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SHREWSBURY, Mass. - Next year's Shrewsbury school calendar may include an additional day off and three early release days to allow for teachers' professional development.
Early release days are something that has rarely occurred in Shrewsbury in recent years, Assistant Superintendent Mary Beth Banios told the School Committee last week.
The current 2012-2013 teacher contract calls for two full professional days, Banios added. She said the teachers' union has indicated support for the change, although final language has not been negotiated.
Under the proposed schedule, there will be early release days on Jan. 8, March 5 and April 9. A full day for professional development is scheduled for Oct. 5, allowing for a four-day Columbus Day weekend, and Election Day, Nov. 6, would be a day off for parent-teacher conferences.
The first day of school would be Aug. 28 and the last day of school would be June 14, 2013 barring any snow days.
Even by adding the three days, Shrewsbury's proposed schedule would be among the more conservative in the area, Banios said. By contrast, the Westborough, Nashoba Regional and Berlin-Boylston school districts each had five early release days and Hudson had six. Maynard tops the list with 14 early release days.
What do you think of the proposed calendar? Do you find early release days inconvenient? Take our survey and comment below.
There are enough kids at home alone after school for a couple hours at a time. Having half days would mean more time they would be unsupervised.