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Jerry Wartgow presented to the Denver
Board of Education on December 6th a school-year calendar that would
add 15 minutes of instructional time to every school day, add one
additional day of classes to every school year, and build in six
and one-half days of professional staff development for teachers.
On Thursday, January 3rd at 7:00 p.m. the public will have a chance
to weigh in on the new school calendar proposals for traditional
and continuous year calendars. The public hearing will be held in
the 1st floor board room at 900 Grant St. The proposals for 2002-2003
regular and continuous year calendars may be viewed on-line at the
DPS web
site.
The proposal would boost the number of student hours by the equivalent
of more than seven days over the course of a school year. Under
the plan, teacher days would be increased by 2.5 days over the current
schedule, with 2 full days at the beginning of the school year to
provide time to assess incoming students.
Superintendent Wartgow estimated the additional costs of the calendar
proposal at about $2.8 million and said that expense would be a
top priority for the 2002-2003 budget. Increased transportation
costs for the proposal might add another $85,000.
Some items in the proposal require negotiation with the Denver Classroom
Teachers Association, Wartgow acknowledged. The additional 15 minutes
for each student - and Wartgow pointed out that the established
number of student hours in a day should only be considered a minimum
- would be included in the existing eight-hour teacher workday.
Under the details of the calendar proposal developed by all Area
and Assistant Area Superintendents, the new calendar would:
- Increase from 174.5 to 175.5 the number of student days.
- End the first semester before the winter break;
- Set aside two days for walk-in registration prior to the school
year;
- Be coordinated with all schools on the continuous year calendar;
- Provide for the first time 6.5 days for coordinated, district-wide
professional staff development. Some of the staff development
days might be organized within the district's four quadrants.
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