When students head back to the classroom for the 2010-11 school year, their schedules will look slightly different from previous years. Across the district, students will be released from school 45 minutes early every Wednesday while teachers receive training and professional development. Instead of students receiving 3-hours of time off once a month on various days at the elementary, middle, and high schools, students will now be released early every week on Wednesday. The total time spent out of the classroom for students will remain the same.
The objective is to streamline the staff development enabling teachers to better serve students, and improve the early release schedules for parents says Deputy Superintendent Pedro Martinez. "This will be an important time for teachers to improve their teaching skills and discuss how to help every child in the district be successful. This time will be used to help offset training time lost because of budget reductions and teacher furlough days." Martinez continued by saying the adjustment will allow parents to better plan after-school care, especially for families with students at more than one school.
Bus pickup schedules at the end of the day will continue to be staggered at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Pick-up times will be 45 minutes earlier on the early release days. The 45-minute weekly early release schedule was used in the Spanish Springs area for the 2009-10 school year. Teachers and parents in Spanish Springs were very supportive of the change and say it worked well.
Spanish Springs parent Maria Arias saw first-hand how the weekly 45-minute teacher development helped in the classroom. "My daughter was having a hard time transitioning to the first grade. The weekly training her teacher received helped her immediately in the classroom and that support continued throughout the rest of the school year."
Every WCSD parent should have received a letter about the changes at the end of last school year. In addition to the letter, a parent tip sheet will be sent home detailing after-school care options. A video is also available in English and Spanish with more details.
Martinez says the schools will continue to remind parents of the new schedule in their back to school information as well. "When your child is released early from school, our teachers receive training focused on the classroom, which in turn supports our mission for all WCSD students: Excellence in Education, Every Student, Every Day, to Graduation."
About Washoe County School District: The Washoe County School District includes the Reno/Sparks metropolitan area, Incline Village, Gerlach, Empire and Wadsworth, Nevada. The District provides each of its 63,000 students with a superior education in a safe and challenging environment and is committed to graduate every child career and college ready. For more information visit: www.washoecountyschools.org. Follow us on Twitter at WCSDTweet.
