Lang
3/10/22
The Iowa City Community school district is exploring the idea of a year-long school calendar with a four-day week.
Superintendent Matt Degner expressed interest in the idea at Tuesday’s school board meeting. While any change would likely be years away, Degner said expanding the school year to the end of June and starting earlier in August would keep students’ minds sharp by avoiding what he called the “summer slide”.
Degner added that a longer school year would help students maintain their positive relationships with school staff. He says child care providers have told him they’re optimistic that they could provide full care on weekdays when there would be no school.
Two models being considered include one where students would have every Friday off and be in school from August 12th through June 27th. Another gives students every other Friday off and runs from August 26th to June 27th. Because Iowa law does not permit classes to begin before August 23rd, the district would need a waiver from the Iowa Department of Education to enact the first option.
Drawbacks of the proposal include possible negative effects on special needs students and students who attend summer camps.
There is no timetable for a decision. The Cardinal school district has already approved a year-round, four-day model for the 2022-23 school year.