The Wicomico County Board of Education is seeking input on its draft calendar for the 2011-2012 school year, prior to a final vote at the April 12 Board meeting.
Under the proposed calendar, the school year would begin Monday, Aug. 29 and end June 7, 2012. Students would be off Nov. 23-25 for the Thanksgiving break, Dec. 23-Jan. 2 for the winter holidays (schools would reopen Jan. 3), and April 5-9 for the spring holidays. June 5, 6 and 7 would be half-days with early dismissal.
Schools would also be closed Sept. 5 (Labor Day), Oct. 21 (MSEA Convention), Jan. 16 (Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday), Feb. 14 (Election Day), Feb. 20 (Presidents Day) and May 28 (Memorial Day). Schools would be closed for students (but open for teachers) for professional days on Sept. 28, Nov. 2, Jan. 23, Jan. 24, and April 20.
Under the proposed calendar, the five days listed as makeup days in case of school closings for inclement weather are listed in the order they would be used if needed: June 8, Apr. 5, Apr. 20, June 11, and June 12.
The Board approved the draft calendar on first reading at its March 8 meeting, and expects to adopt a final calendar at the April 12 meeting. Please share any comments with Stacy Messick, Coordinator of Employee Relations, at smessick@wcboe.org or 410-677-4421. These comments will be shared with the Board prior to its April 12 vote on the calendar.
Under the proposed calendar, the school year would begin Monday, Aug. 29 and end June 7, 2012. Students would be off Nov. 23-25 for the Thanksgiving break, Dec. 23-Jan. 2 for the winter holidays (schools would reopen Jan. 3), and April 5-9 for the spring holidays. June 5, 6 and 7 would be half-days with early dismissal.
Schools would also be closed Sept. 5 (Labor Day), Oct. 21 (MSEA Convention), Jan. 16 (Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday), Feb. 14 (Election Day), Feb. 20 (Presidents Day) and May 28 (Memorial Day). Schools would be closed for students (but open for teachers) for professional days on Sept. 28, Nov. 2, Jan. 23, Jan. 24, and April 20.
Under the proposed calendar, the five days listed as makeup days in case of school closings for inclement weather are listed in the order they would be used if needed: June 8, Apr. 5, Apr. 20, June 11, and June 12.
The Board approved the draft calendar on first reading at its March 8 meeting, and expects to adopt a final calendar at the April 12 meeting. Please share any comments with Stacy Messick, Coordinator of Employee Relations, at smessick@wcboe.org or 410-677-4421. These comments will be shared with the Board prior to its April 12 vote on the calendar.
Here, I have an awesome idea!!!! Let's do away with spring break and get out at the end of May vs. June and also do away with with these so called teacher work days - most don't go anyway!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete11:46...Really?
ReplyDeleteAs a parent, Spring Break is a much needed family time. Oh, and by the way, legally they have to be off for a couple of the days.
As for the work days, I don't see any issue with a few days here and there for professional development. Also, some of the days are used to transition between one semester and another.
If you prefer, lets start school August 15th like Carolina schools do.
Since we are competing with China (so says The DT), we need to make out students do more than 180 dys. First step, make them go on Dec 23, having this day off makes no sense, and have them re-open on Monday Jan 2, not the 3rd. Don't close the schools on MLK, make them go and spend the day teaching them about all the good things he did while he was alive ( he would prob like this more anyways), same goes for the presidents day.
ReplyDeleteSo use these 4days for instruction and then maybe we can start talking about competing with China.
And let's open the schools until 9:00 so deadbeat parents can have more free daycare!
ReplyDeleteI am still waiting for the teachers to have to make up that professional day. Watch, they won't make it up and it will basically be another vacation day to add to their other 60.
ReplyDelete5:58....teachers are required to work April 21st and June 13th to make up the 2 days that they missed so get your info before you open up your blowhole!
ReplyDeleteNot all parents who want there kids in school more are dead beat, perhaps they just want there kids to be able to compete with others NOT in Salisbury.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they have vision and are able to see outside the county lines. They see that our kids are not getting the education that we so eagerly want for them. Maybe they realize at this rate, our children will never have the opportunities we had when we were in school (btw I graduated hs in 1990, college in 1993, graduate school in 1996). Our current BOE has made it clear that children don't come first, imo. They claim that they want to be the best, but are obviously afraid to change. Same crap, different year. These calendar changes are easy ones. Make the most of the time that children have in the classroom, make the time consistent! Oh and these crap days they call "professional days", well unless I see new and innovative ways to teach being implemented, they are waste of valuable time. Do your CE's on your own time, I have to in my profession.
6:31, I am sure alot will be happening on June 13. What is the point? What will they be doing? Just like last year when Bennett Senior students got out for summer early so they could move things to the new school. I said to a teacher, don't you have all summer to move to the school? She informed me that her contract was only through June whatever, so if they wanted her to move anything it would have to be before then. This is why teachers shouldn't have unions. They could have carried their butts in their in the summer so that the kids could finish out the schoolyear on regular schedule.
ReplyDeleteHope Joe or someone else will ask the Board of Education for a list of any professional development activities for teachers planned and conducted by the central office staff this year. Lots of supervisors and directors at the Board, but all professional development is the responsibility of the principals at each school. Over $50,000 was spent to have administrators and central office people have sessions on multicultural education. Ask your school's principal for details about all of this.
ReplyDelete