To the community,

We appreciate you taking the time to share your input regarding proposed changes to our current school calendar. We received over 600 survey responses, and 88 percent of the respondents were in favor of the district adding three make-up days of classes to address lost instructional time because of the high number of snow days.

The board of education met Jan. 25 to review and discuss the survey results, hear input from parents in attendance, and take action on the proposal.

On Jan. 25, the board of education approved a new calendar for the 2016-17 school year that includes the following:

• Waiving five instructional days based on a waiver approved by the board of education on Jan. 18.
• Eliminating the Feb. 1, March 8, and May 10 districtwide minimum days to regain instructional time. Note: This does not recover additional school days, but it does allow for more uninterrupted instruction time.
• Adding three days of school on Feb. 22, 23, and 24, during Ski and Skate Week. These are indicated as “make-up” days on the calendar where students have two options for completing assigned work by their regular classroom teacher(s) during these days.

a) Parents sign an independent study contract and complete work independently outside of school and turn in for credit by a date to be determined in early March, after Ski Skate Week.

b) Students attend scheduled “make-up” classes on those days at school sites in both parts of the district and complete work assigned by their classroom teachers (in addition to other activities planned by the teacher in charge on these days).

The revised 2016-17 school calendar is posted.

Our district leadership team is currently working on the details of how we will implement this make-up program, and more details will be coming soon.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time. We all want what’s best for our students, and we are working diligently to ensure students continue to have a high-quality education in a safe environment.

Sincerely,

Robert Leri, superintendent Tahoe Truckee Unified School District