OXNARD : Teacher Workshops Will Delay Classes

Students in the Oxnard Union High School District will start school a week later than usual this year to allow teachers to attend five days of education workshops.

While the first day of classes in most districts will be Sept. 4 or 5, Oxnard’s 11,000 students, who normally return to classes the day after Labor Day, will not have to report to school until Sept. 10, officials said.

The schedule was changed so teachers could attend the workshops on continuous days rather than have them scattered throughout the school year, as in the past, William Studt, director of personnel, said.

Scheduling the workshops at the beginning of the year allows teachers to receive the extra training without interrupting the school calendar, Studt said. The number of days teachers must report to work--and students to school--will remain the same.

“It’s a thrust the state is urging districts to look at,” Studt said.

The workshops, to be held at local schools, will begin with a speech by Leonard L. Haynes, assistant secretary for post-secondary education with the U.S. Department of Education, on Friday, Jeannette Jennett, assistant coordinator of staff development, said.

During the Labor Day week, teachers will attend seminars on education, while other district personnel, including secretaries and teaching assistants, will attend workshops on subjects including disaster preparedness, stress management and retirement planning, Jennett said.