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The Coweta County School System will make up time missed due to
recent icy weather by adding 5 minutes to the school day
beginning January 31, Superintendent Blake Bass announced
Monday.
The Coweta County School System was closed January 10 through
14, due to icy weather and hazardous driving conditions during
the week. A total of 5 school days were missed. Since the Coweta
County School Board decided to maintain the 180-day school
calendar for students during the 2010-2011 school year, 4 days
are permitted for closures due to emergencies.
“Therefore, only 1 day, or its equivalent, must be made up at
this point,” said Bass, in a letter issued to parents on Monday.
“In order to make up the required time and in order to minimize
disruptions to family schedules, we will add 5 minutes to the
school day beginning (Monday) January 31, 2011. The additional 5
minutes will be added to the beginning of the instructional
day.”
For the remainder of the 2010-11 school year, start times for
grade levels will be:
• 7:55 a.m. for elementary school
• 8:25 a.m. for middle and high schools
Parents are asked to make arrangements to have car riders at
school before the start times listed above. Parents will be
notified if bus routes change on a case by case basis.
Bass said that the school system will use this method rather
than making up an entire day during winter or spring break
because:
1. Many families have already planned trips for winter break and
have money invested that is non-refundable.
2. At the beginning of the school day, many schools use a few
minutes to make announcements and have advisement throughout the
year.
3. With Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) based partly on student
attendance, adding make-up days to holiday weeks will be
reserved as a last resort. Often, such make-up days result in
high absenteeism.
“Any future days missed due to inclement weather will require
additional procedures for making up missed instructional time.
This may include being forced to use holidays as make-up days,”
said Bass. |
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