Fairland Owl Community,
Some Ottawa county schools are considering a modified four-day calendar for the upcoming school year to address teacher/student retention and recruitment. Nearby schools like Baxter Springs, Seneca, McDonald County, and Neosho already use a four-day week calendar. Wyandotte has approved a modified calendar with four-day weeks in the Fall semester and early-release days in the Spring. All schools must be open for the same number of days, so the total instructional days would not be reduced. A calendar option with four-day weeks only during the second semester could be created without drastically changing the start or end dates of the school year. One option being explored is having four-day weeks ONLY during the second semester. Each scheduled day out would also be a potential makeup day for closures due to bad weather. Keep in mind that there are already twelve four-day weeks in the second semester in our current calendar. Such a calendar might also be instrumental in retaining and recruiting staff, improving attendance, and providing more flexibility for parents/students scheduling appointments. Fairland Public School is working with our own Boys and Girls Club to explore extended daytime options for students on days out.
If you have any questions, please reach out via email at jjohnson@fpsowls.com