Mineola Board of Ed Postpones Decision on 2012-13 Calendar

The adoption of the Mineola School District’s calendar for the 2012-13 school year will have to wait until 2012.

Citing “confusion” around the calendar, which has gone through several iterations, the tabled the calendar’s adoption until at least the Jan. 19, 2012 meeting.

Mineola has 182 days of classes – where students are in session – plus an additional 2 days where only teachers report.

“We try to put those 182 days between labor day and the last day of school, which has always been the day after the last Regents class,” Superintendent Dr. Michael Nagler said at the November 17 meeting of the board.

Dr. Nagler had made the recommendation that students because “we cannot fit the 182 days between Labor Day and the last Regents marking day.”

At a previous meeting, Dr. Nagler had “as a good filler for those days,” explaining that “instead of taking class time in the first or second week of school, which we do now, it would be used in the first week, we’d get the results that much faster.”

Now, New York State has “floated the notion,” according to the superintendent, that in June 2013 they will move Regents week to a full 8 days earlier than it’s current location in June.

Describing it as “a very radical move,” Dr. Nagler said that “not only will it affect the obvious of testing schedules and what do you do with the calendar for the ? It involves the prom, the last week of school or the last trips, graduation, all the things they typically do at certain times would all be changed as well.”

The superintendent  added that if the move were to occur, the February break could be eliminated, though not immediately.

“There certainly would be a lot more problems fitting 182 days if you take away the last week of June,” he said. “Bringing kids back after the Regents – those of you with high school children would venture to say that you agree with me – it might be difficult to get them back to class. I think it’s prudent to table this until we know what they’re doing with those exams. I think the discussion is premature until we know all the variables involved.”

Further, the superintendent stated that a reason for the move could be the state’s concern over security with the exams: “Their reason for moving it is part of this test security thing that they don’t want our teachers grading the papers, they want to send them out to grade, then we have to get them back,” he said. “My presumption would be that we need more what they call ‘marking days’.”

Currently Mineola has only one marking day and would be in need of more as students would not know if they graduate until the results are returned.

“My feeling is that they’re going to have a couple more marking days at the end if they push the days up,” the superintendent said.

“It’s not something that is entirely really within our control,” board President Christine Napolitano said. “I think parents should also keep in mind that if it does happen that we are going to start before Labor Day that I’m sure the summer programs are also going to have to make adjustments for that too.”

“In this scenario based on this timeline that the state’s driving, that even with modifications to the February break which would change entirely vacation schedules for lots of people, you’re still talking about an August (start date),” board vice-President WIlliam Hornberger said seeking confirmation.

In response, Dr. Nagler said that despite what changes may or may not occur, “most likely we’re going to (start) before Labor Day.”

The decision on the calendar was tabled until the January 19 meeting.