The MAPS Board of Education approved a 2014-2015 school calendar that does not include a spring break. The traditional week off at Easter time has been shortened to a four-day weekend.
Wisconsin requires school districts to hold 180 instruction days with students. MAPS has a waiver allowing it to hold only 177 instruction days. The calendar for next school year has 179 days.
Superintendent Wally Leipart, who recommended the new calendar, said he feels that more instruction days is better.
“Personally, I don’t think 180 days is enough,” he said.
The next school year will begin on Sept. 2, 2014 and end on June 4, 2015. The majority of the calendar follows tradition, with Christmas and Thanksgiving breaks remaining at their usual length. There are teacher in-service days at the end of each quarter and two snow makeup days built into the calendar, as has always been the case.
The new calendar adds 2.5 days for personalized teacher training. In the past, Leipart noted, many of these trainings were eligible for additional compensation. By going to this practice, the district will free up professional development dollars for use in a competitive salary structure, Leipart stated.
Four late-start days are proposed, one in each quarter of the school year. On those days, teachers would come to work at the usual time and students would arrive two hours later. Prior to students arriving on those days, teachers would engage in identifying and monitoring Student Learning Objectives. The late-start days are on hold until the board can get a better idea how those days would impact parents and the Merrill parochial schools.
“We should get input from the parochial schools because they use the same buses,” said board member Kelly Collins. “Whatever we do, they’re going to be stuck with.”
The new calendar passed on a 6-1 vote, with Eugene Bondioli casting the dissenting vote. Bondioli said he felt the district should stick with the 177 day schedule as the waiver is good for another two years.
Leipart said the new calendar won’t have any effect on the contract with the teaching staff, who are contracted for 190 days.