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While you are certainly free to express a preference for one calendar option over another, the BVSD Calendar Committee is most interested in why you prefer one approach over another. The survey provides optional comments sections so that you can share your thoughts on each option.

This survey will run on “BVSD Listens” through Friday, December 21, 2012. The results and respondents' comments will be made available on the BVSD website in January.

As with the recent review of guiding calendar principles, there will also be two community meetings scheduled for those stakeholders who want to interact in person with calendar committee members and district administration:

* Wednesday, Dec. 12, 6-7:30 p.m., Broomfield High School Library
* Thursday, Dec. 13, 10:30 a.m.-noon, YMCA at 95th and Arapahoe (Blue Room)

Thank you in advance for participating in the calendar development process.

As was stated in the discussion of guiding calendar setting principles, some parameters are already in place. These include:

No early or mid-August start: All options start no earlier than the final Monday in August with one option having a post-Labor Day start. The superintendent has been convinced by BVSD parents, staff and his own observation that classroom learning is negatively impacted by the high temperatures of mid-August. The superintendent and calendar committee will not consider an early or mid-August start in the final recommendation to the school board.

Holiday observances set: Observance of holidays is decided by current Boulder Valley Board of Education Policy IC-ICA (“School Year/School Calendar/National Holidays”) and/or employee association agreements. Veteran's Day, by law, must be celebrated on November 11, unless it falls on a weekend, in which case, it is observed on the following Monday.

Parent-Teacher conference exchange days: BVSD parent teacher conferences are held in evenings, beyond the contract day. The exchange days (no school) are taken off in acknowledgment of staff working beyond the contract work day during conferences.

Non-student contact days: The district provides 5.5 days teacher professional development/planning days; one is scheduled the day following the end of first and second semester as well as the end of the second and third trimesters, with time for teachers to evaluate student performance and record final grades.

Assessment Day: This day is time BVSD values to assess students to meet their instructional needs through academic planning.

The three calendars have many similar features. All abide by the parameters above. However, there are some key distinctions. These include:

Calendar A – Late August Start – Finish First Semester at Winter Break Option
This calendar option meets the wishes of stakeholders who wanted both a later start and a fall semester that finished at the beginning of BVSD’s winter break. To accomplish this, the committee, as other districts have done, proposes a shorter first semester and a longer second semester.

Calendar B – Late August Start – End of First Semester after Winter Break
This calendar option meets the wishes of stakeholders who wanted later first semester start. First semester ends in mid-January and has a better balance in days between each semester.

Calendar C – Post Labor Day Start
This calendar option begins classes after Labor Day. The first semester ends three weeks after students return from winter break, putting high school finals week during the third week of January.

Next steps: A past school board president was noted for stating that setting a school year calendar was always a matter of making compromises. That stated, your thoughtful comments as to these three options are important to us as we work to reach a final consensus to forward to the superintendent for his review. Ultimately, he will recommend a 2013-2014 calendar and a 2014-2015 calendar to the Boulder Valley Board of Education for action.

Your comments are important to inform the committee as it develops a final proposed BVSD calendar to present to the Board of Education for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years. Thank you for your input.

BVSD 2013-2014 & 2014-2015 Calendar Committee

More Info:

BVSD 2013-2014 Calendar Options (A, B and C)