News release from the Fort Wayne Community Schools:
FWCS Adopts New School Year Schedule Beginning in 2015-16
(June 4, 2014) – Fort Wayne Community Schools has adopted a new school year schedule that will allow first semester to end before winter break and the school year to end before the end of May and sometimes before Memorial Day, barring weather cancellations.
The changes will go into effect with the 2015-16 school year. The calendar for the 2014-15 school year has not been changed; the school year will begin on Aug. 18, 2014, and end on June 2, 2015, barring weather cancellations.
Beginning in 2015-16, the first day of the school year will move back one week to Aug. 11. To balance the number of days in each semester as evenly as possible and to end first semester before the winter break, the first day of the school year will be on a Tuesday. With the earlier start to the school year, the scheduled last day of school for the year is Wednesday, May 25. Graduations have moved to the first weekend in June for the Class of 2016.
“With the extreme weather we experienced this year, we knew it was time to adjust our calendar to ensure first semester ended before winter break,” Superintendent Dr. Wendy Robinson said. “During the 2013-14 school year, final exams for high school students and other end-of-semester events were pushed back a week because of January’s snowstorms. With the semester ending a week later, it no longer was practical to have parent-teacher conference at the end of January because we had just started second semester. Adjusting our calendar will prevent this from being an issue in the future.”
The calendar also adds a third reserve make-up day in most years. The new day comes at the end of the third quarter in March. In 2015-16, the new reserve make-up day is scheduled for March 11 with two additional make-up days in May. If state testing conflicts with the schedule, the dates for the make-up days will be adjusted. The calendar remains flexible in using holidays and other days as make-up days, if necessary.
“This winter has reminded us that sometimes there are circumstances that are beyond our control, and we need to be adaptable to make sure we continue to provide the best education possible for our students,” Dr. Robinson said. “We know students will adjust quickly to this new schedule and appreciate the efforts of parents and staff to make a smooth transition.”
The calendars from 2015-16 through 2019-20 are now posted on the FWCS website.
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