ROGERS — It appears the School District likely will stick with a traditional calendar for the 2023-24 school year, despite some discussion in recent weeks about shifting to a much different one.
A so-called “hybrid” calendar — also referred to as a year-round calendar — would have Rogers’ school year start four weeks earlier than when most Arkansas school districts start, according to Superintendent Jeff Perry. The four weeks gained from starting early would be placed in the calendar as breaks throughout the year.
The district recently surveyed its employees about their calendar preferences. The district provided survey results to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette this week.
About whether they preferred to keep the traditional calendar or switch to the hybrid starting next school year, employees were nearly equally split, with 44.8% favoring the traditional and 44.5% favoring the hybrid.
Another 10.7% preferred to go with the traditional calendar next year but switch to the hybrid for the 2024-25 school year and beyond, results showed.
Perry, while discussing the subject with School Board members last month, said support for the hybrid calendar would have to be overwhelming for the district to move forward with it.
In a message posted last week on the district’s website, he said the survey results were not overwhelming.
“At this point, I am relatively certain the board will adopt a traditional calendar for the 2023-24 school year,” Perry’s message stated. “We may continue to study the merits of a hybrid calendar for the 2024-2025 school year, but I don’t think we would seriously consider the hybrid for next year.”
The School Board will have the final say, however, and will vote on a 2023-24 calendar in January, he said.
Perry did not mention anything about surveying students or parents.
The district’s survey showed a definite split between certified and classified employees on the calendar issue. Certified employees include mostly teachers as well as counselors, librarians and administrators. Classified employees include support staff such as custodians, bus drivers and food service workers.
Among certified employees, 51.5% supported moving ahead with the hybrid calendar next year, whereas 31.4% of classified employees favored it.
As for making the switch for the 2024-25 school year, 64.4% of certified employees and 37.8% of classified employees supported such a plan.
A total of 1,425 employees responded to the survey — 928 certified and 497 classified.
Proponents of the hybrid calendar say the shorter summer break lessens the “summer slide,” or the amount of learning lost during the roughly 12 weeks that schools traditionally are closed during the summer. In turn, the more frequent breaks throughout the year give students and staff more chances to rest and recharge.
Some other Arkansas school districts have made major calendar changes or are considering doing so.
The Marion School District in eastern Arkansas is in its second year on a hybrid calendar. The district of 3,800 students started classes this school year on July 25. Marion students get two-week breaks in the fall, winter and spring. The calendar still includes the state-required 178 days of instruction.
Hot Springs School District Superintendent Stephanie Nehus said last week the district is exploring the possibility of a hybrid calendar similar to what’s been discussed in Rogers. The district is surveying staff, parents and students about it, Nehus said.
Likewise, the Fountain Lake School District, also in Garland County, hosted a public forum Tuesday to discuss switching to an alternative calendar next fall. A third Garland County district, the Cutter-Morning Star School District with about 650 students, this year implemented a four-day school week.
Dave Perozek can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWADaveP.