In the everyday uproar of a working parent's life, balancing work with parental obligations is a burden. Parents working the full-time shift finds it a challenge to keep up with their children's early school dismissal. Finding means such as after-school tutorials or child care arrangements may be feasible resolutions, but may be costly at the same time.
The Center for American Progress conducted a research, gathered data from school policies, compared calendars from schedules and examined figures from the National Center for Education Statistics. The organization's website reveals the findings, which included a comparison between the parents' paid holiday off and school closing, average child care expenses, unaffordable pre and post school time care, attendance on primary scholastic events and federal funding for a nine-to-five school day.
The Huffington Post highlights the report's recommendation for a longer school day to match the working parent's timetable. This would be favorable for the moms and dads in the workforce who need to cover thirteen more days of no-class days after they have exhausted all paid vacation and holiday leaves.
Catherine Brown, Vice President of Education Policy at CAP points out how schools ignore working parents' obligations to their employer when they require that children be picked up from school in the event of a minor or non-communicable illness. Furthermore, she explains that the research does not require teachers to work longer hours without compensation, Think Progress reports.
Senior fellow for education policy at CAP, Ulrich Boser, suggests the possibility of a nine-to-five working schedule in four days for teachers. Although it may cost more to keep learning institutions open for longer hours, available federal funds can sustain the school district's extended time line.
CAP proposes additional work around for school calendars such as limiting school days off to just major holidays. The proposal is in consideration of parents' time in setting up itineraries for conferences and meetings and working with major employees in deciding to close school during unpleasant weather conditions.
Even though some of these proposals may be feasible, some would require aggressive planning and implementation. Most importantly, transformation is a must as the needs of working parents are recognized.
