Second Calendar Meeting (2024-25)

April 25, 2023

Agenda

• Welcome and Reminder of Guiding Principles
• Survey Winner - Draft E
• Dig into Draft E and make changes as a whole group
• Survey questions
• Next Steps

Guiding Principles

• The calendar is required to be 180 teaching days or 990 instructional hours by state law.
• The calendar should enable time for professional learning and collaboration. Professional learning days are important to provide staff time to deepen their understanding of instructional practices that support student learning and address our vision and mission by providing time to allow for both school based and division professional learning opportunities.
• A diverse advisory committee composed of teachers, parents, and school administration can be utilized to recommend a proposed calendar to the Superintendent. The recommendation of this committee is advisory.
• The standard 10-month teacher contract shall include 200 days, including (i) a minimum of 180 teaching days or 990 instructional hours and (ii) up to 20 days for activities such as teaching, participating in professional development, planning, evaluating, completing records and reports, participating on committees or in conferences, or such other activities as may be assigned or approved by the local school board, “according to VA Code 22.1-302.
• For the 2024-25 school year, consider the benefits and drawbacks to starting and ending the school year earlier than we have traditionally and ending the first semester at Winter Break.
• Consider benefits and drawbacks of shorter breaks.

Survey Comments from 2023-24 calendar development

This team said:

​

Form committee earlier.

Have more drafts.

Send out the drastic changes this spring for the early start.

Value surveys.

Ask about the days more from principals and other stakeholders.

​

​

Survey comments said:

​

Keep no half days.

Try to keep as many 5-day weeks as possible.

Keep non-student days to Mondays and Fridays.

Be more sensitive to all religious holidays.

Days off should be evenly spaced throughout the year and/or align with existing federal and bank holidays or cluster into longer breaks to alleviate child care issues and other lack of resources.

Professional days for staff should be a valuable use of teacher and staff time.

Provide training/work for classified staff as well.

Try to align with districts around us.

Shorter breaks for instructional purposes.

Consider needs of families.

*Very mixed reviews about the number of instructional days.

​

• 179 School days
• 5 DPLC days
• 196 Teacher days
• Shorter winter break
• Early start and early end
• Link to edit

Survey Questions:

​

Offer Calendar E for review and also C? (it’s like ours now)

​

The links would show a 2024-25, 2025-26 version for C and then 2024-25, 2025-26 version for E

​

1. To what degree do you support this draft of the calendar? Do for draft E and draft C
2. To what degree do you support the # of student days in E/C?
3. To what degree do you support the length of the winter break on version C and E?
4. Would you support a two-year calendar draft? The version we adopt for the 2024-25 school year would be replicated for the 2025-26 school year. Click here to see what that draft looks like.

Next Steps

Student Group feedback, Parent Council, and Employee Voice and Action feedback in May

​

Survey to whole school community May

​

Since end of year, plan to come back in August or September to finalize calendar draft for 2024-25 and also 2025-26.

​

If you cannot commit to the next meeting, no problem. Just let me know.

First Calendar Meeting

April 18, 2023

Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions - 15 minutes
• Guiding Principles and Previous Survey Comments - 5 minutes
• Dig into All 5 Calendar Drafts - Breakout rooms -25 minutes
• Share-out - 10 minutes
• Next Steps - 5 minutes

Welcome and introductions!

Introduce yourself and your role (e.g. parent, principal, ESOL, etc.)

Names of our team (no particular order)

Megan Wood - Director of PD Janet Lilly - EVAAC Rep and Scottsville

Elena McIntosh - ESOL and Journey Leilani Keys - AP AHS

Jenn Subblette - Principal WAHS Christina Pearman - Burley

Mike Irani - Principal AHES Katie Mclaughlin - Greer

Brad Handrich - AP MVES Dana Griffin - parent

Paula Gately - AP SPES Lindsay Snoddy - Building Services

Acadia Nunes - Henley Jan Coiner - OA MOHS

Marquell Woodson - Woodbrook and Tport Hannah Baran- AHS

Linda Montoya - SP Kirstyn Marshall - TA BWES

Steven Turner - Equity Specialist Jamie Gellner - Strategic Planning

Devynn Banks - Human Resources Irving Walker - Building Services

Patrick Mclaughlin, Chief of Strategic Planning

Guiding Principles

• The calendar is required to be 180 teaching days or 990 instructional hours by state law.
• The calendar should enable time for professional learning and collaboration. Professional learning days are important to provide staff time to deepen their understanding of instructional practices that support student learning and address our vision and mission by providing time to allow for both school based and division professional learning opportunities.
• A diverse advisory committee composed of teachers, parents, and school administration can be utilized to recommend a proposed calendar to the Superintendent. The recommendation of this committee is advisory.
• The standard 10-month teacher contract shall include 200 days, including (i) a minimum of 180 teaching days or 990 instructional hours and (ii) up to 20 days for activities such as teaching, participating in professional development, planning, evaluating, completing records and reports, participating on committees or in conferences, or such other activities as may be assigned or approved by the local school board, “according to VA Code 22.1-302.
• For the 2024-25 school year, consider the benefits and drawbacks to starting and ending the school year earlier than we have traditionally and ending the first semester at Winter Break.
• Consider benefits and drawbacks of shorter breaks.

Survey Comments from 2023-24 calendar development

This team said:

​

Form committee earlier.

Have more drafts.

Send out the drastic changes this spring for the early start.

Value surveys.

Ask about the days more from principals and other stakeholders.

​

​

Survey comments said:

​

Keep no half days.

Try to keep as many 5-day weeks as possible.

Keep non-student days to Mondays and Fridays.

Be more sensitive to all religious holidays.

Days off should be evenly spaced throughout the year and/or align with existing federal and bank holidays or cluster into longer breaks to alleviate child care issues and other lack of resources.

Professional days for staff should be a valuable use of teacher and staff time.

Provide training/work for classified staff as well.

Try to align with districts around us.

Shorter breaks for instructional purposes.

Consider needs of families.

*Very mixed reviews about the number of instructional days.

​

Break out Rooms

• What do you like?
• What would you change?
• What else should we consider?
• Charlottesville City Draft 2024-2025

​

Calendar Development 24-25 and beyond

Link to Five Drafts

​

Charlottesville City Draft 2024-2025

Drafts:

*Can update anything to create new draft versions

​

Skip these questions for right NOW, consider these when you leave here today for future suggestions.

​

Questions to guide future work:

1. How important are the DPLC days?
2. What is the max number of teacher work days? (200, but what is the real number)
3. How important are the work days before school starts? Three versions with the same amount and 1 version with two fewer Teacher work/PD days.
4. November 5th- can we make it a virtual DPLC/PD day and take out one somewhere else?
5. What is the philosophy on student days? Do you want to add some more time on the bells/instruction instead of getting to 180? Or, fine with fewer days than 180?

​

• 180 school days
• 197 Teacher days
• 7 DPLC days
• Early start, early end
• Can move the dates to Aug 7 and May 30 to be mid-week start
• Fewer teacher work days before school start
• Can add in longer Thanksgiving break here for a change

• 180 school days
• Year round concept
• 200 teacher days
• 8 DPLC days
• Teachers working in every month
• Can make breaks longer if needed
• 3 days of new teacher instead of 4

​

• 180 school days
• 197 teacher days
• Similar start and end
• 5 DPLC days
• We can add a longer Thanksgiving here if you want

• 179 School days
• 5 DPLC days
• 196 Teacher days
• Longer thanksgiving break
• Shorter winter break
• Early start and early end

• 179 School days
• 5 DPLC days
• 196 Teacher days
• Shorter winter break
• Early start and early end

Share out big ideas

​

​

Vote on your calendar choice now or before next meeting

Next Steps

Second Meeting: April 25th, 430-545 on Zoom

Bring your ideas about which drafts to go after modifying

We will try to narrow it down to 2 drafts and modify those for comment.

​

Later in May:

Have a student group review and comment on our two drafts. Have a parent group (Parent Council) review and comment.

Send out survey to our whole school community before year ends.

​

This group will come back together in September to review all comments and suggestions and propose a final draft to take to the Board.