%).

David Morgan reported

input from his constituents was 3 of 4 in favor of Balanced Calendar

(approximately 75%). He also stated constituents who attended his town hall

meeting(s) favored Balanced Calendar by two-thirds (approximately 66%).

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Board members Kathleen Angelucci, Alison Bartlett, Tim Stultz and Scott
Sweeney did not make quantitative reports of email responses they received at
board meetings. Therefore, their emails were requested via open records and
tallied. The results were:

Alison Bartlett received 1,203 emails. Of these emails 905 expressed a clear
preference for a school calendar. The results were:

Balanced Calendar supporters


78.0%

August 15th Start Date supporters

22.0%

Kathleen Angelucci received 1,369 emails. Of these emails, 1,249 expressed a
clear preference for a school calendar. The results were:

Balanced Calendar supporters


77.4%

August 15th Start Date supporters

22.6%

Tim Stultz received 1,295 emails that expressed a clear preference for a school
calendar. The results were:

Balanced Calendar supporters


80.7%

August 15th Start Date supporters

19.3%

Scott Sweeney received 1,081 emails. Of these emails, 979 expressed a clear
preference for a school calendar. The results were:

Balanced Calendar supporters


76.3%

August 15th Start Date supporters

23.7%


The Cobb County Association of Educators (CCAE) surveyed their members on
the calendar by asking the question "Would you keep the Balanced Calendar?"
The results were 88.2 % wanted to keep the balanced calendar and 12.8% did not.



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Student Achievement


Summary

Many factors influence student achievement. School calendars with equivalent
instructional days (which includes all calendars considered by this report),
would not be a primary factor influencing student achievement. However,
school calendars may have a secondary influence on student achievement when
other factors are held constant.

Every school year, the academic achievement of Cobb County students is
measured with a variety of national and state assessments. Because the 2010-2011
school year has not yet been completed, a full assessment of student achievement
under the Balanced Calendar is not possible. However, the results of six
assessments are available as of May 12, 2011 reveal:

3ITBS Grade Equivalency results improved for the first time since 2007
4GHSWT passing rates improved by 4%
5Winter EOCT passing rates in math improved by 11%
68th Grade Writing Test passing rates improved by 5%
75th Grade Writing Test passing rates improved by 6%

8GHSGT passing rates improved by 2%

Of course, these are results from only six of the ten assessments tracked each year
in the CCSD. To date what is clear is that the Balanced Calendar has not had an
adverse affect on student achievement. In fact, all indications so far suggest that
the Balanced Calendar may have a positive impact on student achievement and
is promoting improved results.

Limitations of the Data

Only six of ten assessments are currently available. Many factors contribute to
student achievement, the attendance calendar is only one of those factors and
cannot alone be responsible for student achievement outcomes.

A summary of the student achievement data follows. A complete report9 is
available in the Appendix.


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The Data

On the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), Grade Equivalency (GE) scores for Cobb's
third, fifth, and seventh graders had all been declining in recent years. However, for the
first time since 2007, ITBS GE scores in Cobb County increased in 2010 in all of these
grade levels.

ITBS Grade Equivalency scores for Cobb's third
graders had declined from 3.67 in 2007 to a low
of 3.47 in 2009. That was a drop of 5.5%. In 2010,
GE scores for third graders increased to 3.59, an
increase of 3.5% in just one year.



ITBS Grade Equivalency scores for Cobb's fifth
graders had declined 2.9% from 6.12 in 2007 to a
low of 5.95 in 2009. GE scores for fifth graders
increased 1.8% in 2010 to 6.05.




ITBS Grade Equivalency scores for Cobb's
seventh graders had declined from 8.99 in 2007
to a low of 8.01 in 2009. From that 10.9%
decrease, GE scores for Cobb's seventh graders
increased slightly by 0.6% to reach 8.05 in 2010.


The Georgia High School Writing Test

(GHSWT) results improved by 3.3% in 2008
with 95% of the students passing the
assessment. Results declined slightly in 2009,
falling to 94%. But then, they increased
dramatically in 2010 with a 4.3% increase to an
all-time high of 98%.




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