March 19, 2024

Newton school board OKs next year’s school calendar

The Newton Community School District Board of Education approved the 2017-2018 school year calendar Monday night after a lengthy discussion.

The school year will begin for students on Aug. 24 and is set to end on May 30. Most of the board voted in favor of the calendar, but there was discussion over the slight decrease in teacher-student contact hours compared to the 2016-2017 calendar.

Before discussion took off, Superintendent Bob Callaghan said there were reasons to approve the calendar sooner rather than later. Namely, other school districts Newton works with need to know what the NCSD calendar will be for next year.

Although teacher time spent with students will decrease by about 10 hours total over the course of the year in 2017-2018, teachers will have more time to work with each other through professional learning communities (PLCs).

Within the 175 student contact days in the new calendar, 1,121.5 hours will be dedicated to instruction for students in 2017-2018.

Teachers will have 196 contract days next school year. They will meet on the last Monday of most months. With the new calendar, teachers have eight days for professional development and three additional work days.

Board member Ann Leonard said she is feeling good about the new calendar.

“Nine and a half hours of contact time lost, to me, that’s fine to lose that because of what we’re gaining by having that time set aside for the staff,” Leonard said.

Board member Donna Cook, who was the lone vote against the calendar, asked how the district will measure the success of additional time dedicated to PLCs. Cook questioned if the calendar will help NCSD meet the goal of 85 percent of students reaching Common Core State Standards.

Although she had reservations about the calendar, Cook said it was a better option than the other proposed calendars. She also noted that there are mixed needs at different educational levels, and one answer may not be best for everybody.

Board member Andy Elbert said the decisions made in tweaking the calendar were made by all parties involved. There were a lot of teachers involved in the compromises, and it was not a top-down decision, he said.

“We’re not going to, obviously, have a one-size-fits-all calendar,” Elbert said.

Vice president of the board, Robyn Friedman, said she was impressed with the united teacher and administration force behind the concept of the PLCs and their potential positive impact. The board needs to trust that PLCs are important for culture within the district and within each school building, Friedman said.

Also included in the new calendar are parent-teacher conferences in late October and early dismissal dates in late March. Winter break will be Dec. 22 through Jan. 2, and spring break is set for March 23-30. There are also a couple days off intended for use as snow-day makeups.

Contact Justin Jagler at 641-792-3121 ext 6532 or jjagler@newtondailynews.com