Framingham Considering Early Release Fridays for 2015-2016 School Year

Framingham Public Schools would like to have early release Fridays, as opposed to early release Thursdays, said Director of Educational Operations Sonia Diaz at a TWPTO meeting Monday night at Wilson Elementary.

Diaz, said her calendar committee will make that recommendation to the Framingham School Committee, who has to vote and approve the Framingham Public Schools calendar. The calendar committee is comprised of principals, staff, teachers and parents, as well as TWPTO Co-President Kim Comatas.

The current calendar for the 2014-15 school year has a dozen elementary school early release days on Thursdays, along with two night dates for parent-teacher conferences.

Diaz said while she was presenting the proposed 2015-16 calendar to parents Monday night, the Framingham Teachers Association was presenting the recommendations to its membership. The union will need to sign off on parts of the calendar, before the Framingham School Committee can vote on it.

Diaz said for the 2015-16 school year, administration will recommend eight early-releases for parent-teacher conferences, along with two evening dates for conferences (one in the fall and one in the spring.)

“We heard from teachers they want more time with you (parents),” said Diaz.

Other proposed changes include reducing the number of professional development days during the 180-day school year by two.

She said the district will propose having an additional professional development day for staff before school officially starts in August.

The district is also recommending an outside-the-box idea of having staff remain at school on the first Monday of each month for six months for one hour for professional development, instead of a full day of professional development.

If the Framingham Teachers Association agrees to the Monday professional development proposal, it would not affect parents or students.

“Students would start and end school at the same time,” said Diaz.

Proposed is the first Monday in October, November, December, January, February and March.

The proposed first day of school is recommended for Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015, for 1-12 students. Grade 9 students would start on Aug. 26.

The Superintendent would address staff on Aug. 24, 2015 and it would be a full teacher work day, said Diaz. On Aug. 25 and 26, staff would participate in professional development days.

A third professional development day is planned for April 15, 2016, explained Diaz.

The proposed change said Diaz allows for “more professional development for staff before the start of school.”

In the 2014-15 current school calendar, there were five professional development days. There was one on August 26 before school started and professional development days on Sept. 24 (the day before the Jewish holidays) , Nov. 4 (election day) and Friday, Jan. 30.

The change would allow for the school year to end two days earlier, said Diaz. The proposed 180th day would be June 14, 2016.

In regards to school vacations, the district plans to continue to recommend both the February and April vacations, said Diaz. She said the winter break vacation would start on Thursday, Dec. 24 and students would return to school on Monday, Jan. 4.

As per the School Committee policy, the proposed 2015-16 school calendar has no school for two days for students & staff for Rosh Hashanah, one day for Yom Kippur and one day for Good Friday.

Yom Kippur is Sept 22, 2015, Rosh Hashanah starts at sundown on Sept. 15, 2015 and Good Friday is March 25 in 2016.

Administration is making no changes to the other no school holidays - including Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Memorial Day. Labor Day in 2015 is late on Monday, Sept. 7.

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