Non-Instructional Issues Driving Our Schools

– Even State School Board is incredulous!

Can you believe it?

Kentucky schools regularly chop academic classes in two just so kids can go to lunch! Students get something like 20 to 25 minutes with a teacher – then break for lunch – and then have to come back to the same teacher to finish the remaining class period.

It’s education nonsense at its very worst.

This shocker surfaced during a presentation on what the badly troubled Covington Independent School District is doing to turn its performance around. One of the Covington principals proudly proclaimed that this horrible practice had been ended in the school.

Former Kentucky legislator and new state board member David Karem was incredulous that this had ever happened. Splitting classes into such short blocks is educational heresy. The idea that this non-instructional lunch issue would override the best interests of good education disturbed other board members, as well.

And, it turns out this hasn’t just been a problem in Covington.

Later in the meeting, while the Union County School District was discussing what they are doing about their troubled system, Karem asked one of that district’s presenters if they had ever split a class period for lunch.

His eyes really popped when Union County admitted they had also done this. In fact, the presenters were not sure if all schools in the district had ended this crazy practice.

So, here is some advice for the Kentucky Board of Education.

Have the Kentucky Department of Education survey all the school districts. Find out which have done similar things in the past and if any still are doing this.

If this practice is still being conducted, or if it looks like it might start up again, get a regulation out to ban doing this. Our kids deserve no less, and academic malpractice like this certainly should fall under the board’s authority to act.

For our readers, if you know of a school that splits class periods for lunch, please comment in this blog. Do it anonymously if you want, but do mention the school and district.