Changes coming for Decorah Schools calendar next year

The Decorah Community School Board has set the school calendar for next year. Highlights include:

• Start date is Wednesday, August 20
• Winter Break is December 24 – January 2
• End of 1st semester – January 9
• Last day for seniors -  May 15
• Commencement  – May 17
• Last day of school – May 22

One significant calendar change is that every Wednesday, beginning August 27th, will have a one hour late start. This will provide a consistent staff development schedule for staff. Superintendent Mike Haluska said that the district was behind the curve in this regard and this will be a significant help.

 There will be no half days or early dismissals (other than for safety issues such as snow days).  In part this is due to the district opting for 180 school days instead of 1080 hours. To count as a full day, a school must have 6 hours of instruction. Also the new mandate related to 180 days dictates a minimum of 30 hours per week. The 1080 hours option would have created significant issues in regard to the complexity of teacher contracts.

The full calendar will soon be available on the Decorah Community Schools website.