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News and Views from Menifee Valley, California |
by Todd
1/21/2008 05:33:00 PM
Labels: Menifee-Union-School-District
I am all for a single track school year. Multi tracks make it very difficult for families with multiple school age children who move into the community because there are often times they are not able to get all of their children on the same tracks. Then they have to manage several different schedules in their one family. This can even happen to families already here if a situation requires moving children to different classes or tracks due to classroom overcrowding. I've seen it happen and it completely disrupts the schedule the families have created. If we move to single track, everyone will be on the same schedule and it will make life much easier. Parents will not be unhappy when they register their children due to being told their children will be on different schedules because there is no room on the track they desire.
By 
, at January 21, 2008 6:55 PM
I am am for the Multi-Track system. I have two children that attend Ridgemoor, one in 2nd grade and one in Kindergarten and both have done very well in the Multi-Track system. Three months on and one month off seems to work well for our family. I have spoken to several teachers and they themselves have said that most of the children begin to get restless and lose interest in learning right around that three month mark. So for us anything that will keep my children interested in learning is a plus.
By , at January 21, 2008 8:40 PM
I am all for a single track school year too. I agree with the FIRST comment, it is difficult when you have one child on one track & later on you want your second, third child on that same track as the first one & they told you "NO that track is full, wait on the waiting list". I've had it happen to me. Plus I don't like the idea of my kids going in the summer when its 100 plus degrees & they can't go out to play or concentrate on their school work. I rather take them somewhere cool & have fun with them. I also don't like the fact that they start in July & then they're off in August, everything they learned in July is out the door. I too have talked to teachers & some have told me they prefer single track. We all grew up in single track why can't our children do the same. So if we ever get that survey that the school district plans on sending, I'm telling them that YES I want single track!!
By , at January 21, 2008 9:54 PM
I am so for the single track system and so are my neighbors and friends who live in the area. We have many people that have moved here from other city's and are not used to multi track system. Unfortunately, we will have to bite the bullet in order to get up to speed with the rest of southern California.
By , at January 22, 2008 4:21 AM
Just a comment to the person who posted that a teacher said kids get restless around the 3 month mark. I think this is partially due to the fact that they know they are getting ready to go off track and have "short timers" syndrome. If they weren't about to be going off track, I wonder if they would be as restless.
By , at January 22, 2008 6:27 AM
I prefer Single track system. My one kid is going to High School and in Single track system and the other one in multi track. It is hard to manage vacation and other plans if two kids are in different tracks.
By , at January 22, 2008 8:19 AM
Life is geared for single track! Try to schedule a vacation based on multi track. Try to get your kids in summer camp without the hassle of homework. I'm all for single track.
By 
Nunyo, at January 22, 2008 8:58 AM
Before moving to Menifee, all I and my children new was traditional school. We love all year round. Both kids were on one track. My oldest is autistico move him to b track in the middle of the year and not change my youngest. Dealing with an older sibling with autism is tramatizing anough then most of us would want to deal with. I now have two children on different tracks. Would we like to go back to tradition?, no way! Trying to keep a specail needs child busy for a consecutive three months is exhausting! Having one track would relieve so much stress.
By , at January 22, 2008 2:17 PM
One benefit that I see from going to a single track is the high school is currently on single track. Having a child in K-8 and having a child in high school can cause a number of difficulties. Another benefit is to allow all siblings on the same schedule.
Many people have argued that when a child goes to school for three months and then has one month off they forget everything they have learned. What does that child forget when they are away from school for three months? Do they not need to retain information from grade to grade? I was under the impression that 3rd grade built on what you learned in 2nd grade, etc…
I am in favor of single track, with everything else constant.
By , at January 22, 2008 2:46 PM
I no longer have school-aged children, but I have grandchildren in the Menifee district and can see the postives far outweighing the negatives on the subject of multi-track vs. a single-track or traditional school year. On the positive side--continuity in the classroom leading to a higher retention of subject matter, less burnout for teachers dealing constantly with having to reteach students everything they'd just learned a month before, less time spent in classrooms during triple-digit summertime heat, less money spent on utilities for air-conditioning and lights during summer months, lower fuel bills spent on buses, more family-friendly schedules with the elementary and middle schools being aligned with the high school district schedule...I could go on, but you get the picture. On the negative side, there are some people who like the multi-track system and what it affords in terms of scheduling vacations and other family time, and those people would obviously be inconvenienced. Money, or the lack of it, is the looming problem attached to other negatives. More schools need to be built and more teachers hired (with 25% of the student population on vacation all the time, for years Menifee has managed to offer an illusion that we have enough schools for the growing population). Realigning boundaries and shuffling students from school to school is only a stop-gap solution, at best. We're all going to have to bite the bullet, financially, if we're going to find real solutions to the problem. Gayle Reed
By , at January 22, 2008 3:43 PM
I am a parent who has had the best of both worlds. My kids originally come from traditional (single track) school. When we moved out here a few years ago I was very upset about putting my kids in Year round, but let me tell you it is the best thing that has ever happened. I love it, they love it and the kids get a break every 3 months. So as you can see I am all for multi track schooling.
By 
jennafirst3, at January 23, 2008 12:21 PM
I am a mother of two daughters and one step-son.My daughters attend Freedom Crest(multi-track), my step-son attends Canyon Lake Middle(single track). When we moved to this area we were worried about multi-track because we had always been in single track.It has been great for us.Our school was initially unable to accomodate both girls on the same track.That was short lived and within a very short time placed us on the same track.It is really nice to take vacation in the spring, summer and fall. Perhaps some of these parents who are so concerned with keeping their children on single track should spend their time and energy helping in their childs class, volunteering at the school or PTA program.The school board and the district has to make choices based on what is happening right now, with very little knowledge as to what may come in the future.Our children are getting a good education which is free to us.At least one of our districts schools has just been given a "California Distinguished School Award" that is a huge accomplishment, and by the way that was done in a school that is mutli-track.Give me a break Menifee parents don't you think we have bigger fish to fry?
By , at January 23, 2008 4:48 PM
To the person who commented above, I do volunteer at my childrens's school but I still would like it to go to single track. Try telling my kids why they can't go to summer programs (the ones they want are always in the morning or noonish when they are at school) or to her relative's house (cousins are on single track in North County). Personally single track will definitely will work in our family!
By , at January 23, 2008 6:08 PM
There seems to be some confusion about the definition of single-track. Single track simply means that all students are on the same track not that they are necessarily on a traditional track. I too see the advantages to the 3 months on 1 month off system. Multi track does not mean 3 on 1 off it means that there are 4 schools running on the same school site. I don't know of any school that does it but a multi-track school could be 9 months on 3 months off with each track getting a different 3 months off. That would be strange but it would be a multitrack system. As a teachers at the high school I support a longer winter and spring break than we currently have. If the Menifee District eventually goes to single track it should be a modified version of track A or B so that it most closely aligns to the high school. After unification the high school and other schools can share the same schedule. The person who pointed out the cost savings hit it on the head. We currently run our busses everyday. Our principals, custodians and office staff all work year round. There is little time to deep clean classrooms. The energy cost of year round operation is costly. In the end its not an all or nothing decision. As for the boundary issue neither of the proposals have to be chosen, However if the district staff didn't come forward with the proposal and the counts of students in the possible effected areas then the board would have no information to make a decision. All the same information the board gets was presented to the community and after collecting statements from all interested people the board will come to a decision. I am sure it will be in the best interest of all. No hasty decision will be made. And the cool thing about it all is, if they don't make the correct decision, then you too can run for the school board and fix the mistake. Isn't our democracy great.
By , at January 23, 2008 11:42 PM
I see how a multi track system can be more costly to run than a single track system from the examples in Fred’s comment. On the other hand the cost of the additional schools and staff to accommodate a single track system can also be costly.
It would be interesting to see the yearly cost difference between a single and multi track system to determine what is more cost effective. How many years does it take on a single track system, the less expensive system, to be able to pay for the additional schools needed?
By , at January 24, 2008 8:11 AM
There two kinds of funding districts get from the state. The money per student called the base revenue limit that can only be used for educational services. The other is capital facilities funds that can only be used for buildings and capital goods (furniture etc.) In years past the state had little or no money for buildings and gave districts extra funding for going to a multitrack system. However after the passage of some state wide bonds the state had more money for buildings and stopped giving out funding for multitrack. Now the state will match any local bond funds to help districts build schools. So we no longer get the money we use to get when we first went on multitrack and we will get additional funds to build schools. The number of teachers are the same in either system since the number of students determines the need. However the support services to run a school year round are greater than they are on single track. So basically the savings we see can be used to improve the educational program. More technology, art programs, smaller classrooms, after school tutoring programs, better teacher salaries (to lure better teacher here or great ones to stay). Once again it comes down to what we want for our kids and the quality of their education vs the all mighty dollar. Many people say "I don't have kids so why should I have to pay an additional cent." I hope that in Menifee they are in the minority. We shall see.
By , at January 24, 2008 5:16 PM
multi-track is definately less expensive than single-track. we could pay for a lot of electricity during the summer months for what it would cost to build a new school! plus, if the number of students in our district drops, we don't have empty schools.
multi-track also helps with retention. read the research. it's better for student's retention to have 3 months on, 1 month off, than a 3 month summer vacation. summer vacation was intended for students to help their families bring in the harvest. there aren't enough farming families with students who have to work in the fields for us to continue operating on a 3 month summer vacation just because that's what we did when we were in school.
By , at January 24, 2008 9:28 PM
all for single track. kids of different ages in elementary and jr high and high school make it challeneging and ruin family time spent because of different tracks. also, its so hot in the summer itd be better if 3 months of it were off. and my daughters best friend is on a different track than her and that is also frustrating. All for single track !!!
By , at January 25, 2008 2:16 PM
I'm going to address a couple of comments in this post. And as a head's up - it's really long. Believe it or not, I’ve actually been trying to post comments related to other comments for the last couple of days. I don’t generally have a lot of time to sit in front of the computer to type out a comment in response to somebody else’s comment. As a result, the last couple of days, every time I have gotten ready to post a comment, I have discovered a new comment or comments that I wanted to respond to. Rather than keep posting, I decided to keep a running document so I can post all of my comments at the same time.
This post is basically divided into two parts. In the first part, I am responding to comments from Fred and several others from the last couple of days. In the second part, I am specifically responding to the comments posted by the "Anonymous" poster from January 23rd at 4:48 PM.
Part 1:
I will take responsibility for adding to some of the confusion regarding the definition of a single-track system in this specific forum. During the public hearing I attended regarding the proposed boundary changes, the terms "single-track" and "modified traditional" were used interchangeably. Both of these terms are also used in the proposed boundary presentation on the district's web site.
Fred did a great job of explaining the term single-track and hopefully it cleared up not only my confusion, but any other confusion there may have been. Because of the use of the term “modified-traditional” along with the term “single-track”, I automatically figured the district was looking to move to a system similar to the “modified-traditional” system Perris has in all but one of their elementary schools. I hadn’t given any thought to the possibility of moving all the students to one of the existing tracks or to a modified version of one of the existing tracks. I hope I have interpreted Fred’s explanation correctly, but as I understand it, the district doesn’t necessarily want to move back to a full, traditional, 9 on/3 off system, and they don’t necessarily want to stay on a single, 3 on/1 off year-round track either. They appear to be looking at more of an acceptable compromise between a traditional system and a year-round system.
And for the record, I'm not trying to spark additional debate over single vs. multi-track or traditional vs. modified-traditional. But when you stop to think about it, even in a traditional, (and to avoid further confusion, my definition of a “traditional” is early September through mid June) school year, kids typically aren't in school without a break for much longer than they are in our current multi-track, year round system. The breaks are consistent and they are all roughly the same length in our current system, rather than having a long summer break. But if you compare a traditional school year to our system, (and if you do a little research, you can find calendars from districts on a traditional year), you’ll see that the amount of time in school without a break is almost the same.
The argument that we can buy a lot of electricity with the money spent to build new schools doesn’t hold a lot of water for me. (It holds some. I’ll give it credit for being a valid argument. But it doesn’t hold a lot.) But any way you look at it, Menifee is going to need more schools eventually. Do some research on the current estimated population of the area. I’ve seen statistics ranging from 60,000 to 80,000. And we are expected to surpass 250,000 within the next five years and 500,000 within the next ten years. Obviously, there are going to be children included in that population increase and there is going to be a need for additional schools – no matter what type of system we are on. I have no idea how much electricity is used by the schools and therefore I have no idea how much it the district’s electric bills are. But I’m sure the district and the school board have taken this into consideration and must be of the opinion that it will be more cost effective to transition away from a year-round system.
As far as doing reading research about the educational benefits of year round, I’ve done it. Surprisingly, (or maybe not so surprisingly), I was able find articles that for and against both sides of the issue with “facts” obtained during various “studies”. I don’t give the information from any of those studies a lot of credit either (for either side of the debate). Just like political polls (which are very rarely conducted by non-partisan parties), studies that are conducted based upon theory can be skewed to support any side of an argument. The results of the study generally depend on the point of view of the individual or group that initiated the study and the outcome they wanted to see, (not to mention the geographic location where the study is being conducted).
So if both of the arguments above are 100% valid, then why have I seen so many districts that went from traditional to year round go back to traditional?
Part 2:
Again, this part is mostly directed toward the Anonymous poster (the mother with two daughters and one stepson), as mentioned at the beginning of this comment. I sincerely don’t mean this as a personal attack against her, although I’m afraid it probably sounds that way. As you will see, I have broken that particular comment up into smaller sections and have responded to each section.
“Perhaps some of these parents who are so concerned with keeping their children on single track should spend their time and energy helping in their child’s class, volunteering at the school or PTA program.”
Do you volunteer? If you do, then I commend you. I think it’s a sad thing when, because of decisions by our government, there is a need for parent volunteers, but that’s a completely different topic and should be discussed elsewhere. But the way your comment is worded, it: A) - sounds like you don’t think our concern is a worthwhile cause; and B) – you don’t think any of us volunteer. You may not think our concerns and views are a worthwhile cause. That’s your right. We may not agree with your views, and that’s our right. But don’t make a blanket statement that saying perhaps we should spend our time and energy volunteering, etc., etc. I happen to know a lot of these parents that are “so concerned with keeping their child on a single track” DO spend time and energy volunteering in classrooms or with the PTA. (By the way, our kids aren’t on a single track system now, so we aren’t concerned with keeping them on a single track. We are concerned with GETTING them on a single track.) And just because there are some of us that don’t volunteer in a classroom setting or with the PTA, doesn’t mean we don’t volunteer in other ways in the community, such as with Little League, AYSO, Youth Basketball, etc. There are other things as well; I’m just using sports as an example.
“The school board and the district has to make choices based on what is happening right now, with very little knowledge as to what may come in the future.”
You are absolutely right. And what is happening right now is there are a lot of people voicing their opinions, both in support and against a possible change in the school system that will directly affect our children. And without community opinion, the school board and the district would be facing the possibility of making completely uninformed decisions. With community opinion to base their decisions on, at least they will be armed with more knowledge about what may come in the future than they would if they made decisions blindly.
“Our children are getting a good education which is free to us. At least one of our districts schools has just been given a "California Distinguished School Award" that is a huge accomplishment, and by the way that was done in a school that is mutli-track.”
You’re right. It is free. And I personally think our children are getting more than just a good education. Call me biased if you will, but I think the Menifee district is the best district in the county. And I’m proud of the fact that the “California Distinguished School” just happens to be the school my daughter goes to. But I don’t think being a multi-track school had anything to do with it. I think it can be attributed more the great teachers and staff at that school. Oh, and let’s not forget the parents that volunteer their time at that school in their childrens’ classes or on the PTA, many of whom have the same concerns I do.
“Give me a break Menifee parents don't you think we have bigger fish to fry?”
What kind of fish should we be frying? My wife and my children are my top priority. Any decision that could possibly affect any of them goes to the top of my “fish frying” list. This particular topic is just a small part of a much bigger picture. Your children may or may not be affected by other parts of that big picture, but for those of us whose children are affected, we are taking it very seriously. And just because you don’t see me or anybody else talking about it on Menifee 24/7 doesn’t mean we’re not frying what you might think of as “bigger fish”. We might be frying some of those bigger fish right along with this one, but they might not be appropriate topics for Menifee 24/7 due to their political nature and potential to offend somebody. Although I’m not always successful, I try to remain “politically correct” and I do my best to keep my political opinions off Menifee 24/7. So in the end, yes, I do think we have bigger fish to fry. It just so happens that there is still time before we really have to focus on frying those bigger fish. This time to fry this fish is right now.
By Todd, at January 25, 2008 8:59 PM
Dear Todd,
I am sure you would like to get a heated rebuttle in response to your dissection of my previous comments.
I will not engage you as it will benefit no one involved in this issue. However, you should understand that my comment about taking time and energy to volunteer within the school should be considered by every parent who is pondering whether multi-track is a disadavantage to their childs retention,etc. Our children and their teachers can be the best input for this information.
By the way, I'm having a fish fry tonight, would you and your family like to join?
Happy Saturday!!!
By , at January 26, 2008 6:51 AM
I personally don't like the multi-track or single-track school years. I would prefer a traditional school year calendar. It makes more sense to make the days more consistent for the children. Too many breaks will cause the children to catch up with materials too often. I hope there will be a choice to go to traditional year not just single-track.
By , at January 26, 2008 11:23 AM
Dear Anonymous,
No, I don't want a heated rebuttle (at least not here), because you are 100% correct that it will benefit no one. However, I did want to thank you for clarifying what you meant with your comment about volunteering, which is the only reason I'm responding. In my dissection, I merely wanted to point out that the way your comment was written sounded almost accusatory in nature - as if none of us volunteer, which isn't the case. Obviously, that wasn't your intent, merely my perception. So Thank You for the clarification.
And as much as I like fried fish, I'm afraid I have to pass. But Thank You anyway.
And if you do have the inspiration to send me a heated rebuttle (or just a friendly discussion), feel free. I can be reached through the e-mail link in my blogger profile.
By Todd, at January 26, 2008 11:59 AM
I really hope the district can go to a traditional or modified traditional sched. I have friends in Murrieta and Temecula schools (mod trad) who love the sched. They dont have a 3 month summer - about 2, a nice summer break - not too long, not too short. They have breaks throughout the year as Todd mentioned. I just havent heard anything but positive comments about the modified schedule.
Yet, many complain about multi-track: I really don't like that one week my child is in one grade, and a week or two later they are now in another. when do they get to celebrate their accomplishments!! It's like a right of passage to have a "summer vaction". I guess it's just what I grew up with and I want my kids to have it too. Also, I feel like they - or someone - always misses out on something when they are "off-track", school event - spelling bee, carnivals, art shows etc. It feels like 4 minischools on one campus, instead of one great school. Just my 2 cents..
By , at January 27, 2008 10:16 AM
I do believe the original concept of a multi-track school year was for bugetary purposes;being able to utilize the same classroom space for schools that would have far exceeded school capacity long ago if not for the multi-track system. With the budget cuts that we are facing in this next school year; I do not understand how we could possibly go back on a single track system. If we did go back on a single track system, where would the money come from to hire more teachers and build more schools to accomodate that 25% school population that is always off track?
I do believe Menifee has always been on a multi-track system. Budget wise it always made sense and there was not a need to build a mass amount of schools at one time.
I am all for a multi-track system.It breaks things up enough during the year so we do not feel as if we are ever getting burned out. Besides it's nice taking vacations when everyone else in school. You can find some great deals depending upon the time of year.
By , at January 28, 2008 11:16 PM
To answer a couple of questions from the last commenter: We already have the space to transition to a single track; especially since, if I understand correctly, we have two new schools slated to open next school year. We also have the teachers to teach the 25% of the school that is off track at any given time. That's part of the reason single track makes sense - 25% of the teachers "rove" from classroom to classroom during the school year.
And the argument can (in fact has) been made that running a school on a multi track system is fiscally less responsible than a single track system.
And a single track system or a modified traditional system such as those previously mentioned would break up the school year just as the current multi track system.
By , at January 29, 2008 8:44 AM
I think they should address the over crowding issue before try single tracks. there is way more important issues the district should be focused on rather the multi track , or single track. the purpose behind multi tracks in our schools is to prevent over crowding in the first place, look at the volume of traffic in our city, look at the thousands of homes being built, more people are coming, and your not going to be able to build schools fast enough. what is this BOND BS ? home buyers in this area on average pay from $5000 to $10.000 is school tax when they purchase a new home based on the square footage of the home, certain cities in riverside range frim $4.00 to $6.00 a sq ft simply multiply that number by the sq footage of the home THERE IS YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE SCHOOL TAX, which i believe is more then enough. lets see an example . over last 3 yrs lets say 20.000 homes were sold anywhere in Menifee union district, Which is a low number, lets also say the avg sq footage of these twenty thousand homes was 1800 sq ft.that total is $216.000 dollars in new home school tax revenue, lets not be fooled here people, there is 10,000 homes being developed in Heritage lake sub division alone, and thousands more coming. its not our fault these homes are sitting empty , maybe the 300-600 thousand price tags are contributing to declining market, as well as the bogus interest only loans that have went belly up. i personaly would like to see school staff take pay reduction to help our schools be more self supportive, there is no reason why a kindergarden teacher maker $80.000 dollars a year, and on the other spectrum a principal of a k-5 school making well over six figures. as far as the track issue , versus, single track. it is simply unfair for the district to uproot the Menifee/Sun City's family'S rutine's, and disrupt there lives without considering the funding for our schools come from us!!
By , at January 31, 2008 5:43 AM
I would like to adopt the Lake Elsinore School Districts Modified Traditional School Year.
8 weeks in the Summer
1 week Thanksgiving
3 weeks Christmas
1 week Spring
By Holly, at February 01, 2008 9:10 AM
modified traditional would work well for my family; not too long or short summers. more time for christmas, and thanksgiving.
By , at February 06, 2008 8:59 AM
I would have rather seen lay off's rather then a school closings, only people tat benifit from this is the greedy teachers. also voted to not take a pay cut. we know how much you teachers care. save the pitty party, your stories have become tiresome.
By , at March 14, 2008 6:52 AM
Holly i would like to adopt you:)
By , at March 15, 2008 5:31 AM
First, I would like to state that is is difficult for children to change schools. But before anyone complains about moving schools to much, just realize that the special education students are forced to change schools nearly every other year. My son with Down syndrome has attended MES, RES, OMES, and CMES--and he is only in 5th grade. Because of his special needs, I think it is even more difficult for him to have to change schools. However, he has survived and adapted, as I am sure all the other Menifee children who have to change schools will do.
Second, I think a single track system is very important to any family with children in both the high school and elementary district. High school students are on a modified traditional school schedule, while students in the elementary district are on the multi-track system. For student in special education the only track available is "B" track. The track B breaks do not coincide with high-school breaks. In order to take a yearly family summer vacation we must pull our three elementary students out of school (it is much easier for elementary students to miss school, than high school students who are in difficult AP classes). The lost revenue to MUSD for students missing class for a summer family vacation or boy scout camp is definitely a point to consider.
Third, I think the teachers in the MUSD are excellent. The education our children receive is second to none, and I definitely think the teachers deserve just compensation for their dedication and efforts. I have seen many teachers pay for classroom "extras" that simply were not in the schools budgets. California teaching credetials require extra years of education and testing beyond a batchelors degree. If I could see a way to double these dedicated individuals salaries, I would, because they deserve it. That obviously is not possible, but certainly apprecation, respect, and support are possible to give to our wonderful teaching staff.
As residents of Menifee, we may view circumstances from our own perspectives, but we all ultimately want what is best for our families and children. My family has live here for over 18 years and plan to stay. We currently have 4 children in 4 different schools (not by choice). School schedules are crazy enough without having school breaks at different times. Diane
By , at March 15, 2008 9:12 PM
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