Weston School Calendar Changes — Again

The Weston Board of Education voted unanimously to change the 2011-2012 school calendar to reflect the . Public comment was encouraged at the special session, which was held at the on Monday evening.

The new schedule will return Oct. 7 and Nov. 8 to instructional days; they were originally scheduled as professional development days. As of now, the last day of school is scheduled for Thursday, June 14, 2012.

Graduation is planned for June 21, 2012.

The district convened a calendar committee who were charged with gathering input on the potential change. Parents, staff, administrators and a member of the board reviewed snow day history data and potential options together. Weston residents were also invited to provide input to the board via online survey, and many residents wrote letters to the district opining their views. 

, put forth the committee's recommendation to the board.

"The last week of June is not optimal learning time," Palmer commented to those in attendance, noting that the recommended plan would "put us in a good position not to have to take April break."

Last year, the board voted to take April break days if all of the June snow days were used; with four "snow" days already used because of Irene, only three make-up days remained in June. 

According to Palmer, Weston averages four snow days per year, with only two of the past 11 years needing more than five days. Adding the professional development days back to the student calendar gives Weston five potential make-up days in June.

The online survey drew 459 responses, of which an overwhelming 85 percent supported using the October and November professional development days.

Sixty-five percent of respondents supported holding school on Columbus Day. Palmer noted that 20 percent of Weston's teachers are neither available to teach on Columbus Day, nor February break.

In addition to addressing parent and student needs, the district and the committee were forced to abide by both Connecticut law as well as contractual terms. 

Students must attend school for 180 days every year. December and January days cannot be used for school, nor can school days run longer. Saturday and Sunday attendance is also not permitted.

In addition to allowing time for some religious observation holidays, the committee aimed to keep an adequate number of built-in weather days, provide periodic breaks and keep time for parent-teacher conferences and development. Slowly eliminating April break was not considered ideal.

Palmer thanked Weston's teachers several times for their flexibility, noting that the administration had "total cooperation." 

Board member Les Wolf asked if the new calendar would cost taxpayers additional funds.

"It's revenue neutral," Palmer said. Teachers would have been at work anyway, because professional development requires teacher attendance.

The administration will devise a new plan for teachers to participate in professional development programs. Independent study, Saturday study or a hybrid program were mentioned as options.

Palmer plans to "work independently with the WTA" to formulate a new professional development plan.

The board quickly agreed to the calendar revision, with Vice Chair Ellen Uzenoff noting that the plan appeared to be "the best of all possibilities."

Board member Richard Bochinski commented, "there is no 'Sara Lee' solution," adding that "I don't see how we can do anything else at this point."