School calendar bill is approved by legislature

Following a Senate vote of 25-4 and a House vote of 59-37, the general assembly passed a controversial school calendar bill in the early morning hours of July 18.

Under the bill, students throughout the state will attend classes no earlier than August 25 and will be dismissed no later than June 10. The school calendar bill contained waivers for school systems, including Alleghany County, with chronic weather emergencies, for year-round schools, for schools tailored to at-risk students or students who need remedial classes and for schools that used a modified calendar last year which allowed for breaks spread throughout the year.

Kim Elliott, director of curriculum, instruction and staff development for Alleghany County Schools, said the bill will affect the school system and staff development.

For Alleghany County Schools, the passing of this bill means the schedule and calendar for the 2005-2006 school year will need to be examined. Elliott said the 2004-2005 calendar will remain the same, with the first day of school being Aug. 5.

School officials are still trying to decide how to compensate for five less days for professional development.

"The quality of professional development correlates to student achievement,” said Elliott. "We will request waivers from the state with regard to the large amounts of snowfall we receive. The challenge for Alleghany County Schools will then be how to maintain the quality and quantity of our professional development for our entire staff. The loss of any professional development days (teacher work days) directly influence the measures we take to maintain our student's achievements.

We can work around the waivers, but we must work toward plan for professional development to maintain the level of quality. We will have to be creative.”

She said the bill would not have been workable here without the waiver. "This waiver will help us meet calendar requirements of 180 student days and 1,000 hours of instruction minimum. We have tried to keep the quality of the instruction for students and professional development for educators at the level we have maintained.

"An additional challenge in the area of instruction is to create a calendar that minimizes the effects of the new calendar on block scheduling at the high school. Start dates will need to accommodate first semester exams.

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