Teachers, students and parents urge Paramount board to drop 27‑minute proposal, saying planning time will suffer

Dozens of teachers, students and parents told the Paramount Unified School District board on April 22 that a proposal to add 27 minutes to the elementary instructional day would do more harm than good.

At the meeting many public commenters—including classroom teachers, TAP union leaders and students—argued that extending the school day by 27 minutes while reducing planning time would worsen teacher fatigue and degrade instructional quality. Christina Sto, a third‑grade teacher at Mark Keell Elementary, said the extra minutes are likely to be "low‑impact minutes" consumed by transitions, redirection and diminished student attention.

"More minutes do not mean more learning," Sto said. "When students are mentally tired, instructional quality drops. Planning time is what makes high‑quality instruction possible."

Kindergarten teacher Desarda Zamora told the board that young children are not designed for extended rigid instruction and warned that additional minutes would increase fatigue and behavioral challenges in five‑ and six‑year‑olds. Several other speakers said site leadership teams have not been adequately involved in reviewing the universal access implementation and that the district should honor Article 8 of the teachers’ contract that provides meaningful opportunities for site staff to propose changes.

Adora Aldridge, president of the Teachers Association of Paramount, thanked the board for rescinding notices of reduction in force but said a 27‑minute extension without structured purpose or contract compliance is misguided. She asked the board to prioritize site‑level planning, transcript audits and alternatives that protect teacher planning time.

Board members and staff said they were listening and that additional analysis is needed. Several trustees asked for evidence that additional minutes would raise achievement and for comparisons with other interventions (smaller class size, targeted supports). The Teachers Association and others asked that any change be negotiated and piloted with clear metrics for student engagement and outcomes.

What happens next: Board members said they expect staff to return with more data tying potential schedule changes to measurable gains, and union leaders pointed to bargaining dates and to the district’s contractual obligations.

Representative excerpted public comments (on record):

- "Don't give our teachers a harder time than they already have," student Aaron Isaac told the board. "Don't add more instructional minutes at the expense of planning time." (Aaron Isaac)

- "More time does not equal better outcomes," Christina Sto said. "What matters is how time is used." (Christina Sto)

The meeting record shows repeated public and employee requests that the district focus on instructionally stronger, evidence‑based solutions rather than adding minutes without clear, structured use.