Bethel Supt. Dr. Carver Message About Snow Days, 2017/18 Calendar Modification

Report by Paula Antolini
March 21, 2018 10:09AM EDT

 

 

Bethel Supt. Dr. Carver Message About Snow Days, 2017/18 Calendar Modification

Tue, Mar 20, 2018 10:07 am

Dear Parents, Caregivers, and Staff:

As of today we have had a total of nine (9) snow/weather days.  Without any modification to the schedule, school would be in session until the last week of June.  This is problematic because the heat and lack of air-conditioning in three schools make the learning environment challenging. The Board of Education met last evening to modify the schedule to address the issues. Below are the modifications to the 2017-2018 school calendar based on this winter’s extreme weather:

1.       IF we have one more snow day, March 30th, Good Friday will become a half-day session (making up one day).   For students and families who observe the day for religious reasons, it will be an excused absence (religious holiday).

2.       We will not take time off from the April Break.

3.       By law, we need to attend school for 180 days, our current calendar is 181 days.  We will modify our current calendar to 180 days for students. That means that Friday, June 22, 2018 will be the last day of school.   This will be a half day.  Teachers will report to work on Monday, June 25th (full day) for Professional Learning.

If we get more than 1 more snow day, this may be adjusted.   Hopefully, we are through the worst of it.

Impact of Weather to Conference Schedule

Johnson and Bethel Middle School have an early dismissal this Wednesday and Thursday due to conferences. Rockwell and Berry have and early dismissal on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

• If school is cancelled, then all conferences for that day are cancelled.

• If there is a 2 hour Delay, then there will not be an early dismissal.  Therefore, afternoon parent conferences will cancelled, evening parent conferences will proceed as normal.   There will be no Park & Recreation After School Care Program.

We will need to come up with another mechanism for rescheduling conferences that may be missed.   We will let you know as soon as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will we still have April break?  Yes.

Why not take away the whole/part of April break?  A number of our families and staff have planned vacations during this period.   Cancelling this late would cause significant disruption to a number of individuals.

Is having Good Friday/March 30th as a half day session going to be regular  practice?  No.  We are in an emergency situation and view it that way.  We do not view it as precedent setting. Any family or staff member who observes the holiday will have an excused absence.

How does this affect graduation?  Graduation is scheduled to be June 19th.   There is allowance in Connecticut State Statute, under certain parameters which allows districts to set the graduation date on their calendar.   We followed those parameters, which allows us to keep the date of the 19th.

Christine Carver, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

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