Next year's school calendar to include early release days

BRIGHTON — School District 27J will implement weekly early release days as part of its 2012-2013 school calendar.

All 27J schools will release students 75 minutes early each Wednesday. The early release days will take the place of planned staff development days.

The previous schedule included intermittent staff development days throughout the year. The district said the release days will provide teachers with continuous professional development days. It will also provide adequate time for collaboration with fellow teachers and effective lesson planning.
“This early release time is essential to improve student learning,” said 27J Chief Academic Officer Kelly Corbett. “With regular and ongoing professional development, collaboration, and planning, our educators will be better equipped to meet specific school goals and student learning targets.”
The addition of early release days does not affect dates already finalized in the 2012-2013 calendar including the first and last day of school as well as Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks. Under the new schedule, 27J students will attend three more days of school than in the 2011-2012 school year. Total instructional minutes will continue to exceed minimum state requirements.
“Our commitment in 27J is, first and foremost, to providing a quality education for our students,” said incoming 27J Superintendent Chris Fiedler. “We believe the implementation of weekly, early-release days will have a dramatic impact on staff development. The end result will be improved instruction in the classroom.”
As part of the schedule change, 27J modified its transportation schedule to pick up and deliver students from school to home. The district will also expand after-school care opportunities for families of elementary school children.
“While we believe the creation of early release days is a beneficial change for students and teachers, we realize the impact it will have on a family’s weekly schedule,” Fiedler said. “It’s our hope that, by letting parents know about this change now, we can work together to address any potential impacts.”
The district will continue to provide additional information regarding the schedule change as it becomes available. An improved, user-friendly version of the calendar is available at www.sd27j.org