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Date: 1/18/2023
EAST LONGMEADOW – The East Longmeadow School Committee discussed the proposed school calendar for 2023-2024 school year at its Jan. 10 meeting.
While largely the same calendar as the current school year, the usefulness of half days became the topic of conversation.
Superintendent Gordon Smith said the district is contractually obligated to schedule a half day on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and on the last day of school. Additionally, grades pre-K-2 are contracted to have three half days for parent teacher conferences, while grades 3-5 have two. There is one half day for teacher professional development. Smith said there were two half days for this, but it was reduced because, “We realize there is a disruption when you have a half day. That changes how families operate in terms of pickup, dismissal and daycare.”
Student Representative Ashley Kahi said that high school students will often not attend at all on a half day, but she believed they were an important “bonding” experience for the younger levels.
School Committee Vice Chair Antonella Raschilla Manzi agreed, “It’s hard to have half days. A lot of people, they work. What are they going to do with their kids?” She said she preferred the day before the holiday break to be a full day off to alleviate parental scheduling challenges.
The district accepted two checks from the photography company, Grynn & Barrett, which it contracts with for school photos. Raschilla Manzi explained that a percentage of the photo costs come back to the schools. Mountain View School received $1,660 and Birchland Park Middle School received $2,520.
Smith said the High School Building Committee will finalize cost estimates for its preferred schematic of the school in late January. In February, it will be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, an agency that works with districts to reimburse a portion of the school building repair or construction costs. Smith said public forums on the project will be scheduled in the coming months.
The East Longmeadow Educational Endowment Fund (ELEEF) Gala will take place at Great Horse on Feb. 11 this year. Tickets purchased before Jan. 15 are $175.
More information can be found at https://eleef.org.