WCS Calendar Changes Spark Conversation
WARSAW — During the Warsaw Community School Corporation Regular Board Work Session, Chief Accountability Officer Dani Barkey, alongside Kyle Carter, principal of Jefferson Elementary, took a moment to outline the future calendars of WCS students and staff.
In what Barkey described as record timing, the calendar committee only required two sessions to reach a final draft for both the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years. Barkey attributed the success to the well organized framing done by Carter, who carefully outlined the requirements of the board and state prior to discussion.
Among the notable changes was a push for a later school year, an idea Carter noted has been requested by parents and staff alike over the years. This was accomplished by setting a later date for holiday break according to Carter, which will begin on the Thursday prior to the 2016 Sunday Christmas date.
An additional noteworthy change was made in regards to Good Friday. Carter noted there was much conversation about the holiday among members of the committee, which includes multiple parents of religious backgrounds. Several factors were considered when deciding how the holiday would be handled including the fact many area businesses did not observe the holiday, leaving parents to find childcare options outside of the school.
In addition, Carter noted with an ever growing diverse background of cultures and religions in the community, the school would be wise to be careful in how it observes strictly religious holidays. Though the committee opted to not close school on Good Friday, parents wishing to have students home for religious reasons can do so without the absence being unexcused.
Although the actual calendar has not yet been released, Carter noted according to the current draft, the final student day, with snow days built in, will be Thursday, June 1. Should there be no snow days utilized, Carter stated students could be out of session by Friday, May 26.