That is very disappointing to say the least. These were extraordinary circumstances that resulted in our children missing two full weeks of instruction. Does anyone care about their education and making up the work they missed in those 2 weeks? Adding an extra week to the end of the school year is a joke. We all know that there is little real instruction going on in our school in June. There is no air conditioning, the kids and teachers are burned out by then, and no one is focused on school work. It will be a week of babysitting, class parties and movies. Yes, unfortunately some people had already booked vacations for February break or Easter break but that is by no means the majority of the teachers or the parents. Perhaps some people could change their plans or shorten their trips. Perhaps we could have taken a few days from each break so the kids who would be away wouldn't miss as much work. Why are the demands of a few families whose vacation plans will be disrupted more important than our children's education? Other school in the area have already made the tough decision to take away or shorten their winter or spring breaks because people in the community realized that there were no perfect options and they chose to do what was best for the children. This decision proves that a vocal minority influenced the board for their own selfish reasons.

I totally agree with both above comments. Why bother having public forums... it's up to the "few" select people who came up with the idea of having a 2 minute homeroom and hallway time between classes in WIS. Wall School System remains a joke!!!

I guess we are done? Can we atleast give the new board and Super a shot. There is so much negativity its sad. You make this town sound like a bad TV episode, What difference does a few days make? People lost there lives and homes, a few more days in June is no big deal, in fact take your kid to the beach and skip some of those wasted half days.

There are plenty of private schools that would love your tuition, a joke is Habel. This is a one time event, however, the quick homeroom and seconds to run to class and woof down lunch! That is a problem!

It is a difficult situation, but logic over time has failed once again. Rewind a few years to a Saturday school session due to many snow days. Many parents begged the then board and super to add in some extra days that could be dropped and used as longer holidays later in the year. Deaf ears, statements those days would never be needed by the super at that time, and no action. After Sandy wouldn't those extra "throw away" days be nice? Hopefully Dr. Simon will see that parents outrage is because we have been ignored over the years by his predecessors when presenting solid viable solutions, not directly due to his decision.

As to the public session last week, it was clear that parents were generally opposed to moving the end of school and wanting to shave days where possible to keep that date. The movement of the graduation is not very pleasing to those of us who either have made plans and commitments based on the original graduation date, have kids who may be starting summer programs at the college of their choice, and will now have major adjustments to make.

It is obvious that there was no way to please everyone, but hopefully wisdom will prevail for the future. We told you this could happen, we gave ideas in the past and in the most recent public meeting.

The Governor has stated it is not up to him to deal with the 180 day requirement and any waivers , it is the state commissioner of education on a case by case basis. Did anyone contact the commissioner?

The February break, if I'm not mistaken, was originally implemented to save on high heating costs. That being said, the February break should be the first thing to go, yes, even this year. As a former employee of the Wall district, I didn't see the point of taking a break just a few weeks after the Christmas break. First of all, the interruption in continuity of instruction had to be addressed. Secondly, most families, including mine, did not travel during that time for various reasons, not the least of which was cost. Thirdly, being out of school again after the Christmas break seemed frivolous considering heating costs is no longer a critical issue.

I'm disappointed with this decision but also disappointed with the nonsense posted here. Wall schools are not a joke. I wish they would have chosen to cut out one of the breaks. Our plans to visit Grandma can be changed. Reservations can be changed. I'm sure she would understand. And for those families who prioritize their vacation over their children's educations have the choice to pull their kids out of school if break is cancelled. How many of those families pull their kids out a day or 2 early before break anyway? The 10 day break isn't enough? I want a guarantee that my kids are going to be taught until the last day of school.

Agreed. I have picked up my kids early from school in June because it is just too hot in the school and they end up watching movies on the floor in the gym..We all know this added week will have zero instruction. I don't understand Anne Moonan's comment about kids wanting perfect attendance..? Perfect attendance should not be rewarded because if forces a child who is sick to go to school and spread the illness..I say take away the Feb break and only add at the end of the year if we have more snow..If families have vacations plans, the kids will just have to make up their work...

A few years ago the district did away with perfect attendance awards because they encourage kids to come to school when sick. It's ridiculous that Ms Moonan even cited that as a concern. My concern as always, is how much are my kids learning and how prepared are they going to be for the following year's curriculum. Meaningful instruction should always be the priority. Vacation plans cannot be part of the equation. The end of the school year issues seem to have more relevance than break time issues. This was a difficult position for our new Superintendent to be in. I don't envy his situation. I also don't believe that it is too late to fix this mistake. Please reconsider this decision Mr Simon.

I also attended the open forum meeting and came out thinking the school year would not be extended, primarily because the superintendent stated it would be a last resort because of heat and lack of instruction. When you have so many days off ahead in the school calendar, any of them could have been picked and it seemed the majority of people agreed on a few days from February break and Easter. Extendeding the year is really going to have a negative impact on the seniors, graduation, college and their summer employment. This was not a good decision for a variety of reasons, so disappointed and felt I wasted my time at the open forum, this is why a lot of parents choose not to be involved, their opinions just don't matter.

By the way, I thought the February break was requested a few years back by parents who wanted to be able to go on vacation at a time that other districts were in school because they could get better rates and have smaller crowds than what is experienced during Easter break. We didn't have February break when I attended Wall Schools

My favorite comment is from Anne Moonan about the concern for students who want perfect attendance, WOW what percentage of the student body is that .01%, if it is that important to them they would make adjustments. Not suprising since anyone who serves on the board is usually a control freak nut anyway. Now once again many parents have to take a week off in February from work, how about we think of those wall parents who only have two week vacations throughout the year. One week in feb and one week in december leaves know time for a summer vacation. Don't get me wrong, Simon has done a great job so far, but this call was a bad one. Winter break is a joke, Monmouth County is the only county in NJ to take a county wide winter break, kids are back in school for three weeks after christmas than another week off, they should really rethink this schedule

So Avon and Spring Lake Heights ae shaving a couple of days off their winter and
Easter breaks. Other towns are looking at the same. The logic is it spreads the impact and if we do have significant snows and snow days they could be accommodated more easily. So the new schedule will mean if we have more days off we will have to go to Saturdays or even further push out the end of school.

Given the average number of days of snowfall greater than an inch since 1980 in this area is just under four days in the Dec through March time frame, perhaps we should reconsider? Can the board and Super share their research into the weather and snow fall potential?

This decision is hard to believe and we think that there must be a mistake. There is no way that the new super Simon, took into account the graduates who have made plans, the fact that the schools do not have air conditioning, buses do not have air conditioning that Ms Moonan is so out of touch that this decision would positively affect perfect attendance - what a disaster.what a travesty. february break - spring break - Was it? If not, it should have been considered as a primary option . If Ms. Moonan thinks that perfect attendance is valued in this day and age of contagion illnesses - well I speak for many that we are truly worried about how in touch she is as a policy maker. When is her term up? Perfect attendance is gone and has been for a while.

I am so disappointed in the superintendant and the board of education. I attended the public forum held on the 13th. It was the superintendent who said adding the days on to the end of the schedule was not a good option because the students needed the classroom instruction time prior to taking AP tests in May and the mandatory state testing for all grades. According to board member Anne Moonan, perfect attendance needed to be considered. What about the attendance of students whose vacations are scheduled for a few days after the end of school? Those students will miss final exams if their families can't cancel their plans. Good Friday was taken away from the students. The ONLY religious day out of all those up for consideration. Remember - the reason students even have an Easter vacation- Religious. Between 12-3 you are not supposed to be out and about.

I gave up one of the few nights I have off to attend the meeting on the 13th. The overwhelming majority of people, if not all in attendance, including the superintendant, agreed the end of the school year was not an option. The heat was a factor, the testing was a factor, and 1/2 days added on at the end would be a waste of time. I see why the public does not turn out for meetings. A deaf ear was turned to the public....why waste our time?

Wall's February break happens because Wall does not get the the one day holidays off like other schools do. Wall combines those days into one week. The Wall calendar is also two days longer than other schools. If there are no snow days or closures for other reasons, the students attend school for the two extra days. We all know how extraordinary and unusual the circumstances were for Sandy and then the snow storm that added insult to injury. In any case, compared to the great losses sustained to many of our families and friends, all of this bickering seems trivial. I wonder how many people would be complaining if the State had allowed special dispensation for the loss of some of the school days and it did not affect the school calendar? There is a question we can all ask ourselves. Mr. Simon and the Board would meet opposition no matter what decision was made and I don't envy their position. The negative statements about Wall and its schools are very upsetting to read.......

It shouldn't have been a hard decision to just eliminate the February break in order to create a larger chunk of learning time in order to make up for 2 continuous weeks of lost time. Anyone with vacation plans, reservations, etc could have shifted them from February to Easter break (yes, even our dedicated teachers could). That way the vacationers (which we are not) could still have a chunk of time to vacation. My kids are younger, but I do now understand the predicament of our graduates. Their needs should definitely be given priority over the younger students. No graduate (or family of a graduate) should have to choose between attending their hard earned ceremony or leaving for summer programs, jobs, etc. Let's now hope that the decision makers do their best to keep the schools open unless very severe snow is predicted. We need to toughen up a bit as far as snow days go. Kids in Minnesota and Vermont would never go to school in the winter time if they called for snow days every time a couple of inches fall!

If the major objective is to keep instructional time and prepare students for the AP and other tests then this decision is a failure. The bulk of the make up days will occur too late. As pointed out by others Dr. Simon seems to have failed to hit his major area of concern. This decision needs to be re-evaluated.

Michael Do you know if Mr Simon has a doctoral degree? I missed that in his bio. but I agree with you. This must be re-evaluated now!!!!!!! Also I agree with the person who asked who made this decison. I heard that Simon said he would not add days at the end. He says one thing and does another. This is outrageous What was the purpose of the open forum. to pretend to listen. An insult to our time is what it was! I think Ms. Moonan is over her head. Time to step down

because the board is running the district . robin cevantis says she needs time to do her research, moon-an is trying to win back the allenwood groups she alienated so she can be "make a difference". tavis is finally fulfilling his dream of being a real superintendent. You guys rock! See you on the stage on June 27. it will be hot up there!!!!!!!, poor kids all for a few perfect attendance certificates. BTW how many west belmar kids are going to disney for February break? Oh, thought so.

So If Winter break and Easter break vacationers can just take their kids out of school,Then why all the Fuss for End of School Vacationers,JUST TAKE YOUR KIDS OUT OF SCHOOL EARLY! ! And PS High School half days are done by 11am,So all those Crying Hard working students can still go to work..And PS ,This Town is a Ghost Town every Winter Break,So many many families do go onVaca.

Alright then. Have you heard of graduation? It is a ceremony that our students prepare for 13 years/9 years? So are you suggesting that we do not send our kids to school - interesting thought. Is that what the administration prefers? The teachers prefer? I have not seen the ghost town you refer to. I have lived here for 30 years and never saw it. But besides that the schools are ovens in June. Go to west Belmars 2nd and 3rd floors in June. This is a very bad decision. I hope Mr Simon does not have open forums for all of his hard decisions. Maybe we can all just keep our fingers crossed like he said for us to do. Go Wall! Beat (everyone when you can! )

Alrighty-than: Nobody's vacation is more important than another. The BIG difference is that the end of school year is final exams. To miss school at the end of year, the students of 8th and 12th grade would miss graduation and all 8th grade and high school students would miss finals. THAT is what makes end of school year plans different. In addition, I live in Wall, do not go away in February and my neighborhood is not a ghost town.

If people want to take their kids out of school to go on vacation, go ahead. My kids will be in school, hopefully learning (but that will depend on the mood of the teachers). The hurricane has devastated families and businesses all around us but the elitists in Wall are whining about losing their vacations. Suck it up and get over it! This is a hopefully a one time
thing. We should give up the February break this year so our kids can have a long segment of learning continuity. The kids need this. All grade levels need this. Kids and obviously some parents need to learn that in times of crisis we need to adapt our plans, pull together and move forward. This should be a teaching moment for us all. Mr Simon, please change the schedule and eliminate February break rather than adding time to the end of the school year!! Our kids are not going to benefit from an added week in June!!

Anytime Puppet State, or anybody else, wants to meet for a cup of coffee and discuss the difference between "West Belmar kids" and any other kids in this town, I will be happy to oblige.

Who are you? That someone would want to meet you for coffee to discuss kids anytime. This is a bunch of bull. The first hard decision the New BOE and New Superintendent had to make. They failed the student again. They "ALWAYS" put everyone and everything first before the students. Why? More like the faculty wanted to keep February and Easter Break. They would not make this hasty decisions when it came to their raises and benefit time. The NEW BOE AND SUPERINTENDENT CAN'T STAND UP TO THESE UNGRATEFUL INDIVIDUALS THAT SHOULD BE HAPPY THEY HAVE A JOB! This is SO UNFAIR TO THE GRADUATING CLASSES. Those who don't have any graduating don't care, if they did they would be bitching to. If it doesn't personally affect you. Who cares about all others? STAND UP FOR THE STUDENTS FOR JUST ONCE!

When are all these BOE members along with others in different town do what if right for the students? These educators and their friends wonder why so many question the decisions that are being made from them. What is it going to take for them all to be morally honest. They wonder why they are under attack. Our governor is trying to change what the educational world is lacking. What he does not understand it will never change with the Leaders, the BOE members and some of the parents who are giving their approval of support on what is taking place by going right along with the wrong that is known and taking place.

You are right. Some things never change. This New Superintendent failed big time. He said he was not going to add on to the end of the year do to graduation, to mess up the students schedules. He did the exact opposite. I know the BOE is supposed to make the decisions even thought 95% don't. If the BOE truly made the decisions on the make up days, than they are wrong and not thinking about the kids or the importance of graduation schedules. He should have persuaded them to take it away from February and Spring break. If those who want to pull their kids out they could have.