Has the Cobb School Board Listened?

Kelly Knight Mellen, whose daughter is in 2nd grade at Kincaid Elementary School, has e-mailed the Cobb Board of Education repeatedly to express her support of the balanced calendar. Lisa French is the mother of a 5th grader at Mountain View Elementary School and a 9th grade student at Lassiter High School. She also is a proponent of the balanced calendar.

How do you feel about the Cobb County school calendar change?

Kelly Knight Mellen: It’s a huge mess. I’m not real happy about this. I feel like they [the school board] didn’t give it enough time to see how successful the balanced calendar might have been. I would have liked to see how it had played out, to see how it would have done overall. I feel like they polled for no reason. The majority of us were in favor of the balanced calendar. Why go to the trouble of polling if the results weren’t going to be honored? They are not honoring the three-year commitment. But statistical data is not enough. We don’t know overall what the benefits or the downfalls are at this point.

Lisa French: Most of the people I know wanted it to stay the way it is. I feel like they [the board] asked us what we wanted, and then they didn’t listen. I just wonder why they bothered to ask us if they knew what they wanted to do anyways?

How do you think it will affect the quality of your children’s education?

Kelly Knight Mellen: I don’t feel like it’s going to have an impact because they are still going to attend school for the number of days the state mandates. Being in Cobb County, I know that their education is going to be good, either way.

Lisa French: It’s nice to have a break to look forward to after nine weeks or so, to give the kids and the parents a little down time. You work real hard, then you get a little break. Then you’re refreshed and then get back to work. I think it just works out for everyone, the parents, the students. I would think so for the teachers as well, but I can’t really speak for them.