OKC district ponders calendar change

Proposal includes 5 weeks off during school year

Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Sean McDaniel will ask the school board Monday night to scrap the district’s continuous calendar in favor of one with a later start date and a week off for Thanksgiving.

The board will consider McDaniel’s recommendations for the 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 calendars when it meets at 5:30 p.m. at Northeast Academy, 3100 N Kelley.

The district has operated on a continuous calendar — which includes an early August start date and two-week breaks in October and March — since 2011.

McDaniel, in an email this week to district employees and families, said “it became clear that our early start date hasn’t been working for thousands of OKCPS families.”

“This year over 3,000 OKCPS students missed critical instruction because they started school late,” he said. “I am pleased that the team thoughtfully put students first in making this recommendation and also solved several other challenges that our existing calendar imposed.”

The board considered a calendar change in December, but voted to keep the existing model for the 2018-19 school year while agreeing to further study a calendar that maximizes student learning and teacher retention.

“I’ve been pushing for a later start date since I got on the board because our current calendar doesn’t give our principals enough time to prepare for the coming year,” board member Rebecca Budd said.

“It limits our time for professional development; there’s not enough time to on-board all of our employees. Too many school days are being lost by students who don’t come to school until the middle of August. They don’t show up.”

Under the proposed hybrid calendar, school would start in midAugust and end before Memorial Day, with students taking one-week breaks in October, at Thanksgiving and in March, and two weeks off for winter break.

Currently, students take two weeks off for spring break.

Reducing spring break to one week would mean the end of intersession — classroom instruction offered during extended breaks. The district previously canceled six days of intersession during the fall and winter breaks to cut costs.

Instead, teachers would receive additional pay to provide “real time” interventions to students who need it, officials said.

McDaniel also said the proposed calendars — created with input from families, staff and community representatives — would:

• Provide “a slightly longer break at summer for school staff and for students to recharge.”

• Allow more time to hire teachers, bus drivers and other critical staff.

• Provide more time to order and receive instructional resources for the start of the school year.

• Allow operations teams to complete building maintenance renovations and deep cleaning.

• Allow educators to continue their advocacy efforts by closing the district for Election Day in November 2020.

• Ensure that all employees’ pay cycles are not affected.