The Coweta County Board of Education is asking for public input on the 2016-2017 school calendar to be adopted in January. Comments will be accepted through Jan. 11 on school system’s website.
In public surveys of the proposed 2015-16 and 2016-17 Coweta County school calendars taken in November, a majority of respondents favored the Option ‘A’ calendar. The calendar maintained the school system’s October Break and a full-week February Break, in addition to the traditional student breaks in November (one week), December (two weeks), February, (one week, including two inclement weather make-up days to be used if necessary) and April (one week), said school system spokesman Dean Jackson.
The school board adopted the 2015-16 Option ‘A’ calendar, but postponed final adoption of a 2016-17 calendar to allow for revisions. The original version of that calendar did not include the federal holiday on Monday, Jan. 2, Jackson said.
The revised version of that 2016-17 calendar has been designed to meet the following guidelines:
• A revision to add the Jan. 2 federal holiday as a student and employee holiday, per school board policy.
• Retaining the Friday October break for students and teachers, per the request of a majority of respondents indicated in the November survey.
• Retaining a full-week February break.
• Scheduling a teacher work day/student holiday on the 2016 Presidential Election date in November, to avoid student attendance during the traffic and congestion at many schools on that day.
Jackson said the proposed 2016-2017 calendar maintains 180 days of student instruction, divided into two 90-day semesters, with the first semester ending before the December holidays to allow for full course instruction and testing prior to the long student break.
The calendar also includes two days of instruction on Dec. 19 and 20. This follows earlier school system calendars that allow for a short week before the long December break when Christmas holidays fall on a weekend or a Monday, Jackson said.
The calendar can be found on the school system’s website (www.cowetaschools.org) under “Proposed 2016-17 School Calendar.’ Comments may be left online through Sunday, Jan. 11 at a link there.
The board will review public comments on this calendar and will consider the 2016-17 calendar at their Jan. 13 regular meeting.
