Changes To 2018-19 Anne Arundel County School Calendar Possible

ANNAPOLIS, MD - From Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Recommended changes to the 2018-2019 school year calendar will be discussed Wednesday by the Anne Arundel County school board. The changes suggested by the Anne Arundel County Public Schools Calendar Committee — including fewer snow days and parent-teacher conferences — will be considered at the October 18 board meeting.

The meeting will be held in the Board Room at the Parham Building, 2644 Riva Road, Annapolis. The Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. to vote to go into closed session, during which time it will discuss confidential matters as permitted by the Maryland Open Meetings Act including, but not limited to, legal advice, personnel, and negotiations. Closed session is not open to the public. The general session of the meeting, which is open to the public, will begin at 7:00 p.m.

As recommended by a majority of the committee, the calendar calls for classes to begin on Tuesday, September 4, 2018, and end on Friday, June 14, 2019.

The calendar maintains adjustments made in the 2017-2018 school year that reduced Easter/Spring Break to three days. It also, requires opening of schools on three additional days to compensate for:

• Yom Kippur falling on a weekday (Wednesday, September 19, 2018; it fell on the weekend in the current school year).
• Election Day, which falls on November 6, 2018.
• June 15, 2019, is a Saturday, meaning schools must close no later than June 14, 2019.

To compensate for these three days, the Calendar Committee recommends these changes:

• Elimination of second marking period Parent-Teacher Conference, leaving conferences in the first and third marking periods
• Opening schools for students on the day of the Maryland State Education Association convention (October 19, 2018)
• Reducing the number of inclement weather days from three to two, and designating the third inclement weather day as the day following Easter (requires MSDE waiver if needed)

A complete agenda for the meeting accompanies this news release. More information on agenda items will be posted on the AACPS website in the Board Docs section under the Board of Education tab.

The general session of Wednesday’s Board meeting will be broadcast live on AACPS-TV, which can be found on Channel 96 on Comcast and Broadstripe, and Channel 36 on Verizon. High definition broadcasts can be seen on Channel 996 on Comcast, Channel 496 on Broadstripe, and Channel 1961 on Verizon. Rebroadcasts are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. the day after the meeting and 2:00 p.m. on subsequent Sundays.

The meeting can also be viewed live on the Internet here.

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