Planning ahead: 2007-08 school calendar and beyond.  How can we be prepared ahead of time for another year with an unusually high number of weather-based school closure days while still honoring vacation/travel plans that families and staff have already arranged?  It's a real balance.

 

After missing seven school days this year and collecting more than 9,200 responses to a community calendar survey, we have collaborated with the teachers association and staff about how to structure calendars in the future to best meet student learning needs.

 

The 2007-08 school calendar was negotiated by the teachers association two years in advance. Today, we reached an agreement that does not significantly alter that established calendar but does prioritize when inclement-weather days will be made up if necessary. This, hopefully, will allow our community to plan their vacations and allow for optimal student learning time if school is closed for numerous snow days. The only change to the calendar is that Friday, October 12, is now a school day for students instead of a day off for State In-Service. This moves up the last day of school to Wednesday, June 18, 2008.

 

2007-08 make-up day prioritization:

• First make-up day-Thursday, June 19
• Second make-up day-Friday, June 20
• Third make-up day-Friday, March 21 (Learning Improvement Day)
• Fourth make-up day-Monday, June 23
• Fifth make-up day-Tuesday, June 24
• Sixth make-up day-Friday, Feb. 22 (mid-winter break)
• Seventh make-up day-Thursday, Feb. 21 (mid-winter break)
• Eighth make-up day-Wednesday, Feb. 20 (mid-winter break)
• Ninth make-up day-Tuesday, Feb. 19 (mid-winter break)

 

The complete calendar is posted at www.issaquah.wednet.edu/directory.

 

What about the 2008-09 calendar and beyond? Survey input from the community and labor groups shows a high priority on creating a more continuous learning flow in the calendar and ending school as early as possible in June. We are currently collaborating with the teachers union and other labor groups to produce an optimized calendar that matches these priorities for the 2008-09 school year and beyond. Stay tuned in the coming months for more information!