ROSSTON – There is cause for celebration among teachers and students of the Nevada School District.
At its February meeting, Thursday, the Nevada School Board voted to go to a four-day school week for the 2021-22 school year. Students and teachers will attend school Monday through Thursday, getting a three-day weekend every week. However, there is a catch. While the week will be cut to four days, the actual school days will be extended. During the current five-day school week, students and teachers are in class 360 minutes a day. Under the four-day week, though, they will be in school for 450 minutes a day. This will ensure they receive the required number of minutes of education. In the past, classes were based on a certain number of days, but things have changed.
Superintendent Rick McAfee, gave the board three proposals for the calendar. One was a standard five-day week, another was a four-day week Tuesday through Friday, and the other a Monday through Thursday four-day week. He pointed out school days would have to start earlier and end later in order to get the requisite amount of educational minutes in. He reminded the board there’s a national teacher shortage, and when Oklahoma went to four-day weeks, teachers flocked to the state to get certified to teach there.
McAfee said the COVID situation has everyone used to a four-day week, including parents, so this won’t be an inconvenience. Under the proposal, he added, there will be no virtual learning involved.
Roy McCoy, who will replace McAfee on July 1, presented the calendars to the board as he will be the one working with it and them. He told the board there could be some savings by going to a four-day week, but that would be incidental as the primary purpose is to help the teachers, students and their families. Fridays in the district, he continued, are virtual days, which means parents have already made arrangements for their children. Under the new calendar, there won’t be virtual days, but the arrangements can remain in place with no major issues.
McCoy said there were positives to both proposals, as each gives the teachers a day off during the week to take care of personal business. The Tuesday-Friday week, he added, will keep on course with current athletic schedules, which are primarily held Tuesday and Friday nights. However, he pointed, out, other districts with four-day weeks have altered their schedules and have the games on Thursday nights. The Monday-Thursday proposal, he told the board, gives everyone a three-day weekend, it’s something people are used to and like. If problems arise requiring a change from Monday-Thursday to Tuesday-Friday, he added, it would only require making a few changes to the calendar.
Board member Brandon Rhodes asked how this would work with block scheduling.
McCoy said Nevada would have to get away from block scheduling and go to an eight-period day. Fifth period, he told he board, would be split into 30-minute segments for lunch and remediation.
The board agreed and voted to go with the Monday-Thursday four-day week when school begins in Aug.
In other business, McAfee said students in Nevada Elementary School are rolling toward testing, which is stressing teachers out because of the missed week due to snow. The tests aren’t being postponed because of the weather, he said, and will tell the district a lot, but not what the important things in life are. On the high school level, students are working on ACT prep, which is important for their college careers.
The boys and girls basketball teams will be in the regional tournament next week, with the girls a four seed and the boys a one seed. Tickets, McAfee said, will be sold on line with each school getting 150. Any tickets not sold three days before the game will be sold at the gate. Because of the weather, he added, the tournament has been moved back a week, which also caused the state tourney to be moved back a week. With the way the schedule falls, though, the finals should be held before Spring Break.
He told the board the legislature is still in session and has passed a lot of hard to understand bills, but nothing of substance. The thing school districts will have to do is watch as the session winds down as this is when most of the important bills will be presented. In addition, he said, there’s talk of another stimulus for school transportation. Should it be approved, districts would be allowed to purchase buses with better ventilation, but whether or not it happens will depend on Congress.
The new roof has been installed on the bus barn, with most of the work completed before the snowstorm hit. McAfee said two pieces are needed for the ends, but the construction crew was able to get it in the dry before bad weather hit.
The board approved a budget for the 2022-23 school year as required by law. McAfee pointed out this budget is meaningless as the district won’t be held accountable for it, but it is a requirement of the state.
One of the final orders of business saw the board agree to offer contracts to all central office staff for the 21-22 school year. McAfee said McCoy met with the staff and agreed to offer all of them contracts for next year.
Because of Spring Break falling during the regular meeting date, the Nevada School Board will meet on March 11.