LINDEN — North Montgomery School Corp. is making changes to next year’s calendar to give staff more time for professional development.
Beginning in the fall, students will be dismissed early one day per trimester so teachers can collaborate on ongoing training programs, according to calendar revisions approved by the school board Monday.
On the early dismissal days, students in grades 6-12 will participate in afternoon e-learning to satisfy the rest of their state-mandated daily instructional time, said superintendent Dr. Colleen Moran.
Administrators will decide whether to recommend early dismissals for the following school year based on the effectiveness of the schedule changes, Moran said.
The board also approved moving this spring’s graduation ceremony back to its traditional Saturday morning date. The school currently plans to hold the ceremony indoors.
Last spring’s ceremony was conducted outdoors due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“We will have graduation. We just don’t know how many people will be able to participate when we bring it back inside,” Moran said.
In another change to next year’s calendar, the board
approved a recommendation to make Feb. 25, 2022 a no-school day instead of Good Friday.
Moving up the vacation day is meant to provide teachers extra time to prepare for the next trimester, which would begin on Feb. 28.
In other business, the board approved a resolution giving the green light to the last phase of the high school roof project.
Crews have been placing a harder membrane over the existing rubber roof, said Jim McBee, director of business and transportation.
The board authorized spending $100,000 from the emergency allocations operations fund and $48,865 from the capital projects operations fund for the project.
In other business, the board:
• Approved next year’s fees and tuition for the Early Learning Academy with no changes. Families will pay a one-time $50 registration fee and $200 per month for the classes.
• Approved the receipt of a $9,000 grant from Early Learning Indiana to pay for the Early Learning Academy instructional assistant at Pleasant Hill Elementary. The district has applied for up to $20,000 for early learning curriculum and recreational equipment for Sommer and Sugar Creek Elementaries.
• Accepted the resignations of Tara Brant, Sugar Creek custodian; Kisha Hutson, middle school food service; Ashley Barker, Sommer food service; and Stacey Larkin, Sugar Creek food service.
