Community members are pushing back against planned schedule changes in Ridgefield elementary schools that would reduce time for art, music, physical education (PE) and recess, while adding new specialist-led science and Foundations for Learning classes starting in the 2026-27 school year.
The changes will affect all three elementary schools in the district: South Ridge, Union Ridge and the new Sunset Ridge Elementary, which is scheduled to open next school year.
Under the new schedule, students will attend six specialist classes each week, each lasting 45 minutes. The classes include music, art, PE, library, science and Foundations for Learning, a course focused on social-emotional learning.
The revised schedule will reduce time in several areas:
• Art courses continue to be once per week, reduced from 60 minutes to 45 minutes (a reduction of 15 minutes per week)
• Music instruction moves from two 30-minute classes per week to one 45-minute class per week (a reduction of 15 minutes per week)
• PE moves from two 30-minute classes per week to one 45-minute class per week (a reduction of 15 minutes per week)
• Recess will be reduced by five minutes each day for most students. For fifth grade, returning to the elementary school level next school year, recess will increase by five minutes daily.
The new schedule will add the following:
• Library instruction courses will continue to be held once per week, increased from 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
• Students will have one 45-minute science special per week.
• Students will have one 45-minute class per week focused on leadership, collaboration, emotional regulation and related skills through Foundations for Learning.
• Grade-level teacher teams will gain 45 minutes each week for professional learning and collaboration.
District officials say the changes are designed to improve consistency across elementary schools and provide more instructional time in reading, writing and math.
In written responses to questions from The Reflector, Ridgefield School District Director of Communications Joe Vajgrt said the schedule updates were developed collaboratively by elementary principals, district leadership and labor representatives.
“The district is working to strengthen student learning in core areas, especially math, while also providing more consistent science instruction and more dedicated instruction in foundational skills,” Vajgrt wrote. “The new model reduces the number of different content areas classroom teachers are responsible for planning and assessing, allowing them to focus more deeply on instruction in core subject areas.”
When asked what research or data led to the new schedule, Vajgrt said student assessment data, including state and federal compliance data, shows that too many students are not reaching proficiency on state standards in language arts, mathematics and science.
“Like many places, our students continue to struggle post-pandemic, and in the current social media driven world. Explicit, tier 1 instruction in collaboration and regulation skills has never been more needed, based on student discipline data, challenges in managing our classrooms, and the behavioral health concerns expressed both by students and their families,” he wrote. “We want all of our children to be career and college ready, so that they can choose any path for their own future. We have amazing student artists, musicians, thespians and athletes in Ridgefield — we believe our children deserve the opportunity to also be amazing readers, writers, mathematicians and scientists. This decision was not about deprioritizing the arts and physical movement — it was about supporting our children where they are struggling the most.”
The district confirmed that one PE teacher, one music teacher and one art teacher position were eliminated as part of the restructuring. To support the new model, the district hired two librarians, three science specialists and three Foundations for Learning specialists.
Vajgrt said the majority of those positions were filled internally and that all paraeducators and support staff remain employed within the district. He also noted that the art teacher whose position was eliminated accepted another position within the district.
The district says students will receive nearly one additional hour of core instruction each week, and that specialist instructional time will increase from 3.5 to 4.5 hours weekly. The new Foundations for Learning course will focus on emotional regulation, collaboration, conflict resolution, leadership and other social-emotional skills.
Under the former model, grade-level teachers led social-emotional learning instruction. Vajgrt said district officials believe specialist-led instruction will provide more consistent access to those lessons for students.
“The specialist model simply ensures all students receive direct, consistent, equitable access to the explicit instruction piece as well,” Vajgrt wrote.
He added that classroom teachers will still be expected to teach and reinforce social-emotional learning throughout the school day through relationship-building, morning meetings, restorative conversations and conflict resolution.
According to the district, teachers expressed concerns this year about being “spread too thin” across multiple content areas after the addition of new science and Foundations curriculum materials.
“By moving to a specialist model for the weekly lesson, the district can provide more consistent instruction across classrooms and grade levels, while reducing the planning and assessment load on classroom teachers and supporting ongoing, job-embedded professional development for our Professional Learning Teams,” Vajgrt wrote.
The changes have drawn criticism from some parents and teachers who argue that students will lose valuable opportunities for movement, creativity, and unstructured time during the school day.
South Ridge Elementary parent Kim Keist launched a petition titled “Require Ridgefield schools to reconsider the elementary schedule changes” on May 4. As of last Thursday, the petition had gathered 476 signatures.
"I feel pretty passionate about the fact that every kid that I’ve ever talked to, when you ask them, ‘What is your favorite class at school? How was school today? What, what is your favorite class?’ Their answers are always within that area: PE, art, recess and music,” she said. “It’s never going to be science, it’s never going to be math or English. Those classes require young kids, young children to sit still for long periods of time, and you’re just basically requiring your kids to sit still longer, and it’s detrimental to their overall education.”
Community concerns were raised during a crowded Ridgefield School District Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, May 12, where several parents, teachers and residents spoke during public comment.
Jen Coughlin, a district parent, referenced “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt while criticizing the reduction in recess time. Coughlin noted that teachers had discussed the same book before the school board approved a no-cellphone policy for middle and high schools for the 2025-26 school year.
“It also states, ironically, (that) minimizing or eliminating recess may be counterproductive to academic achievement, as a growing body of evidence suggests that recess promotes not only physical health and social development, but also cognitive performance,” she said. “(At the) Camas School District, elementary schools are getting 55 minutes of recess a day, 20 minutes in the morning, 20 minutes at lunch, and 15 minutes in the afternoon. In addition to this, they get one hour of PE once a week. Their scores are better than ours.”
John Thomas, a music teacher at South Ridge Elementary, read a letter on behalf of Christopher Mendoza, a parent of a third-grader at the school, who warned that limiting time for art-related activities would diminish students’ experiences.
“There are working artists in almost every field, and their work is all around us in our everyday lives,” Thomas read on behalf of Mendoza. “If you start cutting the hours our children spend learning through movement, music, and visual expression, you risk limiting their exposure to someone who might see their hidden potential and help share, rather than shape their future.”
One speaker defended the district’s decision to create dedicated social-emotional learning instruction.
Jeanne Carmen, a fourth-grade teacher at South Ridge Elementary, said the district is working to address students’ social and emotional challenges.
“Providing a dedicated SEL block helps ensure all students have equal, consistent access to support and instructions in these critical life skills, not just the students who naturally pick them up along the way,” Carmen said.
Carmen also spoke about her son, who has velocardiofacial syndrome, impacting his speech, hearing and motor development.
“My son and all of my students deserve opportunities to explicitly learn and practice skills like empathy, conflict resolution, emotional regulation, collaboration, perseverance and self-advocacy in the very environment where they use them the most every single day, our schools,” she said.
After public comment Tuesday night, Board Director Brett Jones told attendees that the board had heard their concerns and listened closely. Later that evening, the Ridgefield School District Board of Directors posted a statement on the petition’s webpage, acknowledging the growing number of signatures and ongoing discussions with Superintendent Dr. Jenny Rodriquez.
“The Board of Directors acknowledges the change.org petition requesting us to reconsider the elementary schedule changes for next school year,” the statement read. “We share our community’s belief in a holistic, whole child learning experience, and are reviewing the concerns expressed in your petition with the superintendent.”
