By John Dobberstein, Editor
The Broken Arrow Public Schools shared a draft of its instructional calendar for the next school year that retains a five-day work week.
The district had proposed transitioning a 4-day work week, but surveys showed most school parents didn’t support the proposal.
The proposed calendar will be presented to the Board of Education for review and approval at their Feb. 10 meeting.
The district said it had been “seeking possible solutions for the worsening teaching shortage,” and began discussing a revised instructional calendar about a year ago.
With more than 4,000 responses to district surveys, “it became clear that while there was interest in exploring changes, the community valued a structured and balanced approach,” administrators said Friday.
A Hybrid School Calendar Committee with 130 parents, staff members and students reviewed data and considered potential impacts and develop recommendations.
“Our goal throughout this process has been to identify a calendar that attracts and retains teachers, but also supports student learning, teacher effectiveness, and the well-being of our entire school community,” said BAPS Supt. Chuck Perry said in a statement. “We appreciate the exhaustive work of our committee members and the valuable feedback from families and staff.”
The committee was divided into six subcommittees —Elementary Instruction, Secondary Instruction, Special Education, Support Services, Student Activities, and Human Resources and Finance.
The groups examined key details in their respective areas and the overall impact on school operations. They spoke to local school districts currently using a four-day model, as well as districts across the nation that are more comparable in size to BAPS.
The district also launched a series of surveys – six in total – to gather feedback from the community.
The proposed calendar includes: earlier release times for elementary students, more breaks in the second semester to promote student and staff mental health, and a fixed end date to the school year, providing greater predictability for families. There are also fewer distance learning days.
“We knew that any changes had to preserve instructional time, maintain order in schools, and ensure that employees would not see a reduction in hours or wages,” Perry said. “With this hybrid calendar, we’ve incorporated the feedback from our community to meet those needs while also enhancing the overall school experience and making BAPS a more attractive option for teachers.”
The hybrid calendar will be presented to the Board of Education on Feb. 10, 2025, for discussion and final approval. Those members of the public wishing to express their concerns or support for the calendar proposal may contact their board member directly, or make plans to attend the public meeting on Feb. 10.
“For a district of our size to change to a four-day model — it’s just too big a lift to accomplish in a short time, especially at the level of excellence we expect in Broken Arrow,” said Perry. “It may be something we revisit in the future, but for now, we believe the hybrid proposal is a better fit for our community.”
Leave a Reply