YEAR-ROUND MIDDLE SCHOOL: AN OPTION TO INNOVATE

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Feb. 14, 2013

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Lapeer  Community  Schools  is  commi4ed  to  being  the  District  of  Choices.  Through  the  crea:on  of  innova:ve  programs  that  cater  to  the  wide  variety  of  needs  that  exist  in  our  community,  we  seek  to  be  a  place  where  all  students  may  come  to  meet  their  poten:al  in  prepara:on  for  the  challenges  of  a  compe::ve  global  economy.

For  our  middle  school  students,  we  have  already  established  an  innova:ve  program  that  is  housed  in  two  state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art  facili:es.  Through  the  community-­‐supported  2007  Bond  Ini:a:ve  and  years  of  work  by  the  Middle  School  Planning  Commi4ee,  we  planted  the  seeds  of  a  remarkable  program  that  con:nues  to  grow  and  adapt  to  the  needs  of  our  students  and  community.    This  con:nual  growth  and  striving  for  excellence  is  what  causes  us  to  consider  a  new  and  exci:ng  possibility  for  our  middle-­‐level  students:  a  year-­‐round  concept  u:lizing  a  balanced  calendar.

AMer  much  research  and  work,  a  balanced  calendar  was  implemented  at  Turrill  Elementary  for  2012-­‐13.    Our  ini:al  experiences  at  Turrill,  combined  with  the  extensive  research  on  this  concept,  confirm  that  a  balanced  calendar  can  be  a  very  powerful  choice  to  promote  student  

achievement.    It  is  clear  that  an  op:on  to  allow  for  this  prac:ce  at  the  middle  school  should  be  considered.

Our  goal  is  to  take  the  best  aspects  of  our  middle  school  concept  alongside  the  concept  of  year-­‐round  schooling  and  put  them  together  to  create  a  program  that  will  provide  an  a4rac:ve  op:on  for  parents.    We  want  you  to  know  that  while  the  calendar  will  be  different,  the  overall  middle  school  experience  will  be  consistent  with  our  current  prac:ces.    Year-­‐round  students  will  be  in  the  same  building  and  have  the  same  access  as  their  peers  on  the  tradi:onal  calendar  to  classes,  programs,  athle:cs,  clubs,  and  ac:vi:es.  

We  are  currently  surveying  interest  in  this  concept  at  the  middle  level  in  order  to  help  guide  our  planning  in  the  years  to  come.  We  hope  that  you  will  take  the  :me  to  review  this  material  and  we  thank  you  in  advance  for  comple:ng  and  returning  the  enclosed  survey  by  February  14,  2013.  If  you  want  to  learn  more  about  how  a  balanced  calendar  will  operate  in  a  middle  school,  please  plan  to  a4end  our  informa:on  night.  

-­‐-­‐  Ma%  Wandrie,  Superintendent

Please join us!Year-Round Middle School Program -

Information NightFeb. 11, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

Zemmer Middle School Cafeteria

ARE “YEAR-ROUND” SCHOOLS REALLY YEAR-ROUND?

A YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL OPERATES ON A BALANCED CALENDAR. STUDENTS ATTEND SCHOOL THE SAME NUMBER

OF DAYS AS TRADITIONAL CALENDAR STUDENTS, WITH SHORTER AND MORE FREQUENT BREAKS.

WILL MY CHILD HAVE ACCESS TO THE SAME CORE ACADEMIC AND SPECIALIZED CURRICULUM OPTIONS AS STUDENTS ON

THE TRADITIONAL SCHEDULE?

YES. STUDENTS WILL RETAIN THOSE OPTIONS AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENRICHMENT AND SUPPORT.

WILL MY CHILD STILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES?

YES. STUDENTS WILL HAVE ACCESS TO ALL CLUBS AND ATHLETICS.

WHERE WILL THE LCS YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL(S) BE LOCATED? THE PROGRAM WOULD OPERATE AS A “TEAM” WITHIN ONE OR BOTH OF OUR CURRENT MIDDLE SCHOOL FACILITIES.

WILL TRANSPORTATION BE PROVIDED? YES.

WHEN COULD THE YEAR-ROUND CALENDAR BE AVAILABLE AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL.

INTEREST IN THE CALENDAR WILL DETERMINE THE TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF YEAR ROUND?THERE ARE MANY: FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES, EXTENDED

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES, INCREASED RETENTION AND MORE TIME PRIOR TO STATE ASSESSMENTS.

Q: A:July 31, 2013, is the first day of school for Year-Round students.

June 13, 2014, is the last day of school for all LCS students.