Schools
Parkway Schools' First Day of Classes Starts a New Chapter for District
With a new superintendent, new logo, new start times, full-day kindergarten (new) and even new field turf, Parkway identifies its new mission—higher expectations, brighter futures.
Tuesday is the first day of school for the 2011- 12 school year. The district has made a number of changes since May. Here is what's new.
NEW SCHOOL HOURS
The Parkway School Board approved new start and end times for all schools this year.
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- Middle Schools start and end later by almost one hour.
- Elementary schools add 20 minutes to the day, which means all schools now have equal instructional time of six hours and 55 minutes, the equivalent of 10 additional days of class in a year.
(Check your school's start time here.)
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NEW SUPERINTENDENT
In January, Parkway named Keith Marty as the district's new superintendent. Marty comes to Parkway from the Menomonee Falls School District in Milwaukee where he served as superintendent for the last 10 years and the assistant superintendent for the district before that.
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FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN TUITION-FREE
This year Parkway offers full day kindergarten at no extra charge. Previously, offered full-day kindergarten for $3,520 and half-day kindergarten at no charge. More than 1,100 kids enrolled for full-day kindergarten this year, exceeding the districts expectations. More teachers have been hired and kindergarten classrooms have been rearranged to accommodate a new teaching style.
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NEW PARKWAY LOGO
The district unveiled its new logo last week and said it's the first brand change since 1988. The brand, which now reads Parkway Schools instead of Parkway School District, features an open book and sunburst with the phrase, “Higher Expectations. Brighter Futures.”
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NEW ATHLETIC FIELD TURF
Each of the four high schools now has new turf athletic fields.The district estimates it will increase field usage by more than 800 percent. The school board approved the work, which comes with a price tag of $2.86 million. The project's funds are coming from the 2008 bond issue, which allotted $3.2 million for athletic field upgrades.
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