Our schools and teachers want and need to have time to receive training and work together to improve their teaching skills. That is why students have partial or full days off from school while teachers are working (early release and waiver days). On those days, teachers receive training in math and literacy, review data on student progress, and develop school improvement plans for the year.

A committee of teachers and administrators is working to develop a schedule for non-student days that will be least disruptive to student learning and to families. The committee’s preliminary recommendations are that the time be a combination of waiver days and either early release or late start, and that the days be scheduled at regular intervals, only on weeks that have five full school days (not on weeks that have holidays.)

The committee wants feedback from teachers and parents on early release, late start, and waiver days. In early February, the district will launch an online survey for teachers and a phone survey for parents. Expect a phone call if you are a parent -- or an email if you are a teacher-- in the next two weeks. The survey will ask whether you prefer late start or early release, how often, and what day of the week you prefer to have it.

The data gathered from this survey will be considered by the committee as it develops its recommendation to the superintendent regarding scheduling of non-student days for next year and beyond.