MCSD releases proposed 2019-20, 2020-21 calendars — and board already requests change
Muscogee County School District superintendent David Lewis has recommended the calendars for MCSD’s 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.
The Muscogee County School Board discussed the proposal during Tuesday night’s work session. The board is scheduled to vote on it Nov. 26. But before then, the consensus of the board wants to see the proposed calendars changed.
Here are key dates in the proposed 2019-20 calendar:
Aug. 1-2, 5-7: Teaching planning/staff professional development days.
Aug. 2: Student verification day.
Aug. 8: First day of classes.
Sept. 2: No classes; Labor Day.
Oct. 14: No classes; staff professional development.
Nov. 11: No classes; Veterans Day.
Nov. 25-29: No classes; Thanksgiving break.
Dec. 23-Jan. 3: No classes; Christmas break.
Jan. 6-7: No classes; staff professional development.
Jan. 8: Second semester begins.
Jan. 20: No classes; Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Feb. 17: No classes; Presidents Day (MCSD will conduct classes if it needs to make up a missed day due to inclement weather earlier in the school year).
March 30-April 3: No classes; spring break.
May 21-23: Graduation.
May 22: Last day of classes.
May 26-27: Teacher planning.
Here are key dates in the proposed 2020-21 calendar:
Aug. 3-7: Teaching planning/staff professional development days.
Aug. 10: First day of classes.
Sept. 7: No classes; Labor Day.
Oct. 12: No classes; staff professional development.
Nov. 11: No classes; Veterans Day.
Nov. 23-27: No classes; Thanksgiving break.
Dec. 23-Jan. 4: No classes; Christmas break.
Jan. 5: No classes; staff professional development.
Jan. 6: Second semester begins.
Jan. 18: No classes; Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Feb. 15: No classes; Presidents Day (MCSD will conduct classes if it needs to make up a missed day due to inclement weather earlier in the school year).
March 29-April 2: No classes; spring break.
May 20: Last day of classes.
May 20-22: Graduation.
May 21, 24-25: Teacher planning.
Led by the suggestion from District 5 representative Laurie McRae, and based on no objections, Lewis said he will try to shorten the Christmas break. He told the Ledger-Enquirer that could be accomplished by possibly making the last day of classes earlier in May. He added that revising the proposal might mean he will ask the board to vote on his recommendation at the Dec. 17 meeting instead.
“I think it’s too long a Christmas break,” McRae said during the work session. “Back to when kids were out 10 days was plenty long enough. Having the additional teacher training days on top of that makes for a very long break.”
The long break is a burden on families with nobody home during the workweek to take care of children, McRae said.
This school year, Christmas break for students is Dec. 23 through Jan. 8, with Jan 7 being a staff professional development day and Jan. 8 being a teacher planning day.
MCSD communications director Mercedes Parham told the board that the proposed calendars resulted from parameters based on district history and policy, feedback from committees and an employee survey, as well as input from the superintendent and his cabinet.
According to the agenda, the calendar planning committee comprised Parham, chief human resources officer Kathy Tessin, chief financial officer Theresa Thornton, director of research and accountability Patrick Knopf, principals and community representatives Rabbi Beth Schwartz of Temple Israel, Georgetown Elementary School PTA president Mark Marshall Sr., Columbus State University provost Deborah Bordelon and Columbus Technical College secondary education initiatives director Chey Wilson.
The FAQs attached to the agenda include the answer to this question: Why do we have students starting in the middle of the week in August 2019?
The answer: “Our school teachers, administrators and support staff prefer to have five days to include professional development, teacher planning and system-wide verification days ahead off the students’ return to school.” And, according to the agenda, a survey of MCSD employees with more than 1,000 respondents shows 95 percent prefer to report back to work after July 31.
Other findings in the survey:
▪ Teachers prefer five days of planning before students return, as opposed to any number of fewer days.
▪ Employees prefer the weather contingency day on Presidents Day, as opposed to a weekend day, a spring break day or an unspecified other option.
▪ Employees prefer the whole week for Thanksgiving break, as opposed to any number of fewer days.
▪ Employees prefer a later spring break, the first week of April, as opposed to any of the last two weeks in March.
▪ Employees prefer to start their summer break before Memorial Day.
▪ Employees prefer to have consecutive post-planning days rather than a break (meaning Memorial Day) between them.
Mark Rice, 706-576-6272, @MarkRiceLE.
This story was originally published November 13, 2018 at 8:42 PM.