The Saugus Union School District governing board is set at Tuesday’s meeting to consider a proposed agreement between the district and the Saugus Teachers Association about universal dismissal times and the shortening the school day for transitional kindergarten and kindergarten.
According to Superintendent Colleen Hawkins, STA and the district began formal negotiations about universal dismissal in the spring of the 2023-24 school year, after STA requested it.
She added that, in a survey sent to parents and staff in the fall of this current school year, a majority voted in favor of universal dismissal times.
After the survey was sent out, teachers in the district requested that the universal dismissal time not be extended for the TK and kindergarteners. Teachers were reporting that those students were already having a hard time behaving appropriately during the regular school day, said Hawkins.
According to the meeting agenda, “Negotiations between the Saugus Teachers’ Association and Saugus Union School District have resulted in a signed memorandum of understanding that was subsequently ratified by STA membership regarding universal dismissal and applicable articles in the STA-SUSD Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
If the board gives final approval, the instructional day for students in grades TK through sixth would be altered starting with the 2025-26 school year, reads the agenda.
The agenda reads that the new schedule would look like:
- TK and kindergarten will attend school for 265 minutes per day Monday through Friday, including a 20-minute recess and 45-minute lunch (200 instructional minutes/day plus 65 minutes of recess and lunch).
- First through sixth grades will attend school for 385 minutes per day on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday including a 20-minute recess and 45-minute lunch (320 instructional minutes/day plus 65 minutes for recess and lunch).
- All grades will attend school for 265 minutes on Wednesdays, including a 20-minute recess only (245 instructional minutes/day plus 20 minutes for recess). Lunch will be available at the end of the school day for students who desire to participate.
If the MOU is ratified, the district will immediately provide scheduling information, proposed child care supports, and more, wrote Hawkins in a previous email to The Signal.
“In an effort to fully communicate the impact of this MOU with our parent community, information will be sent in a series of three messages over the next two weeks. The district anticipates the first message to be sent via Parent Square first thing next week,” reads the agenda.
Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the district’s administration office, located at 24930 Avenue Stanford.
