The Allen Parish School Board approved the school calendar for the 2022-2023 school year Monday evening, March 14, as well as hearing about the district’s pilot program in three schools next fall to utilize the 4×4 schedule.
The next calendar year indicates school will begin on August 11, and use August 8-10 as teacher professional development days.
Students will be out for holidays and professional development days. Superintendent Kent Reed also discussed the schedule features six to seven bank days over the number of minutes required to make sure the schedule remains intact if hurricane days, pandemic days, etc. should exist during the next school year.
Holidays will include Labor Day, September 5; a fall break, October 13 and 14; Fair Day, November 18; Thanksgiving holidays, November 21-25; Christmas break, December 19-January 3; MLK Day, January 16; American Heritage Day, February 20; Mardi Gras, February 21; and Easter/Spring break, April 7-14. Professional development days will begin in August and continue through the year with one on October 12 (for a three day break), February 22 (for a three day break) and May 25 (end of the year).
The last day of the school year for students will be May 24, and teachers will work until May 25. The first nine-week quarter of the 2022-23 school year for report card purposes will end on October 11. The second will end on January 9; the third on March 15; and the final one on the last day of school, May 24.
At last month’s meeting, the Fast Forward plan in Fairview, allowing students to complete an associate’s degree at the same time they receive a high school diploma, Reed said they have been discussing block scheduling. This type of schedule mirrors the college schedule, so the district sent a survey to parents to discover what they thought about a 4×4 block schedule. This schedule offers four classes a semester for 90 minutes instead of seven classes a year at 50 minutes.
“We sent out surveys and 1,232 people answered,” Reed said. “Probably 60 percent were in favor of block scheduling while 40 percent wanted to stay with a seven-period day.”
Reed said more parents were in favor of the change than students. After discussing the block scheduling, the district will do a pilot program at Oakdale High, Kinder High and Fairview High during the 2022-2023 school year.
Reed presented several reasons why the block schedule would be beneficial to students. He said it would increase opportunities to take electives, dual enrollment classes and pursue an associate’s degree. Students who struggle in a required class would have the opportunity to retake the course the next semester to meet the course requirements.
In block scheduling, students would only take four classes per semester opposed to seven classes at one time. The pace of the school would slow down and teachers would have more opportunities to closely monitor students while students would have more time to learn the course instruction. Teachers would have fewer students during a semester.
Typical school days would change with fewer interruptions for class changing purposes. He said instead of nine weeks, students would receive report cards every four-and-a-half weeks.
In other business, the board:
•Heard from Misty Alexander,. She spoke on ESSER funding and how the district is utilizing the federal dollars including stipends and benefits for afterschool tutoring, summer professional development, certification, pre-ACT and ACT Now vouchers, adventure camp, supplies, technology, software upgrades and purchases, facility improvements, etc.
•Heard an update on ACT testing and spring testing from Brad Soileau.
•Approved out-of-state trips for 23 culinary students at Oakdale High to attend Cooking Around the World at Epcot in Orlando, Florida, and students from Reeves to attend the Health Museum in Houston, Texas.
•Approved a change order for the Allen Parish Track Project at Oberlin High. It was an increase of $43,200, which will add subsurface drainage and a second long jump pit. Reed said the project should be completed in mid May.
•Agreed to advertise for a custodian at Oakdale High and a special education para at Reeves High.
•Learned the end of the third nine weeks was March 15. Report cards will be issued Friday, March 18.
