Q: For those of us who have children at Vanden, what is the track closest to traditional?
A: All of the tracks will have the same legal holidays as the traditional calendar as well as the same winter break and Thanksgiving Break. Red Track has the months of December, April, and August off which is probably the closest to the traditional calendar. Yellow Track also works well because it has the months of November, March, and July as the off track months.
Q: How hard to move tracks?
A: If you do not receive your first track choice or if you choose a track that you discover does not work well for your family, we will have a track change request process in place. You will fill out a track change request. The school will contact you if there is an opening on that track. Families will need to realize, however, that this may cause us to split their children between tracks because it is done on a space available basis.
Q: Will this be first come, first served?
A: No, we will not be assigning tracks by first come, first
serve. We are committed to keeping siblings together on the same track. If we did first come, first serve, we would end up having to split families. All ballots received between March 10 and March 17 will receive equal consideration.
Q: What does the schedule look like? 90/30?
A: Our district decided on the 60-20 calendar. This means that students will receive approximately 60 days of instruction followed by approximately 20 days of off-track time.
Q: When will it start?
A: Our school year will begin in late August. This year,
Red, Green, and Yellow Tracks will begin August 28. Blue Track will start school on September 25.
Q: Will siblings be on the same track?
A: Yes, unless parents request otherwise, we will place
siblings on the same track. Many parents do enjoy the flexibility of being able to split their children between tracks. Because all of the tracks have the same major holidays as well as the same Thanksgiving and Winter Break, families can still plan vacations together.
Q: Will there be one grade per colored track? (Red, first grade; Blue, second; Yellow, fourth…)
A: One class, grades K-6, will be on each track. So, if your child starts kindergarten on Blue Track, for example, he/she will remain on Blue Track all the way through sixth grade. (Unless, of course, you move out of the area or request a track change.)
Q: Will students change teachers after every break?
A: No, just as it is now, your child will have the same teacher throughout the entire year. They will switch teachers when they change grade levels.
Q: How will this work with musicals, science camp, etc.?
A: Most things are done at least twice when using a multi-track year-round calendar. Two tracks will go to Science Camp one month, and then the remaining tracks will go the following month. Musicals are usually done by track. So, instead of a first grade musical, there would be a Blue Track musical.
Q: Will sixth graders in Blue track only have a week off?
A: Those students who are on Blue Track will have approximately one-week break between 6th grade at Foxboro and 7th grade at Golden West. They will have received their breaks throughout the year prior to starting 7th grade.
Q: Will intersession be teacher or parent initiated?
A: We will use teacher recommendation, parent recommendation, the Student Study Team, as well as test scores to determine who will attend intersession. Intersession is a remedial intervention that is provided during off-track times throughout the year.
Q: Will intersession be available for Blue track in September?
A: We are hoping to get this up and running in September of 2000. We should be able to identify these students at the end of this school year. We will definitely have it available in 2001.
Q: Will kids come back to same class?
A: Our students will be rotating classrooms along with their teacher. Four teachers will be sharing three classrooms. They will be in close proximity to each other so the students will know where their new classroom will be when they return to school.
Q: Where will intersession be held?
A: At this point, we are planning to hold intersession on our school campus.
Q: Will all the holidays exist?
A: Yes, all the major holidays will be observed in the year-round calendar. The only difference is that Spring Break, as we know it on the traditional calendar, will no longer exist.
Q: Will there still be common planning day/staff development days?
A: We will continue to have common planning days in our year-round calendar. Our one staff development day occurs prior to the start of school.
Q: Will there be early release on Wednesday?
A: Yes, we will continue to have a shortened day on Wednesdays, as well as Parent-Teacher Conference Days.
Q: Will time schedule change?
A: Yes, in order to maintain the same number of instructional minutes as our traditional counterparts, we will need to extend our day by approximately 10-15 minutes.
Q: Will ballots be given to sixth graders?
A: No, because our sixth graders will be going to Golden West, they will not be receiving a track selection ballot. These ballots are for those students who will be attending Foxboro next year.
Q: Will Speech/Resource/GATE affect the track selection for a child?
A: We will try to balance the tracks so that all of the Speech and Language, Resource, or GATE students are not all on one track.
Q: Will there be sixth graders at Golden West next year?
A: Yes, there will be sixth graders at Golden West next year. They are working on developing the performing arts academy at the middle school level. An informational meeting should occur in April.
Q: Will sixth grade siblings (Kinders) be given special considerations?
A: If your kindergartener will not have siblings at Foxboro next year, we will enroll him/her in May. We need to make sure that we register our siblings first.
Q: Which track will teachers be on?
A: This is still in the process of negotiations. We anticipate that teachers will know their assignments in June. You will probably receive your track selection notification before the teachers will know their assignment.
Q: Is this the actual ballot?
A: Yes, this is the actual ballot. We are handing it out as information. You will be mailed another ballot on March 3.
Q: If I just had an IDA signed, do I need to re-do it?
A: If your child is on an Inter-District Agreement, you need to reapply each year. If your child is on an Open School Agreement, or Intra-School Agreement, you do not need to apply each year. Once you are accepted at the new site, that becomes your home school.
Q: Will this open the opportunity for students from other districts to come to Foxboro?
A: Year-round is becoming increasingly popular. Many of the year-round schools in our area are full. Parents from other districts are inquiring about the possibility of attending Foxboro. At this point, we are not accepting any new IDA’s. In the future, IDA’s will only be considered after those who live in our attendance area and those who live in our district.
Q: If I already filled out an Intra-School Agreement for next year to attend Cambridge, will this reduce my ability to come to Foxboro next year? (I’ve changed my mind)
A: Cambridge will need to serve their attendance area first also. So, please fill out a track selection ballot. You can contact Cambridge and tell them that you have changed your mind.
Q: Will busing be available if I choose not to go year-round?
A: No, transportation will NOT be provided. Foxboro is a neighborhood school. If you choose not to attend your neighborhood school, then you will need to provide your own transportation.
Q: There is a rumor that Travis will go year-round, is that true?
A: We anticipate that Travis Elementary will go single track year-round in the 2001-2002 school year. They may go multi-track year-round if we have a dramatic increase in enrollment.
Q: Will year-round expect uniforms?
A: No, we will not have uniforms because of going year-round.
Q: Will there be TGIF?
A: TGIF has many wonderful programs. They have an off-track program available as well as before and afterschool recreation. Please call Lisa at 449-5657 or 449-5630 for more information.
Q: Incoming Kindergarteners are registering at the same time as everyone else, is that so there is a coherent process?
A: We will be enrolling our incoming kindergarteners who have siblings currently enrolled at Foxboro (Grades K-5) from March 14-16. We are doing this at this time so that siblings will be placed on the same track.
Q: Is there a final date when we’ll know about track selection?
A: Track notification will be mailed home in June.
Q: Will Golden West and Vanden go year-round?
A: At this point, we are only looking at the elementary levels for the year-round calendar.