Jones High School

Jones Community,

Over the last decade, Oklahoma teachers have called and written letters, they have rallied at the capitol, they have organized a statewide ballot initiative, and they have campaigned (and been elected) for the legislature; however, none of that has been enough to convince our legislators to provide a teacher salary that keeps our teachers in Oklahoma classrooms.

Now, we are faced with a state-wide teacher walk-out on April 2. The Jones Board of Education, the administration, and (I believe) the strong majority of our community support their actions. I have visited with each faculty and talked personally with many of our teachers, and they do not want to do this. It is in conflict with their ethical principles, professionalism, and personal devotion to their students; however, they understandably see no other option. They recognize that public education in Oklahoma is on the brink of collapse. We have had three teachers leave their positions in Jones just since the Christmas break. All are pursuing work in another field or another state.

In support of our teachers, we will plan for a district shut down in conjunction with the teacher walk-out. As of this week, about half of our faculty says they will participate in a walk-out, so we will not have the resources to keep school open. We will continue to provide breakfast and lunch, and our extra-curricular activities will continue on a limited basis. We will also administer the ACT test on April 3 at the high school. This test is mandatory for all juniors.

I am including details on our plan; however, this is new to all of us, so it is somewhat fluid. Changes can be expected.

Thank you for your support,

Carl Johnson, Ph.D.

Superintendent

Jones Public Schools

• At last count, Jones Public Schools has about 50% of our teachers that intend to participate in a teacher walk-out on April 2.
• That will not leave enough supervision for the district to continue operations; therefore, we will cancel school for those days.
• Eastern Oklahoma County Career Tech will remain open and provide transportation from Jones High School. (please refer to EOC for more information)
• Because teachers and coaches responsible for extra-curricular activities are on separate contracts for those duties, extra-curricular activities will continue as scheduled.
• The ACT test scheduled for April 3 will be conducted as scheduled
• AP tests will be conducted as scheduled
• Free breakfast (8-9:30) and lunch (10:30 – 12) will be available for all students at the elementary and high school.
• Graduation will continue as scheduled on May 24 at 7:30 pm.  If days have to be made up Seniors would also have to make up days.
• Any time missed will be made up as follows:
  • 5 days
    • Increase academic day by 10 minutes (8:15 – 3:15)
    • Last day will be May 25 (+1Day)
  • 10 days
    • Increase academic day by 25 minutes (8:00 – 3:15)
    • Last day will be May 31 (+5 Days)
  • 15 days
    • Increase academic day by 25 minutes (8:00 – 3:15)
    • Last day will be June 7 (+10 Days)
  • 20 days
    • Increase academic day by 25 minutes (8:00 – 3:15)
    • Last day will be June 14 (+15 Days)
• This academic year has to be concluded prior to July 1.
• If school is canceled beyond 30 days, it will be difficult to make up the 1080 hours required by the state prior to July 1.
• For every day (6 hours) below the 1080 hours we are not in school, the district will probably lose funding and teachers will lose salary.
•  While school is closed, offices will be closed and school personnel will not be available.
• Absences during the added (make-up) time will be counted. This will be regular academic time.