CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield school board will consider changing the start time at Clearfield Area Elementary School at next week’s regular meeting.
The current start time is 9 a.m., according to Superintendent Terry Struble, who said administrators are proposing for it to be pushed back 15-20 minutes.
Struble said teachers need additional time to plan and prepare for the students coming into their classrooms. Administrators are also hoping it increases grade level collaboration.
He said the teachers have been engaged in the discussion, as well as School Principal Mary Mike Sayers, Assistant Principal Andrew Brickley and Administrator Jamie Quick.
Struble shared a Chinese proverb with the board from a professor at the University of Hong Kong. It was about a young logger who was outpacing everyone at first in the number of trees that he could fall.
He continued to but later started to fall behind. He began to work through his breaks and lunch but continued to fall behind. He was even being outpaced by the oldest logger.
He finally asked the oldest logger how he was doing his work better. He said, “Well son, you have to take a break to eat, take a break to rest and take a break to sharpen your axe.”
Struble said the current elementary schedule doesn’t give the teachers enough time to sharpen their axe. Instead, he said it asks them to be with children from the time they arrive until they depart.
“We’re working with a dull axe,” he said. Struble said they want teachers to work together to sharpen their axe and to better student performance.
