SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane Public School board discussed several items at Wednesday night’s meeting including the recommendation from a work group for a balanced school schedule.
According to a strategy update from SPS, the district is going to roll out a comprehensive communication plan to raise awareness about how and why the district is adopting a balanced calendar. This will include timely outreach to staff, students, families and the community.
The district still needs to negotiate with the Teacher’s Association about the possible change. These negotiations are expected to be a part of larger contract negotiations set for spring 2025.
The earliest a balanced calendar would be implemented is for the 2026-2027 school year.
The school board will also discuss changing the start time for school. Currently, elementary school starts at 8:30 a.m., middle school starts at 9:00 a.m. and high school starts at 8:00 a.m. The board is expected to discuss research that says adolescents require more sleep due to biological changes. They say later start times align better with their natural circadian rhythms.
Explaining a balanced calendar
With a balanced calendar, students attend class the same number of days and receive the same instructional hours driven by the same curricula as students at traditional calendar schools. A balanced calendar modifies the traditional 180-day calendar to keep the learning process continuous. Students have periodic, shorter breaks rather than one long summer break. All students attend school at the same time and go on vacation at the same time. (Description provided by SPS)
School breaks
- Fall break: 10 days
- Winter break: 15 days
- Spring break: 10 days
- Summer break: 7-8 weeks