INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The latest proposed school calendar is now available for public review and is expected to be discussed at the April 13 Indian River County School Board meeting.
The Calendar Advisory Committee for the Indian River County School District last week spent an evening crafting what it again hopes to be the last calendar for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year. The committed had to revise the previous calendar after the school district lost its “academically high-performing” status, which would have allowed school to start earlier than Aug. 23. The committee had recommended a start date of Aug. 18.
Among the issues to work out amongst the committee were the length of the semesters and when to hold final exams for the first semester.
In this latest draft, the first semester would be longer than the second, with 99 days. The second semester would have 81 days.
The previous calendar called for a shorter first semester, with 83 days, and 97 days in the second.
The calendar committee agreed to keep students in school on Veterans Day, which would be used as an opportunity to educate the students on its importance, committee members said.
Members of the calendar committee discussed ending the first semester before the Christmas holiday but later rejected the idea, citing academic and family-related concerns.
Members said they believed if students were given final exams before Christmas, the students would struggle to learn and retain the material they learned in class because they wouldn’t have adequate time to do so.
They also considered ending the semester on Dec. 23 as another option. The committee members expressed concerns that families would either suffer due to how close the day is to Christmas, or that students would be pulled out of school early and forced to miss finals.
Instead of ending the first semester in 2010, the committee is proposing the semester end on Jan. 14. They said final exams would be set for Jan. 12 through 14.
The last day of class instruction would be June 3, according to the new proposal. Final exams would be held June 6 through 8.
Like the last schedule, this one includes two emergency days, two teacher conference days, and six teacher workdays. Also like the last proposed schedule, it is in full-compliance of the teacher contract, committee members said.
With the latest calendar approved by the committee, the School Board is expected to consider it for adoption at an upcoming board meeting. The next meeting will be held April 13.
