Decorah Schools open Wednesday--with new Wednesday schedule going into effect

Decorah Schools open Wednesday (at the regular start time), with 24.5 new teachers (one is part-time), and a formalization of the Dean of Students position at the High School.

Superintendent Mike Haluska says "This is my favorite time of the year!  With the energy the staff brings, along with the anticipation of the students in regard to a new school year, this as good as it gets for me!"

decorahnews.com asked Superintendent Haluska to expand on the reasoning behind the new Wednesday late starts:

"We have a new practice beginning this year, that of a one-hour late start on Wednesday mornings.  Not long ago, the legislature passed a law requiring school districts to have in place 36 hours of "collaborative time" for teachers during the school year.  This was brought even more into focus as the law was passed that increased the requirement for student attendance throughout the year (Decorah chose the "day" requirement as opposed to the "hour" requirement).  As such, we will use the hour per week to both meet the mandate and to provide more regular professional development opportunities for our staff.  While I realize this will create an inconvenience for a number of parents, I also know many districts in Iowa have done this for a number of years.  For example, our oldest daughter teaches in Council Bluffs, one of the poorest school districts in Iowa.  Yet they have been having weekly two-hour late starts every Monday for several years now.  As we examined the potential for a late start versus an early out, two things rose to the top.  First was the number of students who would be in the Middle School and High School without supervision and the potential issues that presented.  Also, the new "time mandate" established by the state did not allow us to utilize a two-hour time period — we could only make one-hour per week fit the legal requirement.  Therefore, we made the decision for the one-hour late start.  I know the staff looks forward to the regular professional development opportunity and I believe this will ultimately make us an even better school district."