Los Alamos school board members,
My name is Sylvia Holesinger and I am a junior at Los Alamos High School, and I am writing to express my ideas of the extended learning plan with ten additional days. I believe that the additional money given in this plan could be used for school supplies and student enrichment programs, such as money for field trips, job experience, resume workshops, essential life-skills, and countless other skill-building opportunities that can be fleshed out within the ten extra days.
If Los Alamos public schools adopt an extended learning plan with ten additional days, the V2 or V5 learning plans are the most beneficial for teenagers.
Although the "V2- traditional holidays extended learning plan" includes ten extra learning days that could intrude on student's break from school which are necessary for mental health and academic achievement, the traditional holiday breaks intact within the "V2- traditional holidays extended learning plan" still offers the much needed reprieve for students.
For these reasons, I believe that other extended learning plans such as the "V4-short on holidays-ends earliest" are not optimal for student's mental health and academic achievement because the lack of breaks will negatively affect students despite having an earlier ending time.
If the Los Alamos school board decides to adapt the ten extra days into our high school calendar, I strongly recommend the "V2- traditional holidays extended learning plan" because I believe that it incorporates the ten extra days in a manner that is most beneficial for students.
In a similar manner, the "V5 Year-round" extended learning plan also incorporates the ten extra days with strategies that benefit students even further because of the two-week breaks in the fall and in the spring. Despite the earlier start time of the school year which sounds unfortunate for teens looking to enjoy their summer or work a job, the two-week breaks will provide reprieve for students in the middle of the fall and spring which are when students need them most in order to retain good mental health and academic achievement.
As a student, I am in favor of the "V2- traditional holidays" and the "V5 year-round" learning plans for the Los Alamos public schools.
Thank you for your time
Sylvia Holesinger