Cullen: Need Policy Against Requiring Outside Instruction

In response to an e-mail she saw suggesting a requirement for taking outside private lessons to supplement work done in class, board of education member Cindy Cullen made a motion Oct. 11 to introduce a new policy stating specifically that that will not happen—but Superintendent of Schools Michael Schilder suggested that a new policy is a bit of an overreaction.

“There are parents who are under the impression that they have to take outside courses for certain clubs and groups in the middle school,” Cullen said. “I want to make a motion to make any euphemisms for private instruction [against policy].”

Board of education member Jeffrey Brookner said it all depends on the wording of the e-mail from teachers or instructors to determine whether it actually crosses a line.

“I think there is a difference between recommending and requiring,” he said. “Whether it’s an athlete recommended for strength training or someone being recommended for music, I think a recommendation is fine for an instructor to say that doing so will help you make the team.”

“As long as it’s not made to be a requirement, I think it would be silly to prohibit that,” he added.

And board of education president Evan Lerner said he believes not allowing teachers to even recommend outside lessons is short sighted—again, so long as the outside instruction is not made a requirement.

“To say a teacher can’t suggest getting tutoring or after-school help is really, to my mind, significantly over-managing what teachers can and cannot say,” he said.

Schilder said he believes a policy is not necessary, and he has already taken care of the situation itself.

Schilder said the actual e-mail that was sent out was a misunderstanding. The e-mail, he said, is actually the one that was sent last year through the music department at the high school, and was mistakenly sent recently.

“We worked with the department over the summer to rewrite the syllabus and the actual notice that defined private instruction,” he said. “It was inappropriate, and we changed it dramatically.”

“But the wrong one went out at the beginning of the year,” he added.

The notice that was used last year was sent, Schilder said, instead of the one that was rewritten for this year, without requirements for outside instruction.

Schilder said he agrees that any extra instruction required needs to be offered during the school day, but this e-mail was accidently sent and he has handled the problem.

“Do certain teachers believe private instruction is the only way to be better?” he asked. “Absolutely. Is it required and should grades depend on it? Absolutely not.”

Board of education member Arvind Mathur said he would still not be against putting a policy together that clearly states what is allowed.

But board member Lynne Hurley said she would rather the policy committee look into the issue first and determine if a new policy is actually necessary.