The Bellingham School District is currently working with the Bellingham Education Association (BEA) to develop the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school year calendars. The School Board will approve the final 2009-11 school year calendars in early 2009 and the information will be distributed at that time.
While this is part of the teacher-negotiated labor agreement, the school year calendar development process includes survey input collected from families and all staff in November. Survey results are being used by a Calendar Contractual Committee to develop final calendar options for consideration by all BEA-represented staff. The outcome will be communicated to the superintendent and BEA president for their review.
The committee will develop the school year calendars within the following parameters:
- Provide optimal learning time for students to ensure long stretches of days/weeks for continuous learning.
- Provide the state-mandated 180 days of school for students, required without a waiver from the State Board of Education.
- Include, as required by contract, two 90-day semesters and add snow day make-ups to the end of the school year.
- Plan for two Learning Improvement Days in the calendar -- one before school and one designated as a non-student day during the school year. (State budget reductions may impact Learning Improvement Days in the next biennium.)
- Include a non-student teacher workday at the semester break.
- Adjust spring break around the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) testing window. Due to the state-determined dates for WASL testing, it may be decided that the one-week option for spring break should be completed one week before the April WASL dates. Input for other spring break options was on the survey.
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