Category Archives: Calendar

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)

About half the Metro Atlanta school districts have approved 2020-2021 calendars. DeKalb Schools should have their School Year 2021 calendar approved this October. This is where we are.

In accordance with Board Policy AEA, the Calendar Committee is charged with developing calendar options for school years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. The Calendar Committee will make a recommendation to Superintendent Green, who will make a final recommendation to the DeKalb County Board of Education on October 7, 2019 for consideration and approval.

The DeKalb County School District’s Calendar Committee is exploring calendar options to align with other similarly sized school districts in Metro Atlanta. The Calendar Committee expects to recommend school calendars that include 180 days for students and 190 days for teachers. The calendars will specify the days observed for holidays, breaks, teacher workdays/professional development days, and inclement weather days.

There are a lot of thoughts and ideas surrounding the school calendar. Let’s discuss them here and I’ll bring these recommendations to the board.

Balanced Calendar
The 2019-2020 school calendar is a Balanced Calendar – 90 instructional days each semester.

Summer Slide
Summer slide, allegedly, is the tendency for students, especially those from low-income families, to lose some of the
achievement gains they made during the previous school year. Administrators are concerned that differences in children’s summer learning experiences during their elementary school years can ultimately impact whether they earn a high school diploma and continue to college. Some research has shown that children in low-income households fall behind an average of 2 months in reading during the summer. And, summer slide is cumulative, with these learning losses building up each summer.

SURVEY
Also, A calendar survey will be released during the week of September 9th.

Metro Atlanta School Year Future Calendars

• Atlanta Public Schools – Couldn’t find
• Cobb County School Calendar 2020-2021
• Cobb County School Calendar 2021-2022
• Fulton County Schools 2020-2021 Calendar
• Gwinnett Schools – Couldn’t Find