The construct of our academic calendar has largely remained static since the 2013-2014 school year when we implemented the Wednesday early release for professional development. Based on a framework of 185 days, it is designed to ensure that we meet the minimum statewide requirement of 1,080 hours of instruction, with room to spare. The calendar uses 185 days to match the length of the master teacher contract. The teacher contract includes provisions for 178 days of student instruction, 2 days of conferences (one at the midpoint of first semester and the other at the midpoint of second semester), and 5 days non-instructional work.
In the interim, the most substantive change to the calendar came at the start of the 2017-2018 school year when a state law was enacted promulgating the start of the school year to no earlier than August 23. For about the last decade, there has been very little change in the calendar, structurally or otherwise. Each January we solicit feedback on the construct of the calendar, using the feedback from the previous year's input to develop new versions for review. That isn't to state that each suggestion warrants a calendar option, but if themes emerge then we certainly will entertain them. Over the last handful of years there hasn't been much in the way of overwhelming desire to make any significant changes. I suppose the stability and predictability provides a level of comfort for families when it comes to their internal planning. Aside from options that range from adding a vacation day here or there, nothing really changes except for the last day of school when deploying those options for consideration.
We've tested numerous options over the years, ranging from eliminating spring break to utilizing full days of professional development in lieu of the early release. Those results have told us that our community likes to have spring break. We've also heard there is a strong desire for classes to be finished by Memorial Day.
I did want to spend a bit of time today talking about the early release each Wednesday and why it has become such a critical component of our school improvement efforts. As a starting point, around 2013 a state law was enacted that set the floor for the number of hours (36) that needed to be provided for teacher collaboration outside of the normal instructional framework. In addition to those hours, we must ensure enough time is allocated for ongoing teacher development. It was around that time the weekly early release was implemented. The math on that calculates out to about 76 hours per year, meaning that in an ideal scenario, half of that would be collaborative in nature and the other half would be professional learning. Truth be told, it never quite works out like that. Unscheduled meetings come up, emergencies happen, or a random snow day scrambles the schedule. Even under ideal circumstances and a schedule free of disruption, we find it challenging to fit everything in and tend to the professional learning needs of our faculty; those that are required by state law and those that are being implemented in furtherance of district achievement goals.
Every once in a while, the suggestion is made to eliminate the early release in favor of full days of professional development. We can do that, but it would be a pretty big swing and a significant departure from current practice. I suspect this would upset the apple cart in ways that probably need a bit of explaining. First, in order to keep to a 185 day calendar we would need to significantly scale back the number of days for instruction (days that students will be in school). The quick math comes out to about 9 fewer student days. I'm not certain that is something I would be in favor of, and suspect most parents wouldn't be either. The other option would be to lengthen the calendar to 194 days. Easier said than done. Consider this. Based on the current budget, each day added to the calendar would come with a price tag of roughly $28,500. Multiply that by 9, and we are a bit north of $250,000.
Nevertheless, when we implemented this calendar construct more than a decade ago, we made clear our intent to ensure this time was wisely used. We had to be intentional about planning and to ensure we were getting the full benefit from this gift of time. Further, the Board of Directors plays an active role as well, annually approving the professional development plan. In summary, it would appear to be time very well spent. We have been able to implement a comprehensive Learner Management System (LMS) at the high school and explore characteristics of effective instruction at the elementary school. Our high school was able to engage in a multi-year effort in the exploration of authentic intellectual work while the elementary participated in the numeracy project. And most recently, due to a changes in state law regarding reading instruction, we have been immersed in an incredibly intensive study with our instructors in the Science of Reading. In addition, organizational changes at the middle school have enabled us to take time unpacking the characteristics of middle level education. All of this work is paying off with the gains and sustained academic achievement of our students. Indeed the proof can be found in the Iowa Performance Profile.
The key to all of this includes thoughtful and deliberate planning, oftentimes a year or more in advance. Having a stable calendar helps in that planning. It requires coordination. Frankly, with the change in our organizational configuration this school year, coordination (and cooperation) has become even more complicated (particularly when considering some staff cross more than one organizational structure). What is happening at the elementary school is not happening at the middle school. What is being implemented at the high school is irrelevant to the work going on in the elementary school. Finally, we come to consistency. Once per week not only provides that consistency, it helps to create momentum and opportunities to embed that new learning directly into practice, and then be ready for follow up work the next week.
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