Bend, Ore. – Eliminating some parent-teacher conference days and extending a few short days is the Bend-La Pine’s school district’s solution to make up for time lost when heavy snowfall closed schools this winter.
The school district closed schools several days due to snow and inclement weather and later to clear roofs of snow loads, all in the second half of the 2016-17 school year. To make up for students’ time missed in the classroom, the school district made some changes to its school calendar earlier this year. On Wednesday, the district announced additional changes that will add back student time spent in the classroom.
Three school improvement Wednesdays — the day students are usually released early to give teachers time for training and planning — will be lengthened to full school days on March 8, 15 and 22.
The regular Wednesday schedule will resume April 5.
On April 13, a previously scheduled conference day for middle and elementary schools, will become a full day. April 14 will be a full school day for middle and high school students; there will be no school for elementary schools, Three Rivers School and Westside Village.
Previously announced changes
As the school district previously announced, the school year has been extended. Students will have full school days June 16, 19, 20 and 21. On the last day of school, June 22, a Thursday, students will be released on the shortened school improvement schedule usually reserved for Wednesdays. Seniors will be done with school before that, as Bend-La Pine high school graduations will take place between June 8 and 12.
By state law, schools must meet minimum instruction hour requirements — the amount of time students spend in the classroom. It used to be that up to 14 hours of inclement weather days — generally snow days in Bend — could count toward instructional time. A rule change in 2014 made it so school districts can no longer count inclement weather days toward that time. But given this intense winter, the Oregon State Board of Education made a temporary rule change. This school year, the state board will provide flexibility in counting the inclement weather days to instructional time.
“The addition of extended days prior to spring break, rather than waiting until the end of the year, will give our students additional time with their teachers and better prepare those taking Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and state tests in the spring,” said Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Shay Mikalson.
Mikalson added that eliminating or reducing parent-teacher conference time in lieu of added school days should not preclude open dialogue between families and their students’ teachers. “Teachers will be communicating with parents and guardians about student progress around mid-April,” he said. “As always, we encourage families to contact teachers at any time to check their student progress; communication is not limited to just conference time.”
The 2016-17 school calendar changes come after extreme accumulations of snow in the Bend, La Pine and Sunriver areas prompted district officials to close schools for several days in January to allow for significant snow removal from school roofs and building assessments by structural engineers.
Mikalson said that he hopes this will be the last calendar change for the 2016-17 school year, but that unforeseen events could result in additional changes. That said, he assures families that the school year will not extend past June 22 and that spring break will not be shortened.
A summary of the changes at a glance and a downloadable version of the revised 2016-17 School Calendar are available at www.bend.k12.or.us/201617revisedcalendar
The new calendar changes include the following:
MARCH
Wednesday, March 8
Full school day, instead of SIW schedule
Wednesday, March 15
Full school day, instead of SIW schedule
Wednesday, March 22
Full school day, instead of SIW schedule
APRIL
Wednesday, April 5
SIW schedule resumes, no 11:45 a.m. release for elementary students
Thursday, April 13
Full school day, previously a conference day for middle and elementary students
Friday, April 14
Full school day for middle and high school students
No school for elementary schools, Three Rivers School and Westside Village students
JUNE
Friday, June 16
Full school day
Monday, June 19
Full school day
Tuesday, June 20
Full school day
Wednesday, June 21
Full school day
Thursday, June 22
Students released on SIW schedule
