Beaufort Co. schools will choose a 2021-22 calendar next week. What are the options?
Beaufort County’s school board is set to approve one of two options for the 2021-22 school calendar Tuesday — but in the process, the board could reignite a years-long debate on how to divide semesters.
Beaufort County School District administrators are recommending a calendar with an uneven split between semesters. The fall semester would begin Aug. 16 and end Dec. 17, lasting 85 days; the spring semester would begin Jan. 5 and end May 27 for a total of 95 days.
The second “traditional” option keeps the semesters split evenly at 90 days each, with the fall semester lasting from Aug. 16 to Jan. 10 and the spring semester lasting from Jan. 12 to May 27.
Mary Stratos, the district’s chief instructional services officer, told the board’s academic committee Wednesday that principals endorsed the unevenly split calendar to ease the schedules of students taking college courses.
In previous calendar discussions, teachers have complained that the 85-day semester damages their ability to teach the full curriculum for their courses. However, Stratos said district data shows students actually have higher GPAs and test scores in a shorter semester that ends before winter break.
The other major change between the calendars is the length of winter break. Both calendars would begin winter break Dec. 20, but students would return to school on Jan. 5 with the uneven calendar and Jan. 3 on the traditional calendar.
Other features are shared between calendars:
Spring break runs from April 11 to April 15, which includes Good Friday.
The first three days of winter break — Dec. 20-22 — and April 11, the first day of spring break, are designated as weather make-up days. This year, the district has permission to conduct all make-up days virtually, which is a departure from prior practice.
Thanksgiving break will run from Nov. 24-26. On the uneven calendar, students will be dismissed early on Nov. 23; it’s a full school day on the traditional calendar.
Labor Day (Sept. 6), Veterans Day (Nov. 11), Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 17), Presidents Day (Feb. 21) and Memorial Day (May 30) are marked as holidays for students and staff.
The full school board will have to vote to approve one of the two calendars. Its next meeting is Tuesday at 6 p.m.
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 12:54 PM.