Parkmont Elementary School

Every school day, I arrive at Parkmont Elementary School at 8:20am, and I return at 2:35pm to pick up my kids--except on Wednesdays. On Wednesdays, I have to return at 1:15 to pick them up. What happens on Wednesday? Wednesday at 1:15 is "prep time."

Prep time is a time when teachers can get caught up on lesson plans, copies, and run ditto machine jobs (mimeographs--the white paper copies with bluish-purple ink that smells like glue). They do these jobs and all sorts of other tasks too during this prep time.

Prep time was not done last year--at Parkmont Elementary that is. Glenmoor Elementary, off of Mattos in Fremont, had prep time last year and the year before.

So, what happened? Well, budget cuts happened. Parkmont Elementary School is challenged just like all the other California schools. They have to restructure school hours to allow prep time where they did not have to before. For example, before this year, Parkmont had Science Lab, full PE and Computer Lab. During certain times of the day, a few grade classes would send their kids to "Labs." After that particular grade class was emptied out and the kids were in the lab, that teacher with the now empty class could then do their prep time. However, now those labs do not exist because of the CA education budget cuts, so the school lets all kids out at 1:15 on Wednesdays in order to free up time for the teachers to ditto off the next weeks assignments and the like.

First of all, how does that effect Fremont CA home prices. And, second, how does it effect my job as a Fremont CA real estate agent http://www.MyColdwellBankerHome.com ? Home prices will recover. I am confident in that. They already started. And second, since I am the one doing the drop off and pick up, it only means my days are a bit more jumbled than last year. But I have to tell you. I would not have it any other way. Long story short. I used to be a UPS driver in Fremont. With that job, I would only see my kids on weekends. That would not do for me. That is another blog post in it of itself.

Parkmont will more than survive. It has a great PTA and a parent volunteer group and many extra curriculum activities were not cut because of parent involvement. When the going gets tough, the Parkmont Panthers PTA get going. Grrr.

By Jeff Pereyda