Four-day school week liked by many

Three days running...

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Seemingly loved and accepted by those who have adopted it, the four-day school schedule is coming under school board scrutiny with surveys due from across Carbon County School District 2.

Currently, school schedules vary across the district, and so far, parents seem happy. All of Encampment still operates on a five-day week, while all of Saratoga has adopted the four-day schedule. Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow is split between a four-and-a-half day elementary school week and a four-day high school week.

A year ago, the school district turned the schedule over to the community at local and district meetings to recommend changes. Saratoga and HEM chose the four-day schedule due to secondary level students missing class time by participating in activities such as sports, vocational agriculture, speech and arts, said Saratoga’s principal Larry Uhling.

Now, as is standard with many school board decisions, it is coming under review after a year of implementation.

When asked how parents of elementary students in Saratoga handle caring for their children for the Friday off, principal Larry Uhling said, “It’s no different than if we have a holiday on a Monday or a late start on a Wednesday or an early out on a Friday. We had all those things in our last schedule because there’s a certain amount of time that teachers need to prepare and for staff development and those types of things.”

The new schedule generally standardizes time off and enables the development of additional programs for the students, he said. Uhling spoke of the activities that have been set up for the children through the community and through the school’s staff, including enrichment programs and remedial help for students who need it.

Cindy Loose, a Saratoga parent of a third-grader and a woman who runs her own company, VIP Marketing, from home, spoke highly of the four-day week. “I think it works well for our family. I like the enrichment on Fridays and I’m spending time with Katie, which is another benefit.”

She said her daughter does every enrichment program, including art, storytelling and rocketeering. “She is expanding her literary skills and taking part in science that she wouldn’t normally have on her agenda,” she said. Loose believes that the students are not losing valuable class time, but instead are gaining an element to their learning.

The new schedule relieves stress from students and teachers alike, particularly at the secondary level. High school students are able to travel and be involved with important extracurricular activities without the stress of missing school and making up work, Uhling said.

Teachers who are coaches or are involved in activity leadership are able to spend more time with their classes. “We have a coach for the high school who has only missed two days this year of actual instructional time compared to the year before where he missed 30-some days of instruction,” Uhling said.

Principal Brad Barlow spoke of another benefit to teachers, which is having time for staff development. On Friday, his staff at HEM met in Saratoga to listen to a motivational speaker. The entire staff was invited, from teachers and principals to custodians and cooks.

“The main message was that we’re all teachers,” Barlow said. He said the motivational speech was about being positive with the kids and with coworkers, because everyone at the school is a role model. “It was important stuff,” he said.

Uhling said child care was a major concern when the schedule was implemented across the board in Saratoga, but he thinks most parents have found a way to work with it. Jane Hill, the mother of 11-year-old Marshall and 15-year-old Wyatt, said she enjoys the schedule, but realizes the issue of caring for children for the extra day. “I don’t have to have day care for my kids, so that makes a big difference. For someone who does need day care, it might be different,” she said.

As the surveys are received on Feb. 8, the date extended by Superintendent Bob Gates, both Uhling and Barlow are unsure of what to expect. Both say they have not heard any negative feedback about the schedule. However, both are interested to see what does come back.


Schedule's a juggling act

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Some love it and some wish it could change.

With the Carbon County School District 2 school schedule surveys circulating until the end of next week, parents have the opportunity to voice their opinion about the continued use of the five-day schedule in Encampment.

As the only community in District 2 to maintain the traditional five-day week, Encampment is at the mercy of parents who have observed the benefits and detriments of the four-day week implemented in the rest of the school district.

“It was very evident from the community meetings in Encampment (last year) that no one was interested in changing the schedules (to four days),” Encampment principal Mike Ericson said. He has not had anyone come to him yet saying the five-day schedule should be changed.

However, there is a contingent who quietly hopes Encampment might adopt the four-day schedule. Joelle Vacher, mother of Darion Vacher in Encampment, voiced her opinion. “I would like to go to a four-day schedule if it were conceivable,” she said. “I’d like to have my son at home an extra day.”

She enjoys the thought of an extra family day amidst all the homework and class time. Still, she did recognize the need for kids to be in school while their parents are working. “A lot of the parents wouldn’t want (their children) to be home because they can’t be home,” she said.

On the other end of the spectrum is Michele Fisher, an Encampment parent who juggles a preschooler, a kindergartner, a fourth-grader and a full-time job in Rawlins. “I’m against the four-day week because I need day care,” she said. “I don’t have anybody to watch them all day on Friday.”

She mentioned the fear that losing a day of instruction would be detrimental to her fourth-grade son. “He needs a bit more attention, so if he loses the extra day, it’s not going to hurt anybody but him,” she said. She hopes the schedule stays the same, particularly since she has managed to find care for her children within their current time at school.

Speaking about what he expects from the surveys, Ericson said he has been asked by various parents if Encampment will be forced to go to a four-day schedule. “I don’t think it’s going to happen. It would be up to the board of course, but my impression is that it’s not going to,” he said.

Ericson said his staff and the community believes the five-day schedule works better. “If the community’s not in favor of it, it’s not something that would be smart to do,” he said.

Panther wits leads to Panther wins

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

In boys basketball, the Panthers outsmarted the Chiefs in Saturday’s game and hope to sneak in a few more wins on their home court this weekend against Little Snake River Valley School on Friday and against the Southeast Cyclones on Saturday.

In its first weekend home after a long stretch of traveling, Saratoga High School nailed a win against Wyoming Indian by simply keeping the energy up. Neck and neck until the second half of the game, the Panthers took off by eight points in the third quarter to finish 11 points ahead at the end of fourth, 83-72.

“I thought we had a little more energy due to the crowd than they did at the end of the game,” Saratoga coach Rex Hohnholt said. “We just looked a little fresher than they did out there.”
He speculated that the elevation may have had something to do with Wyoming Indian’s ability to keep up. While the Chiefs train at 4,000 feet above sea level, the Panthers are accustomed to the lack of oxygen 3,000 feet higher.

Hohnholt said the boys had no special tactics against the Chiefs. They played their game and surprised Wyoming Indian, showing them Saratoga could push the ball and put on the pressure too, he said.

With double-digit scoring from Hayden Hohnholt, Josh Rice, Jake Johnston and David Capozzoli, and scoring contributions from Jonathan Jones, Gus Redmond, Ryan Larscheid and Sam Streeter, the coach said there is always someone new who steps up to help the team.
“Every week they surprise me with what they can do and do well,” Hohnholt said.

This weekend is one of the biggest weekends Saratoga plays all year, according to the coach.
On Friday night, the Panthers tip off against the Rattlers at 7 p.m. to fight the ongoing battle between the two Carbon County schools.

“(Little Snake River Valley) has a very good ball team and we are not overlooking them,” Hohnholt said. “We talked this week that our biggest game this week is Snake River. They could beat anyone in the state on any given night and we know that and we know we have to have our best game out on the basketball court if we want to beat them.”

The Southeast game is the second of two conference games all season and is important for seeding in the regional tournament. The game starts at 4 p.m.

“We were fortunate to beat them on their turf by six points,” the Panther coach said. “They do everything right and play within their abilities.”

If his boys can control the tempo of the game and step up their defense, Hohnholt thinks Saratoga can secure a victory. “We feed off a steal here or a good defensive stand there,” he said. “We get easy baskets by playing hard and scrappy and we didn’t do that in (the last) game.”

The team is excited about the home court advantage against both teams and plans to start and
finish the weekend with intensity supported by the crowd.

On the road again...

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

After a devastating loss to Cokeville and a narrow win against Farson-Eden three weeks ago, Encampment’s Lady Tigers hope to take home their prey as they face off once more against the two western Wyoming teams this weekend, this time on the road.

Cokeville’s speed and depth should still be daunting in the Friday conference game, which starts at 4 p.m. Encampment coach Jami Krein spoke of Cokeville’s strength with outside shooting and strong posts. “They’re good all around,” she said.

Can they close the 23-point gap? “If we play to our potential, we can,” Krein said. However, it will be tough after their five-hour road trip starting at 8 a.m. Friday.

Krein said that if Encampment goes all out against Cokeville on Friday, she hopes her girls have something left for the Farson-Eden conference game on Saturday, which also tips off at 4 p.m.
“(Cokeville) is going to be a physically draining game,” she said. “So to have something left will be difficult, but I think we can do it.”

In terms of goals, the team is still aiming for better ball management and a higher shooting percentage. Krein said Encampment’s ball handling has been slowly getting better and was visibly improved in the team’s recent game against Little Snake River Valley School. However, the Lady Tiger’s shooting percentage still lingers at 32.