2019-2020 Change to School Calendar
Dear West Central #235 Parents/Guardians:
Over the last two years, West Central has conducted some Vision work within the District. We gathered data from staff at a School Improvement Day and held Vision community meetings in several of our communities.
On November 3, 2018, the West Central Board of Education held a Board Retreat. The administrative team and WCATS leadership also participated in the Retreat. During this Retreat, the participants took a look at data compiled from the February 28, 2015 Board Retreat. This included a listing of Successes and Challenges in the areas of District Finances, District Curriculum, District Personnel, District Facilities, and Other as well as progress made toward addressing those challenges. Upon conclusion of that discussion, the participants then created a new list of successes and challenges. Once this discussion was complete, the participants were given sticky dots and directed to place three dots on each list of challenges by the ones they believe most important to address. To conclude the Retreat, the participants created a Vision Statement and reviewed the District's current Mission Statement.
After the Retreat, the administrative team reviewed the challenges and wrote goals while referring to the challenges receiving the highest number of dots and taking into consideration the challenges they believed we are most able to effect. A document was then created which includes the District Vision, Mission, Beliefs, Strategies, and Goals. I have attached that document to this email.
One goal reads: "To increase the number of minutes available during the contractual day for staff to analyze data, collaborate, and problem solve by May 1, 2019." In an effort to address this goal, a change has been made to the school calendar. Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, West Central will implement "late start Mondays". Classes will start one hour later every Monday that we are in session. This means buses will also run one hour later, and breakfast will also be served one hour later on these days. The start and end times for staff will remain the same, allowing them time to accomplish the above tasks collaboratively. With this change, we have also eliminated one school improvement day. We understand this will come with some questions and some inconvenience, but we will do our best to address any concerns and minimize any inconvenience. We believe this will help us to better address the needs of our students and to improve the overall quality of instruction your children receive. To help answer questions, we have created a Question and Answer document which is also attached to this email.
If you have any questions after reading this email and the Questions and Answers document, please contact the administrator of the attendance facility where your child attends or the District Office. Thank you for your understanding and support as we work to provide the highest quality education possible to the students of West Central.
2019-2020 West Central CUSD #235 Calendar
