Waukee School Calendar for Next Year Keeps Two-Week Winter Break

Waukee schools would have a two-week winter break and classes would start in mid-August -- similar to the current year -- under a proposed calendar for the 2013-14 academic year, the Des Moines Register reports.

The calendar tries to balance the needs of students and staff, said Susan Sandholm-Petersen, co-chairwoman of the calendar committee, during a presentation last week to the Waukee school board.

Fall classes would start on Aug. 14. and the 88-day term would conclude Friday, Dec. 20, the newspaper said. The second semester would begin Jan. 6 under the plan with first semester final exams held before winter break.

Plans called for finals to be taken before Christmas this year but tests were pushed into January because two days of school were canceled by the December blizzard.

The current school year began Aug. 15 and is slated to end May 24 barring any more snow days.

The proposed calendar would also have school start during the Iowa State Fair, a common practice in Des Moines area schools that has drawn criticism from some fair supporters. The 2013 State Fair runs Aug. 8-18.

Under the plan, teachers would have building-specific work days, the Register said. For example, high school teachers could schedule a work day around the winter break to prepare for the next term; elementary school teachers could schedule work days throughout the semester in order to prepare for conferences.

The board should vote on whether or not to approve the calendar in March.