LISD seeks feedback on school calendar
By Miles Smith
Editor/POST-REGISTER
Lockhart Independent School District is seeking community feedback about draft calendars that could, if ultimately approved, restructure vacation time between future school years.
The district will hold a community forum at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6 in the ACC room at Lockhart High School. All are welcome to attend and provide feedback, district officials said.
“Lockhart ISD is a District of innovation,” wrote Superintendent Susan Bohn in a letter slated to go out to staff and parents. “With this state designation, the district has flexibility to create an academic calendar that best meets the needs of Lockhart ISD students.”
Bohn said LISD had set specific student achievement targets districtwide to boost student learning, and the board had adopted a new vision statement for the the district: Building a legacy of excellence.
“As the district considers academic calendar planning for the next school year, it has become important to also consider if the current academic calendar best supports student achievement, or if there are other innovative and flexible approaches the district can take to maximize instruction and learning,” Bohn said. “In fact, the District of Innovation Committee had recommended last year that the school district review the benefits of more flexible scheduling in the coming years.”
The school district formed a Calendar Committee, made up of staff and parent representatives, to review the needs of students, understand the pros and cons of different calendar approaches, and propose different options for consideration and adoption, Bohn said.
District spokesperson Christina Courson said the district is only intending to adopt a calendar for the 2018-19 year.
“However, the school district is looking to begin discussions about a more flexible academic calendar in the following year that would be very different from our previous calendars,” Courson noted.
The committee is now seeking feedback from stakeholders on different calendar options to “create improved opportunities for student learning and decrease the potential for learning loss that can occur over traditional, longer summer breaks,” Bohn said.
To view the draft calendars, visit http://www.lockhartisd.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=89826&pageId=6524355.
