Author Archives: Stan Jester

2020-2021 Calendar Options

Posted on October 21, 2019 | 58 comments

Do we start school next year on August 3rd or August 10th? If we start on August 10th, it is tough to have a balanced calendar unless we take away days from Fall Break and Thanksgiving Break.

I’m also getting good feedback on Early Release Days. A number of people have suggested early release days during finals.

Look at the calendar options and what the other Metro Atlanta school districts are doing. Let me know your thoughts about the Start Date, Balanced Calendar and Early Release days.

Comment below or join one of these discussions: Facebook – Calendar Update or Facebook – Calendar Options.

CALENDAR OPTIONS
  2020-2021 Calendar Option A
  2020-2021 Calendar Option B

The DeKalb County School District’s Calendar Committee is exploring calendar options to align with other similarly sized districts in close geographic proximity. Both calendars include the following attributes:
• 180 days of instruction for students
• 190 teacher days including one evening workday comprised of parent-teacher conferences (2 per semester)
• 5 teacher workdays before the first day of school
• Holidays for all – Labor Day, Martin L. King, Jr. Day, and President’s Day
• Thanksgiving Break – one week in November
• Spring Break – one week coinciding with most metro area districts
• Last day of school for students before Memorial Day

The Major Differences in the proposed calendar options for both years are as follows:

Option A:
Students begin the school year on the second Monday of August.
There is a 3-day fall mini break and a 1-day break in February.
There are 85 instructional days first semester and 95 instructional days second semester.

Option B:
Students begin the school year on the first Monday in August.
There is a 3-day fall mini break and a 2-day break in February.
There are 90 instructional days both semesters.

*Note From The Administration: “There are several possibilities for the fall mini break and February mini break, so the committee members will consider the testing schedules and feedback from stakeholders to make the final recommendations.”

METRO AREA CALENDARS

  Comparison – All Metro Area Calendars

Atlanta Metro Area Calendars

Atlanta Metro Area Calendars

RELATED POSTS

DeKalb Schools Calendar Update (October 18, 2019)
2018-2020  Calendars
2019-2020 Calendar
2018-2019 Calendar
2017-2018  Calendar
2016-2017  Calendar
2015-2016  Calendar

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DeKalb Schools Calendar Update

Posted on October 18, 2019 | 37 comments

According to DeKalb Schools, the Calendar Committee met on Tuesday, October 15th, to review the proposed calendar options, make modifications, and select the options that will be included in the survey. The co-chairpersons finalized the surveys on October 17th. The Office of Accountability is preparing to release the survey any day now. The final recommendation should be on the Board of Education agenda for approval Nov 4, 2019.

CALENDAR ATTRIBUTES

First Day Of School – I agree, it is absurd to start in July. Across Metro Atlanta, the first day of school for Fall 2020 varies from August 3 to August 10. When would you like to start? Is the general consensus, no earlier than August 10?

Balanced Calendar – The vast majority of DCSD high schools are on the block schedule system, meaning that students take 4 classes in the fall semester and 4 classes in the spring semester. Is it important to have the same number of days in the Fall and Spring semesters?

Early Release Days – Every year teachers express the desire for more planning time. Next year Henry County and Rockdale County schools will have 1 to 4 early release days. Do we want to consider an early release day or two? A number of people have suggested half days during finals. Any thoughts about that?

Calendar Committee Selection Process
According to Stacy Stepney, DeKalb Schools Chief Academic Officer,

“In an effort to ensure that there were regional representatives, the 2018 Regional Teachers of the Year, 2018 Regional Educational Support Professionals I of the Year, 2018 Regional Educational Support Professionals II of the Year, and 2019 Principals of the Year were invited to attend. Other teachers were randomly selected. Community/business partners and parents were randomly selected from advisory groups and recommendations from principals. To promote student involvement, members of our Career Technology Student Organizations are participating as school ambassadors.”

2020-2022 Calendar Committee

  1. Ferin Abdulla (Cross Keys High School)
  2. Christopher Addison (MUFG Banking)
  3. Solomon Bauzuaye (Sequoyah Middle School)
  4. Keisha Best (DeKalb Alternative School, Lithonia Middle School, and Stone Mountain High School)
  5. Dawn Blackwell (Bob Mathis Elementary School)
  6. Ronald Brown (Chamblee Charter High School)
  7. Paris Byrd (Arabia Mountain High School)
  8. Paul Camick (CTAE and Co-chairperson)
  9. Robert Carter (Chick Fil A)
  10. Carolita Chester-Benton (Marbut Elementary School)
  11. Dyanne Christian (Loft)
  12. Kyia Clark (Stone Mill Elementary School)
  13. Duane Clark (Champion Theme School)
  14. David Collins (Fernbank Science Center)
  15. Edward Conner (DeKalb Early College Academy)
  16. Eleanor Cox (Princeton Elementary School)
  17. Deirdre Edwards (Department of Natural Resources)
  18. Fuad Faruque (Stone Mountain Middle School)
  19. Linda Frazier (Office of Accountability and Co-chairperson)
  20. Johnathon Hines (Barack Obama Elementary School)
  21. Ursula Jackson (Stoneview Elementary School)
  22. Andrew Jameson (Dunwoody High School)
  23. Taquavia Jones (Stephenson High School)
  24. Jolene Key (Livsey Elementary School)
  25. Lisa Limoncelli (Hawthorne Elementary School)
  26. Demetrius Lofton (Peachcrest Elementary School)
  27. Sharon Malcom (Lithonia Middle School)
  28. Tanya Mason (Arabia Mountain High School)
  29. LaShawn McMillan (John Lewis Elementary School)
  30. Everett Patrick (Professional Learning)
  31. Nia Porter (Delta Airlines )
  32. Tracy Reese (Cedar Grove High School)
  33. Emily Rogers (Henderson Mill Elementary School)
  34. Margie Smith (DeKalb Alternative School)
  35. Stacy Stepney (Curriculum and Instruction and Co-chairperson)
  36. Alexandra Sucar (Hawthorne Elementary School)
  37. Jermain Sumler-Faison (Wynbrooke Elementary School)
  38. Tuqwan Taylor (Lithonia Middle School)
  39. Trent Taylor (Centers for Disease Control (CDC))
  40. LouKisha Walker (McNair High School)
  41. Shandra White (Columbia High School, Columbia Middle School, and DeKalb Alternative School)

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