District Calendar Experiences Revisions
Media by Emma Tyulyayev
School will be let out on June 1st this year, but Principal Dr. Steve Hankins said that the release date will be pushed up next school year. “It was really a call of desire to be out before Memorial Day,” Dr. Hankins said.
In lieu of students finalizing their class schedules for the 2023-2024 school year, the district approved the future calendar with a notable update.
This year, school is scheduled to end on June 1, but Principal Dr. Steve Hankins said district officials moved up that date next year to May 31.
“It was really a call of desire to be out before Memorial Day,” Dr. Hankins said.
Dr. Hankins said moving up second semester to have finals before Winter Break, however, presents more of a challenge.
If second semester was going to end before Winter Break, there would be two and a half fewer weeks in first semester. Though year-long classes wouldn’t be as affected, Dr. Hankins said semester classes would face awkward timing and students could lose instruction time.
“Is it possible? Yes,” Dr. Hankins said. “But it’s not an easy fix.”
Under the revised calendar, Dr. Hankins said two professional development days that have usually taken place during the school year will be moved to the summer, along with moving a curriculum day to be before the school year starts.
“It was a lot of gymnastics as far as trying to figure out how it works,” Dr. Hankins said.
Being on the Professional Development Committee, Erin Sullenger, social studies teacher, has been involved in discussions about this plan throughout the school year.
“I’ve had more time to introduce myself to that idea and accept the fact that it might be a reality,” Sullenger said.
Sullenger said that since she is on the committee, she has grown used to having professional development opportunities outside of the school year, and she doesn’t mind taking that time out of her summer to do so.
“It is rare for me to not work on school stuff in the summer,” Sullenger said.
Sullenger said she is excited to have the school year end earlier and empathizes with students who feel the same way, such as Riley Gregory, sophomore.
“I remember last year none of us felt like we had anything to do,” Gregory said. “And so I’m really excited to have summer break start sooner.”
Gregory said she will miss professional development days because the time off is a nice treat for students, but she does appreciate how moving them will allow students to end the school year earlier.
“I’m sad but also okay with it,” Gregory said.
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Anvi Talyan, senior, is an editor-in-chief for the Marquette Messenger, with this being her fourth year on staff. Outside of writing, she is interested...
Emma Tyulyayev is an Illustrator for the Marquette Messenger. This is her second year on staff. After school, she enjoys driving around and going on frequent...