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Reno, NV (November 1, 2011) - It's a subject that every parent and student has an opinion about and it affects every single family in the Washoe County School District -- proposed changes to the 2013-2014 school calendar. During the next two months the project manager for the proposed calendar changes will be on a listening campaign to gather input and feedback from parents, staff and students during nearly 40 informational meetings.
Before going out to the public, Bryn Lapenta, Senior Director for WCSD worked with a team that had been studying the issue which included teachers, parents, school administrators and community members. Last year, three calendars were presented to the public through a District survey. One emerged as a clear favorite with 60 percent of the survey respondents favoring the balanced calendar that Lapenta says has been shown to improve the achievement of all students because teachers are able to spend less time reviewing and more time on new material.
"The proposed balanced calendar adds a possible 4 weeks for intersession or breaks that can be used for student learning time during the school year. Intersession could be acceleration, remediation, or enrichment depending on the needs of the students," Lapenta continued. "All students regardless of achievement level, credit attainment, economic status, or school attended could benefit from additional time in the school year."
Questions about the impact of family scheduling, transportation and daycare have come up during these conversations. The District's Family-School Partnerships Coordinator, D'Lisa Crain, said that since school would be in session for the same number of days with the proposed calendar, the effect on daycare and transportation would be minor.
"Family scheduling should actually improve as all schools, both elementary and secondary, will be on the same schedule, so planning a vacation or scheduling a sibling to be home while younger children are out of school should be better than what currently exists. The one exception to that would be the limited number of schools which will be on multi-track," said Crain.
Athletic practices and sport schedules are another question asked by some parents. Ken Cass, Student Activities Director for the Washoe County School District, says the balanced calendar will have limited impact on those schedules.
"It may, in fact, have a positive impact as coaches will have times during the year when they will have greater access to students. Other schools with strong athletic programs have already gone to a balanced calendar with no impact on their team sports. It may take some getting used to but I'm confident our coaches and student athletes will respond well to the new calendar."
The Washoe County School District has been heavily involved with school reform on all levels as evidenced in Envision WCSD 2015 -- Investing In Our Future, the District's strategic plan. Currently, the District is strengthening the system of accountability for programs, employees, and students.
Lapenta says, "Until all students graduate with a high school diploma, more needs to be done. The balanced calendar will provide opportunity four times a year to do exactly that."
The Washoe County School District continuously seeks to collaborate with the community to provide engaging activities that support student achievement. For information on the proposed calendar meeting locations go to washoecountyschool.org and click on the 2013-2014 School Year Calendar Input Meetings button.
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About Washoe County School District: The Washoe County School District includes the Reno/Sparks metropolitan area, Incline Village, Gerlach, Empire and Wadsworth, Nevada. The District provides each of its 63,000 students with a superior education in a safe and challenging environment and is committed to graduate every child career and college ready.
For more information visit www.washoecountyschools.org. Follow us on Twitter at WCSDTweet.
Washoe County School District
425 East Ninth Street
Reno, NV 89520
