Approved 2017 2018 Southern Boone District Calendar-109jlbh

The Tuesday, February 6, meeting is canceled due to bad weather! 

There will be a public open meeting to discuss the calendar on February 8, 2018 at 5:30 pm in the Middle School Annex.

Draft School Calendar 2018 2019-1sc869a

There are many considerations that occur when composing the district’s calendar.  The first and foremost is maintaining a focus on how we, as educators, insure “Excellence in Learning for All”. We also work to balance family needs and child care as well as community considerations. Of course, also in the mix of things, are requirements set by local, state and federal government.   When composing the calendar my goal is to ask parents, employees, and the community questions and to do a lot of listening. I cannot satisfy everyone; however, I can provide an opportunity for everyone to be heard. My end goal is to build a calendar that is fair and honors the traditions of our great school district and community.

The calendar is not set in stone. Up until the board approves the calendar, it can be changed due to public opinion and the needs of the district. Furthermore, the calendar can be amended at any time the majority of the board feels it is necessary.  In summary, your opinion matters.

I built into the calendar two half days at the end of each semester to allow the high school to offer finals. The feedback from high school students, parents and teachers is that this has been highly beneficial. I am not in a position to offer transportation for the through out the day. I am limited with drivers and therefore it has to be all or none in respect to when the students can be taken home; I cannot take part of the students home in the afternoon and then again at 3:00 pm.  The high school teachers have increased the rigor of their tests with several teachers requiring students to perform taught skills as a part of their final. Parents and students have commented on the positive benefit of taking eight finals over two days as opposed to taking eight finals on one day. Lastly, our seniors have reported back to us that finals administered over two days helped prepare them for college.

I realize the burden that the half days create for parents who do not have high school students. However, I have seen the benefit in student achievement and believe this is in the best interest of our kids for the long term.

Up to 6 snow make up days have been built into the calendar. It is my intent to count these as days of attendance and not take off a day of instructional time as the district has done in the past with the first week of Spring Break. If we have over 6 snow days, the members of the board will amend the calendar as needed.

There are several points of interest with this year’s calendar I wish to note.

• I would say easily 80% of the community feedback I received was highly positive with starting school the day after Labor Day. Twenty percent of the community experienced some type of hardship as a result of the late start of school. The proposed 2018-2019 calendar represents the best compromise I can offer between the traditional start date and the late start. The proposed start date honors families, students and teachers who have affiliations and obligations with the State Fair.
• The district will continue to release early in the day on Wednesday’s at 2:30 for teacher collaboration.
• Thanksgiving Break is from November 21 through November 25.
• Winter Break is from December 21 through January 6 for students.
• We will observe Martin Luther King Jr. and President’s Day on January 21 and February 18.
• We will have a week of Spring Break, the same as Missouri University, from March 23 through March 31.
• April is the month of State assessments in Elementary through High School. There are no breaks scheduled to insure we have time to get everyone’s required testing completed.
• Senior Graduation is proposed to occur May 19.
• Project Graduation will be on May 20, with no school for students.
• The last day with students is proposed as May 23
• The last day for teachers is proposed as May 23
• This calendar proposes 166 days of school for students. The calendar surpasses DESE/State requirements.
• If the District is closed for more than 6 days,due to inclement weather, the Board of Education will amend the calendar for additional instructional days.

Please reply to this posting. Your comments will not be publicly posted. What do you not like about this calendar?  Is there anything else that I should consider when building the calendar?

As a result of input from the community, typically, the calendar will be amended over the next several weeks with revisions. Please check back often.

Draft School Calendar 2018 2019-1sc869a

Approved 2017 2018 Southern Boone District Calendar-109jlbh

There will be a public open meeting to discuss the calendar on Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 5:30 pm in the Middle School Annex. I intend to have the calendar approved during the February 20, 2018, regular monthly board meeting at 6:30 in the Middle School Annex.

Thank you for your time and feedback.

Respectfully,

Chris Felmlee