End of school backed up by makeup day
Published 12:00 am Thursday, May 28, 2009
End of the year confusion is a bit higher than usual for public schools this year because the end of the year is not the end of the year. Not really, anyway.
Students are expected at all schools in the Vicksburg Warren School District on Monday. Buses will run, even though the day will be a “60 percent day,” lunch will not be served and students will be dismissed starting at mid-morning.
Originally, Friday was to be the last day before summer break.
“Because we had to cancel school one day — the day after Labor Day, during Hurricane Gustav — we had to add a makeup day to the school calendar,” said Assistant Superintendent Debra Hullum. “The law is that students must go 180 days.”
At most schools, tests are completed, students of all ages have erased pencil marks and returned their state-issued textbooks and cleaned out their desks and lockers.
Still, to comply with the law, schools will be open part of the day Monday. Officially, the district’s two junior highs will dismiss at 10:30 a.m., the high schools at 10:45 and the elementary schools at 11:45.
The end of school also marks the start of the final intercession period on the school calendar. Students who have not achieved goals for the fourth nine-week period of the year may attend Tuesday through Friday for remediation, Hullum said. Intercession days run from 8 a.m. to noon.
The host elementary schools will be, again, Dana Road for students in the south part of the district, and Sherman Avenue for students in the north. Each junior high and high school will host intercession classes for its own students, Hullum said.
The district also will provide summer school classes for students who attended previous intercession weeks and still failed a course. “Summer school is not available for students who needed to attend intercession and chose not to,” Hullum said. Enrollment is expected to be lower than in summers past, largely due to the new intercession approach to scheduling, begun this year.
Elementary summer school will begin June 3 and run through June 30, junior high will run June 4 through July 1 and high school, from June 10 to July 22. Registration for summer school is required, and a fee is charged. Transportation is not included.
The day of canceled school also will affect teacher schedules. Teachers are required to work 187 days, and based on their work during the year their last day will be Tuesday, Hullum said, followed by two flexible teacher workdays Wednesday and on June 4.
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End of the year
Last day of school: Monday, June 1 (60 percent day; no meals will be provided.)
Dismissal times
• Junior high — 10:30 a.m.
• High school — 10:45 a.m.
• Elementary — 11:45 a.m.
Intercession
Tuesday, June 2 through Friday, June 5, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Elementary — north: Sherman Avenue School; south: Dana Road School
• Junior high — school normally attended
• High school — school normally attended
Summer school (registration required):
• Elementary — June 3 through June 30 at Beechwood Elementary School, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., $195 per course ($250 out of district; $500 out of state.) Registration runs through Tuesday. Consult with the principal of your school for registration form.
• Junior high — June 4 through July 1 at Vicksburg Junior High, 7:30 a.m. to 11:35 a.m., $95 per course ($145 out of district; $345 out of state). Registration Monday and Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to noon.
• High school — June 10 through July 22 at Vicksburg High School, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; $300 per course ($375 out of district; $750 out of state). Registration June 5 and June 8.
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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com