The DeKalb County Board of Education is asking for parental feedback as it mulls a decision to modify the school calendar.
Three proposed options for the 2012-13 school calendar are on the table, and the board is asking parents to give feedback on each. The board wants to start school earlier in August and dismiss students an hour early on Wednesdays.
Start time in August ranges from Aug. 1 to Aug. 13 in the three options, which could impact summer vacation plans already in place. In 2010, school started Aug. 9.
Each of the options would dismiss students from school one-hour early on Wednesdays.
The board is expected to finalize the calendar for the 2012-2013 school year at the May 7 board meeting.
A look at the options
Option A:
- First semester runs Aug. 1 - Dec. 18 with a three-day weekend for Labor Day, a full week off in October and in November for Thanksgiving
- Second semester runs Jan. 3 - May 29 with a three-day weekend for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a full week off in February (winter break) and April (spring break), and a three-day weekend for Memorial Day in May.
Option B:
- First semester runs Aug. 6 - Dec. 20 with a three-day weekend for Labor Day, a four-day weekend in October (Columbus Day) and the full week of Thanksgiving off.
- Second semester runs Jan. 8 - May 24 with a three-day weekend for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a four-day weekend in February, a three-day weekend in March and a week off in April (spring break).
Option C:
- First semester runs Aug. 13 - Dec. 21 with three-day weekends at Labor Day and Columbus Day and the full week of Thanksgiving off.
- Second semester runs Jan. 8 - May 29 with a three-day weekend in January, February and March; a week off in April; and a three-day weekend for Memorial Day in May.
What do you think of the proposed options to the DeKalb County School Calendar? Tell us in comments section below.
Not impressed! Please do a better job!g
Also, someone Druid Hills HS mentioned that they would be starting earlier - is this the case? I didn't see anything regarding that in the email. Here's the link I got from the HS - http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/calendar/proposed.html
It seems logical to coordinate with other metro school systems so that all schools would be out and in at the same time. As for plans, Plan A is the most direct and seems that it would be easiest to keep up with and for after school programs to deal with. Do not see any point in making school shorter on Wednesdays. It just adds to the confusion. Add the time in to the 3 day weekends to give families more flexibility in their planning for the year.
Decatur City schools are the only ones that have something like Option A, which includes both a Fall Break and a Winter Break, on top of the regular Spring Break. The trade-off is a longer school year. It seems the extra 'breaks' would create problems for many single-parent and two-earner families who couldn't get time off from work.
This evidence of such poor planning may be the leadership style of our new Administration. Not impressed! Most likely, she does not care how we now have to scramble. Educations gets such a bad reputation, and this behavior does not help. Thanks!