Students in the Campbell River School District might have five early dismissal days next year.
The school district is moving forward into the consultation process with a proposed calendar for the next two school years that would see students leave school 90 minutes early one Wednesday in October, November, December, March and April.
“We feel that it’s time for teachers to work together, to look at data, to implement change, to examine their school and how their kids are doing and to also work together as a school community to increase outcomes for kids,” said district superintendent Tom Longridge.
The Ministry of Education decreased the required instruction time by five hours to provide more time for professional development for teachers, so the district’s calendar committee, in partnership with the Professional Development Committee, developed the proposed calendar to best meet the needs of students and to keep the parental disruption to a minimum.
“The idea is that we want to maintain support and keep the transformation and the teachers engaged in that process and we can see by doing that that we need ongoing professional development and support within the schools, within the school communities,” Longridge said.
Although the school district is performing well, Longridge said, there are gaps that need to be addressed, school by school and even student by student.
“We know that education in the community and in the province and in the world is changing, the adults in our system are the drivers of that transformation and we need to support our educators by providing the time and the tools that they need,” Longridge said.
“I am so pleased, we are not talking about holidays here, we are not talking about days off, we are talking about what is best for kids in the classroom,” said Trustee Daryl Hagen.
Parents who are interested in giving feedback on the proposed calendar must do so via email by 4 p.m. on March 15 to school.calendar@sd72.bc.ca