A revised 2020-2021 WCS Calendar has been approved by the Ware County Board of Education. The block and list formats are available at the links.
Key changes/features to note include:
1. There are 20 professional learning days, 170 instructional days (82 in fall semester and 88 in spring semester), and a traditional semester break in December.
2. There will be 14 (rather than 6) pre-planning/professional learning days at the beginning of the school year. The additional professional learning days will focus on preparing instructional staff to pivot from traditional instruction to digital instruction, should it become necessary to close schools for weather or COVID-related circumstances.
3. Students now return to school Monday, August 17th rather than Wednesday, August 5th.
4. To maximize the number of instructional days in the first semester, one day of Fall Break has been removed. Tuesday, October 13th is now an instructional day.
5. Early Release Days on Friday, November 20th and Friday, February 12th heading into Thanksgiving and Presidents Day holidays have been removed.
6. Monday, December 7th - Friday, December 18th have been identified as possible digital learning days. Late November through early January is typically rife with influenza infections, so we want our families to be prepared in advance that the district may move to digital instruction IF flu is a big concern in our area at that time.
7. Friday, April 2nd was added as a holiday in order to maintain the 190-day calendar. April 2nd is Good Friday; families who wish to observe Easter weekend will be able to get an early start.
We are all eager to know what the future holds for us as employees and for our students, especially how instruction will look in the fall. While it is too soon to announce any concrete decisions, we have spent countless hours researching, planning, and preparing for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. The Return to School committee, with input from building administrators, local healthcare officials, and other stakeholders, has mapped out several different scenarios for resuming school in the fall. The scenarios fall into three broad categories along a spectrum: on one end, reopening our schools for a return to in-person learning; on the other end, delivering instruction through digital learning; and in the middle, offering a hybrid of the two models. Our ability to bus students to school while observing safety protocols, the level of community/school spread at any given point in time, and our families' comfort level in sending their children to school will be major factors in determining our instructional plan. We will host a virtual Town Hall Meeting during the second full week of July to discuss these options in more detail and provide the community with an opportunity to hear from our healthcare advisory committee members. We hope you will mark your calendar and plan to join us for the Town Hall. Details regarding the date and time will be announced soon.