School’s online learning day between Waitangi Day and the weekend disappoints parent: ‘Just get on with the year’

School days wedged between a public holiday and a weekend historically have “abysmal attendance”, an education leader and principal says, as a major Auckland school opts to move lessons online on Friday.

The decision by Westlake Girls’ High School leaders to offer online learning on Friday - the day after tomorrow’s Waitangi Day public holiday - has been criticised as too disruptive so early in the school year.

The online learning day requires students and teachers to work remotely.

It is part of a trial the school says is important to prepare for any future emergency disruptions, on a day it believes is the least disruptive option on the school calendar.

The move is probably not because students can’t be bothered coming to school that day, Secondary Schools Principals’ Association president Vaughan Couillault told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast.

But public holidays on Tuesday and Thursday were notorious for parents taking their kids out of school on Monday or Friday.

“Families that are able, want to take a long weekend. That creates a little bit of tension with us wanting to engage in classes and keep our attendance up. Historically, we’ve seen abysmal attendance,” the Papatoetoe High School principal said, noting one peer had told him attendance fell to 50% on weekend-adjacent days preceded or followed by a public holiday.

“That’s not kids exercising discretion. That’s parents saying, ‘Let’s have a long weekend'.”

Listen live: Secondary Schools Principals Association President Vaughan Couillault speaks to Mike Hosking at 7.50am

The push by Act leader David Seymour for schools to get kids back in the classroom after years of disruption during the Covid-19 pandemic wasn’t effort wasted, Couillault said.

But the Associate Education Minister probably didn’t realise Education Minister Erica Stanford had given schools up to four teacher-only days a year, which some schools were making use of on Friday, he said.

“He wasn’t wasting his time, because we all want kids back in school.”

At Westlake Girls’, teachers would set an activity on their Google classroom pages for each of the classes scheduled for that day, which would be released at the start of each “period”.

Students would complete the activity and turn it in, and Years 12 and 13 students were asked to log in to the NZQA website.

“Given the unexpected events over the past five years, including the pandemic and floods, it’s essential that our systems are thoroughly tested and connected to ensure resilience and continuity in our educational delivery,” a school spokeswoman said.

Westlake Girls' High School will hold an online learning day this Friday. Photo / Google

Some other schools will close entirely or hold teacher-only days on Friday.

One parent of a student at Westlake Girls’ told the Herald they and other parents were annoyed at the timing – so soon after the start of the school year, and amid a wider effort to get kids back to classroom learning following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“They have only just gone back to school. We are trying to get them settled into some sort of routine, they have had a massive long summer break,” said the parent, who asked not to be named.

“They want the kids to practise getting online at home, in case they have to work from home at some stage. But to me, that’s something that would take half an hour, tops. Is there any reason it couldn’t be set as homework?”

She suspected the timing might be to give families the option of a four-day weekend.

“A whole day off, when we are trying to get them into some sort of routine seems ludicrous ... I just feel like, come on, they’ve just got back to school – let’s just get on with the year.”

Westlake Girls High School students make their way to school. File Photo / Brett Phibbs

A Westlake Girls’ spokeswoman told the Herald the rationale for the online learning day had been clearly communicated, and came in the wider context of excellent academic performance by students.

“On our online learning day, students will be at home, and it’s equally important that our staff work off-site to ensure they can effectively connect with our students remotely.

“This includes the 20 new staff members who have joined us this year, some of whom are first-year teachers and have not yet experienced such events. By conducting this test, we aim to prepare all staff for any future disruptions, ensuring seamless education for our students.

“We have taken a proactive approach in selecting what we believe to be the least disruptive day early on the school calendar for this exercise. Our goal is to minimise any inconvenience to our students and their families while prioritising the robustness of our educational infrastructure.”

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A number of other schools will hold teacher-only days or close entirely this Friday, Newsroom has reported, with principals reasoning many parents will take their kids away for an extra-long weekend, regardless of whether schools are open.

That is despite Associate Education Minister David Seymour last year announcing measures to reduce truancy, and warning that “schools will have to play their part in setting a good example as well – this means not taking teacher-only days during term-time”.

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