Stephens County School System Approves 2014-2015 School Calendar.

The Stephens County School System approves its 2014-2015 school calendar.

 

Stephens County Board Of Education members approved the calendar for next school year by a 5-2 vote at their meeting last week.

 

Board members David Fricks and Jim Ledford voted against the calendar.

 

Under the approved calendar, school will start for students on August 11. 

 

That is more than a week earlier than this year’s start date, which was August 22.

 

Ledford says he feels the calendar has school starting way too early.

 

Stephens County School Superintendent Sherrie Whiten says it came about after the high school requested it.

 

“The testing windows for end of course tests barley goes over into January, and one thing, that they felt like was important for the students, was to finish up that 1^st semester before we leave to go home for Christmas.. And since the kids, if they get that diploma, they have to pass all those assessments. So, they felt like that was setting the kids up for the best success.

 

Whiten says the school system also looked at what other area schools are doing and notes that the August 11 start date is pretty much in line other schools.

 

She says that is important because of parents who may work in one school system and have children in another, as well as for the benefit of services that Stephens County may share with other area school systems.

 

However, an earlier start date in august could mean higher energy costs for the school system.

 

Whiten says that is something the school system considered, but felt other things took precedence.

 

“That is a concern, but at the same time, you know, we just felt like, you know, we had to weigh all of our different options. In order for our students to be successful, especially on the high school level, that we needed to be able to finish up before they left for
Christmas.”

 

The approved 2014-2015 calendar includes 178 student days, just short of the original proposal of 180 days.

 

Whiten says that two days were cut in order to create a fall break without affecting Thanksgiving.

           

“Well, when we back as a group, and met together again, we looked at all the different Facebook comments, we look at some of the comments we had at school, we did put in a fall break. And we put that fall break in, rather than take away somewhere else, what we decided to do is just go with 178 days.”

 

Under the approved calendar, the 2014-2015 school year would end in Stephens County on May 22, 2015. 

 

That is before memorial day and just over a week earlier than when school will be ending this year.