Nashville School District set to discuss hybrid calendar at board meeting

The Nashville School Board will be meeting Monday, January 22 to consider the 2024-2025 school calendar.

Board members are expected to choose between the traditional calendar and a hybrid year-round calendar.

The traditional calendar would basically mirror the school calendar for the 2023-2024 school year. The hybrid year-round calendar would have students returning to the classroom Thursday, July 25 with a break every month ranging from 1 day in August to 9-days in December. The last day of instruction would be June 6. The two calendars have the same number of instruction days.

Other calendar options are the 4-day school week and an alternative calendar that a district can submit to the state for its approval.

The Nashville School Board is considering between the traditional and hybrid calendars.

In December, Superintendent Doug Graham held a Soup with the Superintendent event to discuss the hybrid year-round calendar. The district also held a public meeting in December. Graham discussed the differences and mentioned that student and teacher attendance had improved the first semester of this school year in the Hamburg District, who had adopted the hybrid year-round schedule.

Graham reported he felt the hybrid calendar could possibly improve district test scores which have been stagnate for several years.

Graham said a survey of teachers had been conducted and 90 percent of the teachers surveyed liked the hybrid calendar. A district patron survey was conducted this week, but results of that survey were not available at the time of this story.

However, a group of concerned patrons have presented a study of the 4-day School Week and Year-round calendar conducted by the Office of Education Policy of the University of Arkansas.

That study says, the Arkansas state legislature passed Act 688 in 2021. Act 688 allows districts to adopt non-traditional calendars. Districts can choose the traditional, 4-day school week, year-round or an alternative calendar. During the 2022-2024 school year, 33 districts adopted new calendars; 27 districts opted for the 4-day school week and six used the year-round calendar. Several other districts opted for the 4-day school week calendar in 2023-2024. Currently, 34 districts use the 4-day a week calendar, however other districts have elected to go to a 4-day a week schedule next year. Four districts are currently using the year-round schedule with other districts adopting it for next year, including Magnolia.

The Exploring Academic Outcomes in Arkansas Schools report says it explored the student outcomes in the areas of academic growth, academic achievement, and absenteeism.

The study says quote, “the study found positive and statistically significant results in student value-added growth in literacy for districts that adopted a 4-day week schedule. Outside of this result, there were no discernable positive or negative effects for districts that adopted a 4-day school week.” However, the study says quote, “districts that adopted year-round calendar experienced more negative and statistically significant results.” The study also says further research needs to be done.