"Some students could see their summer breaks slashed and their academic year stretched as part of the Houston Independent School District's effort to overhaul poor-performing campuses.
The district is designing a pilot program to allow a handful of struggling schools to adopt an extended-year calendar starting this fall. The reform effort — estimated to cost around $500,000 per school — includes two more weeks of class for students. The schools, which have not been chosen, also could see a staff shake-up.
The district is designing a pilot program to allow a handful of struggling schools to adopt an extended-year calendar starting this fall. The reform effort — estimated to cost around $500,000 per school — includes two more weeks of class for students. The schools, which have not been chosen, also could see a staff shake-up.
HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said he plans to ask teachers and principals to re-apply to work at the campuses to ensure top-notch instruction during the longer year.
“It's not just about time,” Grier said. “It's not about doing the same thing the same way and expecting different results.”
The alternative calendar, which the school board approved last week, divides the year into quarters, with two-week breaks about every two-and-a-half months. Summer vacation would span three weeks instead of the typical three months.
“As educators, we know that the summer's way too long,” said Peter Heinze, the principal of Briarmeadow, a combined elementary and middle school in HISD."
