The first day of school for students will be Aug. 9 and the last day of school will be May 30, 2024. The instructional day will begin at 7:45 a.m. and end at 4:07 p.m., adding 42 minutes to the school day.  Students will be off each Friday. 

The vote followed months of research, discussion and review of staff and parent input.

“Research shows that having and retaining the best teachers directly impacts student achievement,” stated Superintendent Macie Thompson. “We are dedicated to putting the very best educators in front of our students and providing them with the planning time they need to deliver high-quality instruction. We believe that moving to a four-day instructional week will help us do that.” 

Central to the research that went into the decision was a parental survey which was open for completion for three weeks over the Christmas holiday.

The district sent over 900 electronic communications to parents requesting their participation and received about 300 responses.

The parents survey tallied responses to six questions. In the two key questions, 63.8 % of parents answered “yes” when asked if they would be in favor of a 4-day instructional week, while 57.8 % indicated that a 4-day instructional week would have a positive family impact. A similar survey received overwhelming support from the teachers and staff.

While students are out of school each Friday, staff will work one to two Fridays per month.

The designation of Fridays as the “off day” for students was made with consideration of the dual-credit students’ class schedule with Tyler Junior College. Historically, Fridays also represented the lowest student attendance.

Student extracurricular activities will continue to take place on Fridays.

In other board action, Thompson received unanimous support from the board for her performance to date.

Board member Matt Haisten commented that Thompson had the district “moving in the right direction.” His comments were echoed by Board President Jason Stovall.

In other matters, the board approved TASB Policy update 120; a calculation waiver for continuing education minutes for the 2023-24 school year; and First Bankers’ Banc Securities, Inc as the district’s investment advisor.

The board recognized the FFA chapter for its efforts this fall in the ag-science leadership competition. Forty-one students participated this fall with the Senior Chapter Conducting Team advancing to area competition.      

First-grader Bronx Dusek and senior Cade Stovall were acknowledged as elementary and secondary school students of the month, respectively.