More teacher PD days concern Home and School

Parents don't want more professional development days added to the school calendar if it's going to mean less class time, says the P.E.I. Home and School Federation.

A provincial proposal to add PD days to the school calendar was discussed at the Home and School Federation's semi-annual meeting Tuesday night. The Department of Education is considering adding three to five more teacher training days next year.

Home and School Federation vice-president Peter Rukavina said the federation meeting heard some parents want more class time.

"We have 195 to 197 school days on the calendar, but only a 181 of those are called instructional days, when our students are actually in school. So, certainly parents don't want to see fewer instructional days," said Rukavina.

"They want to see that level maintained, and I think there was a certain consensus that wanted to increase that, recognizing that our test scores are lower than many places in the country and that the last thing that we should be doing is having less educational experiences."

Rukavina said other concerns raised were finding child care, and the number of school days currently going to movie-watching and other non-learning activities.

Rukavina said the federation will take these messages to the school calendar committee, a group that includes members from the department, the Teachers Federation and the school board.